Friday October 4, 2002 michigandaily.com/arts mae@michigandaily.com iRTS 5 11 Kieran Culkin makes 'Igby Goes Down' a wonderful film By Stephanie Kapera For the Daily In "Igby Goes Down," Igby (Kieran Culkin, "Nowhere to Run") has a "Home Alone 2" moment. While checking into the O'Hare Holiday Inn with his mom's Visa, young Igby arouses suspicion from a clerk wanting to know where his mother his, and why he doesn't have a reservation. Why he forgot to bring his Deluxe Talkboy, we'll never know. Written and directed by Burt Steers, "Igby Goes Down" is a fun and often tragic satire about a young boy's attempts to keep his head above water. With a schizophrenic father (Bill Pullman, " "Spaceballs"), a speed-addicted mother (Susan Sarandon), and a chillingly slimy older brother (Ryan Phillipe), Igby has to IGBY work pretty hard to avoid going down. "Igby" opens just after the title character has been kicked out of his sixth East coast At Shom boarding school, leaving his mother Mimi no other choice but to happily send him away to Qua military school. Unfortunately, Igby's pot Unite habit does not go over well with the Sergeants and Commanders, and his bloodshot eyes soon get him beat up in a scene so sad that we can't help but be on his side for the rest of the film. As a child, Igby (played briefly by Rory Culkin, "Signs") witnesses his father having a nervous breakdown; this inci- dent, which plants seeds of fear in the little boy, is offered as the catalyst for Igby's live-in-the-moment philosophy. Terrified that he'll one day go nuts just like his old man, Igby makes sure to be wholly himself at all times, saying and doing exactly as he pleases. This bravery makes for excellent, snappy dialogue, full of the kinds of comebacks you usually only think of three days after an argument. Ot d f Igby's escape from military school lands him in the Man- hattan loft of his godfather's slutty mistress Rachel (Aman- da Peet "The Whole Nine Yards"), who he befriended while working construction on her apartment over the summer. A romance with "nymphomanical JAP" Sookie Sapperstein (Claire Danes), who shares his love of dime bags and water balloons, soon follows. As Igby traipses through Manhat- tan, wading through the messes made by this curious cast of prodigies and eccentrics, he manages to earn both our sympathy and our respect. As Igby, Kieran Culkin captures what we love best about Holden Caulfield, adding bite and wis- dom of his own. The result, though it echoes Salinger's innocent character with an intoler- ance for phonies, is an entirely new kind of GOES aberrant teenager. In a wonderful scene with a psychiatrist, Culkin's performance is so WN natural it doesn't even seem like acting. He ase and makes Igby into a cool Holden Caulfield. t 16 The rest of cast is excellent as well, and it's exciting to see them all together in one film. Artists Claire Danes, who hasn't been in anything for a long time, unfolds her character slowly, and as her relationship with Igby intensifies we can see clearly how she begins as a snappy, sex-obsessed vegetarian, only to reveal a torn, emotionally sporadic young woman behind that facade. Ryan Phillipe pulls a "Cruel Intentions" with his portrayal of stiff, loveless Oliver, and Susan Sarandon is regally neurotic as Igby's neglectful, abusive mother. Even though it is darkly comic and a bit sad at times, "Igby Goes Down" is a truly intellectual and fun movie, combining excellent writing with colorful acting to create a modern "Catcher In the Rye"-style classic. Courtesy of CBS Alfred Molina and the rest of the cast of "Bram and Alice" love Ricky Springfield. Brain and Alice is the worst nwe By Jim Schiff Daily Arts Writer A few months from now, when "Bram and Alice" is canceled, its producers will look back and think, "Where did we go wrong?" The answer is, of course, everywhere. The combination of sloppy writing, predictable storylines and over-the-top acting will hopefully claim "Bram and Alice" as one of the fall season's first victims. The problems begin with the show's artificial premise. Alfred Molina ("Boogie Nights") plays Brain Shepherd, a pompous Pulitzer Prize- winning author with a reputation for hard drinking and womanizing. Shepherd sulks around his lavish New York apartment' yelling at his assistant, Paul Newman (Roger Bart) and occasionally venturing downstairs to a bar, run by Michael (Michael Rispoli), a former Catholic priest. No bar would be complete without a boozehound, and "Bram and Alice" has * BRAM ALI Sundays at4 CB Grace." We've also seen the pretentious, egotistical intel- lectual far too many times, most notably with CBS' now defunct drama, "The Education of Max Bickford." The show's creators are obviously not striving for originality, but developing at least a few three-dimensional charac- ters should be a requirement. Even the worst of sitcoms can have quality acting, but not "Bram and Alice." Molina is easily the worst offend- er: Though he's British, his overly-enunciated English tongue is more suited to Tim Curry from "Clue," then say, an author who has lived in the U.S. for decades. Also, watching an unattractive, middle-aged man seduce 20-ish model types is simply unsettling - Molina's eye AND movements and gestures border on the dis- AND tasteful. He's clearly miscast: If CBS keeps CE "Bram and Alice," they should find a differ- 8:30 p.m. ent Bram. The supporting players don't fare much better. You have to feel bad for Traylor Howard as Alice, though. She's starred in a number of failed sitcoms, such as "Boston Common" and "Two Guys and a Girl," and this show will do little to break her out of "perky blonde" typecasting. Whatev- er laughs "Bram and Alice" does achieve come from Roger Bart, as Paul Newman. His comic timing is the best of the bunch - too bad he's only around so the other characters can poke fun at his name. "Bram and Alice" desperately wants to be funny, but it comes across as merely silly instead. It belongs in sit- com purgatory, along with most offerings from the WB and UPN, however it remains to be seen whether it will end up there. Following the inexplicably popular "Beck- er," "Bram and Alice" may simply ride on its lead-in's coattails. Hopefully viewers won't be cursed with such an undesirable fate. Katie (Katie Finneran), a self-centered woman with a mysterious Japanese boyfriend. If this premise sounds like a stretch, that's because it is. Unfortunately, the show only becomes more far- fetched with each passing minute. In the pilot episode, Alice O'Connor (Traylor Howard) pays Shepherd a visit, claiming to be a fan of his. But when he tries to seduce her, Alice claims that Shepherd is actually her father. He's obviously shocked by the news; he isn't too quick, however to embrace his long-lost daughter. We know Shepherd will eventually come around, but by the end of the pilot, it's unlikely anyone will care. Everything about "Bram and Alice" feels recycled from other sitcoms, especially Katie the barfly: She's simply a blonder. less-funny version of Karen from "Will & Courtesy of United Artists Kieran Culkin has come a long way from being the kid who wets the bed in "Home Alone." 'American Dreams' takes a look back at America in the '60s By Katie Marie Gates Daily Arts Writer Philadelphia, 1963: Two young girls wait outside in a long line dur- ing an exceptionally cold November. They have waited there before, and they will wait there again, all for the at the head of the table and runs his house strictly. The main storyline of the pilot revolves around 15-year-old Meg, (Brittany Snow, "Guiding Light") and her dream to dance on "American Bandstand." As the middle child, Meg vies for everyone's atten- tion but is upstaged by her older brother, JJ (Will Estes, "7th Heaven") chance to be audiencej "American Bandstand." With stars in their eyes and ringlets in their hair, they are among many trying to be something in the world, and to them, that means dancing with teenage idols on television for everyone tofsee. fIt was a different era members on AMERICAN DREAMS who decides he no longer wants to play football for Notre Dame as he and his father had always planned, and younger sister Patty, (Sarah Ramos) a nation- al Spelling Bee finalist. Despite her father's wishes, Meg makes it on "Bandstand" with the series to receive adequate attention. Hopefully, subsequent episodes will also deal with this subject. The program's major flaw is the opening credits. Pictures flash and aged footage similar to "The Wonder Years"f ; plays but a contemporary hit buzzes in the background. With music such an essential part of this drama, one won- ders why the theme song doesn't reflect the 1960s. Another questionable aspect of the pilot is the scene where Meg and Roxanne exchange their clothes in pub- lic, baring much more than a woman would at that time. Some might say the show is cheesy, because it is. There are moments we know never occur in households today, but it is nice to imagine that oneday they did. This series is much needed on a Sunday night, allowing us to for- get today's world and drift back to a W E NEVER TAKE time that was simpler. "American OS T to be an American, and keep us danc- ing along the way. Sundays at 8 p.m. NBC MASS MEETING for Comic Opera Guild's Beggars M Opera The 1728 musical satire that changed history. To be performed L February 13-16 in Mendelssohn Theater. SIGN UP FOR. - AUDITIONS " ORCHESTRA * TECH Monday, Oct. 7 Kessler Room, Michigan League Can't make the meeting but want to participate? Call 973-3264 or email: constu@comcast.net UM School of Music - Musical Theatre Dept. with generous support in part from the Directed by Mark Madama Musical Direction by Karl Shymanovitz Choreography by Beth Dukleth October 10-12 at 8pm - October 13 at 2pm Mendelssohn Theatre League Ticket Office 734.764.2538 Remember that rebellious stage you had in high-school? Parent- child conflicts have been happening since the beginning of time. in American history, a time when tele- phone calls cost a dime and instant replay on television was unheard of. A time of realizing the great possibilities of life in the United States, as Presi- dent Kennedy put it, a "time for new dreams, new frontiers, not just the ones of our fathers." NBC's new drama "American Dreams" gives us a glimpse in this important period of our history to entertain, remind and inspire us today. "American Dreams" tells the story of the Pryor family. The father, Jack (Tom Verica, "Providence") is an electronics store worker with four children and a stay at home wife, Helen (Gail O'Grady, "NYPD Blue"). She watches cooking shows and attends a women's book club, he sits help of her outgoing friend Roxanne (Vanessa Lengies, "Sponk"), and is asked to return as a regular. A fantastic soundtrack filters through the background of the scenes and in the months to come NBC promises more songs from the '60s and authentic "Bandstand" footage with a young Dick Clark (who also produces the show). The show is overflowing with potential as the storyline follows this Catholic family through the hardships of the nation and their own lives. In the final scenes of the first episode, President Kennedy is assassinated, leaving the cast in dismay. The shocking words on the television and tears as people gather together are reminiscent of the tragedies in today's world. However, this monu- mental event seemed premature in the