Die Like a Dog Trio
German free-jazzer Peter
.otzmann brings his nuclear-
powered ensemble to the Fire-
*f=A Club tonight. 8 p.m.
niachigandaily.com /arts
ARTS
MONDAY
APRIL 16, 2001
8A
Quirky
'Bridget'
NBC: 'You are the
weakest link, goodbye'
brings British
novel to big screen
By Christian Smith
Daily Arts Writer
Leslie Boxer
: Daily Arts Writer
.
.
: ;;
";
'Bridget Jones's Diary" is delight-
ful. It is based on the Helen Fielding
flcvel of the same title, and is the
story of Bridget
Bridget
Jones's
Diary
Grade: B+
At Showcase
and State
Jones, a 30-some-
thing London
singleton, who
is certain that
her life will
improve if she
could only lose
weight, stop
smoking and
start dating the
right kind of
men - a
mantra many
women not only
repeat to them-
selves, but also
truly believe.
Bridget (an endearing Renee Zell-
weger) is extremely self-aware and
decides that one way to accomplish
her goals is to keep a diary. The
diary, which consists of a number of
voice-overs throughout the film, is
perfect; it is funny, sharp-witted,
perceptive and overall right-on with
the thoughts of the average single
woman.
The story begins at an annual day
after new-years turkey and curry
party thrown by Bridget's over-the
top mother. Bridget's mom, who
believes class is defined by a
gherkin on a toothpick, is incessant-
ly trying to fix Bridget up with
available young men.
This year's attempt turns out to be
quite handsome yet unable to deal
with Bridget's unabashed personali-
ty. The audience immediately sees
the truth behind author Helen Field-
ing's description of Bridget: Uncen-
sored - uninhibited -unmarried.
From this disaster, Bridget
rebounds quickly with an interoffice
affair with her gorgeous and suave
boss, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant).
It seems that Cleaver understands
Bridget and that they can have fun,
be intimate and enjoy each other
immensely.
Yet, all is not puppy dogs and
rainbows for Bridget -- she has
many more adventuress in love and
life with which she must deal.
From this point the story unfolds
into pure enjoyment. The dialogue is
smart and funny and the acting is
stellar. Fielding, who participated in
writing the screenplay, has adapted
her novel quite well to the big
screen.
Who really deserves much of the
credit for the success of this film,
however, is Zellweger. She portrays
Bridget as both tough and sweet and
easily embodies every quirk and
every comedic detail that defines
the character. Zellweger, a native
Texan, adopts a perfect British
accent, adds 20 pounds to play the
role and seemingly effortlessly nails
the part.
Both Grant and Colin Firth, who
play the men in Bridget's life, also
With all the other networks shov-
ing reality programming down the
American public's throats faster
than they can
Weakest
Link
NBC
Tonight at 8 p.m.
1 .
say "Temptation
Island," it
comes as no
surprise that
NBC is jumping
on the band-
wagon. In an
attempt to
strengthen its
Monday night
lineup, the Pea-
cock is debut-
ing its new
game show,
"Weakest Link"
as a midseason
vivor" winner Richard Hatch and
another by Anne Robinson, who
also hosted the original BBC ver-
sion. NBC's syndication division is
still considering launching a sepa-
rate version of the series, to be
hosted by Hatch.
Robinson, who may or may not@
be speaking in a fake British accent,
was chosen as the "inquisitor"
because of her evil persona. She is
being promoted in NBC's aggres-
sive promotional campaign as "TV's
rudest woman" - a hard-nosed
ultra-bitch of a host that gives fans
nightmares.
Whereas "Millionaire's" Regis
admittedly wants his players to witi,.
Robinson is found spouting such
brutal lines as "You should requestea
refund from your university" and
"You're quite honestly the most stu-
pid person I have ever met. Are yoi
intelligent enough to be on the
show?"
But she does deliver the show's
smarmy sendclff catchphrase, "Yoar
are the weakest link. Goodbye;"
with uncanny blunt effectiveness.-
While "Weakest Link" may be*
interesting to watch for a while to
see if any of the contestants actually
smack Robinson, the recent failure
of similar quiz-show fare like
"Greed" and "Twenty One" could
spell trouble.
One wonders how much of this
the viewing public can take before
UPN comes out with "Strip Naked
Survivor Game Show." Oh wait
would you look at that - "Chaii
of Love" premieres tomorrow.
"Hey, I know what you're thinking ... but I'm telling you, Rudolph was the best
reindeer of them all." (Colin Firth of "Bridget Jones's Diary")
deserve praise for their acting. Grant
departs from his usual bumbling and
sweet leading man and takes on a
more devious version of himself; it
is a good change for Grant.
Firth plays the conservative and
somewhat abrasive Mark Darcy. le,
like the others, does an excellent
job.
This movie is truly priceless. It
takes a cynical yet comical look at a
single woman looking to be loved
just the way she is.
Admittedly, I do think it is a bit of
a chick flick - yet many of the
scenes caused out-loud, riotous
laughter amongst the audience, men
included.
With that in mind, I would say
Food for Thought
Pride & Honor
Surveys show that 91%
of actual Vietnam War
Veterans and 90% of
those who saw heavy
combat are proud to
have served their country.
Gary Lillie & Assoc., Realtors
www.garylillie.com
there are infinitely worse chick-
flicks out there, and this one can
certainly be enjoyed by both men
and women.
r e p1a c e m e n t
which, depending on its success,
will continue on into the summer.
NBC has so much faith in the
show that it's preempting program-
ming on Tuesday and Wednesday
this week to give the show two addi-
tional runs.
"Weakest Link" features eight
contestants standing around in a cir-
cle battling each other, the clock
and the host, in a trivia contest in an
effort to win the jackpot. Through
the first seven rounds, the contes-
tants play together as a team
answering rapid-fire questions.
Every time a question is answered
correctly, more money is added to
the pot. For every wrong answer,
the pot goes down to zero.
At the end of each of the first six
rounds, each contestant votes to
eliminate the fellow contestant they
consider to be the weakest link in
the chain. In the seventh round, the
remaining contestants have a chance
to double the bank. Each player who
is voted out leaves with nothing;
only one contestant will walk away
with the prize money.
While the slogan, "You have
never seen anything like this on
American television," may be true,
it doesn't necessarily mean that
"Weakest Link" is anything new or
original.
Like ABC's monster smash "Who
Wants to Be A Millionaire," the
show is based on the highly suc-
cessful British game show of the
same name. "Millionaire" host
Regis Philbin even called the new
game show a "copycat." To avoid
being labeled as a desperate and
humiliating blend (read: rip-off) of
"Millionaire" and CBS mega-hit
"Survivor," the show is being touted
as ... a game show that combines
the best of "Survivor" and "Million-
aire." Interesting approach.
NBC initially viewed two pilots
of the show, one hosted by "Sur-
Courtesy of Miramax
"Wait a minute, nobody told me it was
so far down." (Renee Zellweger)
Courtesy ofNBC
Beware of the witch of the "Weakest
Link," Anne Robinson.
L______________________'_________
Drop in
and sign up...
>:
Swimming, Water Aerobics, Yoga, Kickboxing, Step,
Tennis, Butts & Guts and Super Circuits!!!
Spring classes begin on May 1.
Summer classes begin on June 28.
Call 764-1342 or www.umich.edu/umove
Power to burn.
At speeds of up to
733MHz,
the most powerful Mac in history
burns CDs and burns Pentiums.
A Akb IL sk ink WA aft
F,1l
<