Monday Septe.ber 33, 2002 michigandaily.com/arts mae@michigandaily.com ARTS 5A Witherspoon makes 'Alabama' the best date movie of the year By Ryan Lewis Daily Arts Writer Courtesy of CBS Caruso momentarily remembers his previous television success and the years of film failure that followed. Caruso ed 'CSI: Miami' shows promise in world of spinoffs By Daniel Yowell For the Daily Following the success of NBC's "Law and Order" spinoffs - "Spe- cial Victims Unit," "Criminal Intent" and "Crime and Punishment" - CBS has revealed an extension of its own hit crime drama, "CSI," in the form of "CSI: Miami." Thankfully, as far as spinoffs go, "CSI: Miami" is not bad. In ** other words, it's CSI: nowhere near the atrocity that was, say, Mondays ai "Baywatch Nights." Nonetheless, the series CB premiere of "Miami" suffers due to its horribly improba- ble storyline, which drags down its more favorable elements. "NYPD Blue" alumni David Caruso and Kim Delaney star as crime scene investigators Horatio Caine and Megan Donner. Megan, formerly Horatio's boss, returns from a leave of absence to find, that Horatio is now ranked above her. Naturally, Caruso's character is a hard-boiled, go-with-your-gut detec- tive, whose hunches unfailingly Courtesyoif.CBS Khandi Alexander is going to Miami. A t iS conflict with Delaney's methodical, scientific approach. This is really old hat for anyone who has ever read a book or watched a movie, or gotten out of bed, for that matter. The lack of a truly dynamic rela- tionship between the two lead char- acters, or any of the expendable supporting actors, is truly disap- pointing. Considering the amount of talent in the cast, expectations were high. 1AMI Bear in mind that this is not a condemna- t 10 p.m. tion of "CSI: Miami," but the crime that was S investigated in the series premiere was laughable. Perhaps this will improve as the show continues, but the first episode was just ridiculous. For starters, the story centers around the crash of a company plane in the Everglades. Predictably, the plane was carrying executives of a corpo- ration suspected of cooking their books and Horatio can smell foul play from square one. After some investigation, it is revealed that a number of things went wrong on that flight. First, a rivet from the poorly constructed plane's door popped out, killing the pilot. But was this what brought the plane down? No. Actually, it was a shoe that did it. A shoe! An employee who was going to expose her boss's misdeeds at the deposition was pushed out of the airplane's door and her shoe got caught in the tur- bineethus causing the plane to crash. Of course, the CSI team was able to deduce all of this with rela- tive ease. The writers were really reaching on this one. "CSI: Miami" also includes a few too many cheeseball moments to allow it to be taken seriously. Although the performances are bor- Something about Reese Wither- spoon has been drawing audiences to her movies in a way that no other current young actress can. Lately, she has the charisma, the charm and the acting chops that originally had the public buzzing about Julia Roberts. She shines both on screen and off, making most women envi- ous of either her real life or those of the roles she plays. Right now, it seems that she can do no wrong. SWEET "Sweet Home Alaba- ALA ma" is one movie where her presence At Shom raises the entire quality Quay of the movie as her act- ing is superb and her Touc on-screen chemistry with Josh Lucas makes this the date movie of the year. Melanie Carmichael (Wither- spoon, "Election") has a life of which most women can only dream. With a blossoming career in fashion design and a boyfriend, Andrew (Patrick Dempsey, "Loverboy"), known as the most eligible bachelor in New York, how could she ask for anything more? But her world turns upside down after Andrew asks her to marry him in a proposal scene that will surely be remembered as one of the most impressive. After he kneels and tells her to pick any ring in the Tiffany's store, she apparently needs to keep the engagement a secret until she can clear unsettled business back home, in Alabama. When his mother (Candice Bergen), the mayor of New York and stereo- typical stuck-up Yankee, discovers the ring and accidentally flashes it to the ever-present press, Melanie's sit- uation becomes a little more press- ing than she had hoped. Finding herself swept back into the world she left behind, we quickly learn that this southern belle hides a checkered past. She has a husband that she must divorce before she can have this dream wedding. The only problem is that Jake (Josh Lucas, "American Psycho") wants her to remember her roots before signing the papers. In a whirlwind of old stories and older friends, Melanie soon reinvents her southern accent, B it ,hst ingly deadpan, Caruso manages to deliver one-liners that would make any viewer cringe. When a possible plane crash survivor is located, Hor- atio runs to the scene, shouting, "Stay with us!" which is followed by a commercial break. Worse yet is the somber scene where a corrupt busi- ness executive is found, having com- mitted suicide by hanging himself. Horatio looks up just to say, "You're really swingin' now, huh, Scott?" There are good things that can be said about "CSI: Miami" and they mostly concern the cinematography. Like the original "CSI," this is a Jerry Bruckheimer production and it shows. The opening plane crash scene looks good enough to have come out of "Behind Enemy Lines" or "Pearl Harbor," and the show is fast-paced and intense. While the special effects are generally impres- sive, at times the show becomes dumbed down because of their use. For example, whenever an investiga- tor finds a piece of evidence, it is magnified and the shot is held for a second to emphasize its relevance to the case. This patronization can be a little bit insulting, and makes "CSI: Miami" seem a little too much like "Blue's Clues" for its own good. This is a great-looking show, and will probably appeal to most avid fans of crime drama. Assuming that more chemistry will develop between the characters and that the writing will get more intelligent and less ridicu- lous, "CSI: Miami" has a lot of poten- tial. But generally speaking, isn't the whole crime drama ripoff/spinoff game getting a little bit old? recreates the days of felony Melanie, and offends all of her country bump- kin chums before she realizes what home used to be like. Everything hits her with a dose of modesty as she loses her yuppie, snobby edge and becomes willingly re-appropri- ated. Problems arise when her pack- age of lies that represented her life in New York surface in Alabama, where the charade continues. Her actions come full-circle, as she must decide whether to take action on her new feel- ings for Jake, whom she fell in love with as HOME a 10-year-old. AMA This film is a pleas- ant surprise of a light- case and hearted comedy. y 16 Enjoyable jokes and memorable characters. tone make the film one worth sitting through on a weekend date night. Wither- spoon is gorgeous with her southern accent, and her performance is exceptional. Josh Lucas is funny and has a classic down home style akin to Matthew McConaughey. Even the supporting roles are pleasing as they welcome everyone down for, a taste of the Deep South. Fred Ward, as Melanie's father, has some hilarious scenes; Ethan Embry draws laughs as an unconventional southern char- acter; and Candice Bergen is always funny in her sophisticated, high society mode. On the downside, however, the North versus South undercurrent sidetracks the romantic comedy aspect of the story. The film repeated- ly reminds viewers that history should be remembered but does so in a tiring fashion. Melanie is caught between her life in New York and past in Alabama, but everybody else fulfills some stereotype of their respective territory or profession, including a gay fashion designer. Although these do have their place in the film, direc- tor Andy Tennant ("Ever After") over- plays them to solicit laughter that only hinders the story. "Sweet Home Alabama" has little to stand on besides its performances and humor. Somewhere in the midst of a good idea, the predictable story is depleted with holes. Too much screen. time is spent with Melanie struggling inside, and not enough- attention is given to the multitude of complex characters and history around her. Great potential could have been reached, but Tennant and the writers settle for a simple, mind- less romantic comedy. It might not be the best film of the year, but the movie does leave view- ers with both a lingering good feel- ing and a smile. Courtesy of Touchstone Gosh she's hot. The UM School of Music 2002 HALLOWEEN CONCERTS Sunday, October 27 4:30 PM & 8:00 PM at the Michigan Theatre Due to Hill Auditorium's closure for renovations, tickets for this year's Halloween Concerts will not be sold by mail order. Tickets will go on sale in person and by phone at the League Ticket Office starting Tuesday, October 1, 2002. Tickets may be purchased by cash, check, and major credit cards. Limit 10 per customer. AA Airport Service FLAT rate to and from :Metro and all other airports CALL TODAY: 734-769-2645 Abbey Theater of Ireland Special Performance for Students Euripides' Medea Featuring Fiona Shaw Deborah Warner director Wed 10/168 pm Power Center 02/03 UMS Fall Season What do Alissa Karg, Ricky Wakabayashi, Scott Bowling, Pat Banthe, Matthew LeDuc and Scott Maki all have in common? They alt won tickets at LMS's Ding Day Raffle to the Abbey Theater's special Halloween Concert Tickets on Sale performance for students of Euripides'Medea. Miss the UMS Diag Day? Miss the Half-Price Student Wicket Sale?... Don't worry. Tickets for this special xf performance go on sale to UM students today at the Tuesday, October 1, 2002 League Ticket Office 911 N. University M-F 10am-6pm; Sat. 10am-1pm 734-764-2538 -