ARTS The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 7, 2004 - 11A Period piece romances audiences By Jennie Adler Daily Arts Writer In "Vanity Fair," set in 19th century London, Reese Witherspoon perfects her British accent playing the part of Becky Sharp, a governess and social climber. Amid the war-immersed early 19th century, Sharp marries and fraternizes to make the most for herself, ditching her impoverished roots. Along the way she attracts a long list of male followers. But luckily, Sharp has wit and will as her best friends that Vanity Fair At Showcase and Quality 16 Focus Features not only make her the heroine, but also a good candidate for the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. Based on William Thackeray's juicy and insightful 1847 novel, writers Matthew Faulk, Mark Skeet and Julian Fellowes ("Gosford Park") all try their pens at adaptation, adding to the pre-existing five plus versions. Thackeray wrote about spoiled and deceitful - yet enticing - characters. But, on screen in the 21st century, the characters are muted and too easily fall out of character. Faulk, Skeet and Fellowes tease the audience's emotions with false love and betrayal. A feast for the eyes, Mira Nair's ("Monsoon Wedding") direction of "Vanity Fair" offers heaping spoonfuls of rich colorful decadence and style. Throughout the film, colors are used as symbols and moods. Sharp is rarely seen without her signature red hue either painted on her lips or accentuating her vixenish figure. Nair adds her own personal Eastern influences to rigid British society. The most honest emotion Sharp shows in the entire film is after eating a chili from India. Not only do the bright saturated colors stand out, but the choreography as well - each character steps with a personality. Close-ups and low shots are utilized well to show detail in the characters. There are almost as many shots of high society stepping out of carriages as there are close-ups of Sharp's lips. "Vanity Fair" is a movie made for actors. Although some scenes seem solely plot driven, the dialogue and emotional outbursts claim the two hours. All of the ensemble does a good enough job being loathesome, but Gabriel Byrne's ("The Usual Suspects") The Marquess of Steyne and Jonathan Rhys Meyers's ("Bend it Like Beckham") George Osborne are particularly haunting. The social group is so amoral that do- gooder and believer in true-love William Dobbin (Rhys Ifans) is nauseatingly dense. The story has a well-balanced mix of humor and drama that is embodied by the two old male characters Bob Hoskins (Mr. Pitt) and Jim Broadbendt (Mr. Osborne). Witherspoon is exceptional down to the very last coy smile. Finally in a mature role, she man- ages to employ charm and humor to Sharp's character in just enough subtleties to make her likable but salacious. Although Thackeray's novel develops the char- acters and gets racy while Nair's version seems PG, the film is never boring and always beautiful to watch. Respect my authoritay! 'The Cookout' fails to stir up laughs Courtesy of Lions Gate By Zac Peskowitz Daily Arts Writer l l Courtesy of Focus Features A little lower... New edition of 'Rounders' flops a strong hand By Adam Rottenberg Daily Arts Editor Poker has exploded onto the airwaves and into homes across the country. In an attempt to capitalize on this growing fad, Miramax is re-releasing its Texas hold 'em classic "Rounders." The game takes center stage in "Rounders." After Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) goes "all-in" and loses his life savings, he retires from gam- bling and shifts his focus to law school. However, when his childhood friend Worm (Edward Norton) is released from jail, he needs Rounders: Mike's help to win Collector's enough money to Edition pay off his debts. Miramax The film really takes off once Mike and Worm begin making their way through the tables, winning money from suckers. Interspersed throughout is dialogue that is both witty and infor- mative about the nature of cards and its impact on the characters. While often humorous, the respect "Rounders" shows towards the game creates the appropriate atmosphere for what could otherwise be a hokey plot. The movie reinforces the rules and the skill involved, reminding viewers of the way poker is supposed to be played and why the characters are so good at it. The performances of the actors are strong throughout. Especially notewor- thy is John Malkovic as Teddy KGB, the idiosyncratic Russian who runs a grind house game. His character is unique and provides an evil foil for Damon's interesting, the track really falters dur- ing the more romantic and dramatic moments of the film. Additionally, these poker players offer tips on how to play the game better in a series of vignettes, which isn't worth the work for viewers to fight through the clunky menus. There is a featurette that goes behind the scenes, but it doesn't offer that much new or exciting for viewers. In addi- tion, the picture and sound quality are markedly improved over the previous release. "Rounders" is a solid movie that does its subject justice. It may only be get- ting the special-edition treatment as an attempt to cash in on poker's popular- ity, but this edition is a huge upgrade over the previous release. Though not entirely satisfying, at least Miramax tried to do something a little different with the extras by putting actual profes- sional card players into the DVD. In an attempt to lend a measure of authenticity to an otherwise ersatz production, "The Cookout" is book- ended by touching images from a fam- ily's photo album. The film strives to be a meditation on the importance of family, but falls far short of its goal, devolving into a hash of shopworn premises, stilted performances and The Cookout saccharine music. A Todd Andersen, At Quality 16 played by Storm Lions Gate Films P in a debut per- formance, is a basketball star at Rut- gers who wins himself a $30 million contract as the freshly minted No. 1 draft pick. Despite pledging to remain humble, Andersen quickly parlays his newfound wealth into a Mercedes M Class, a nubile girlfriend, a home in a New Jersey subdivision and an Eng- lish butler who can cook up a mean helping of soul food. Ensnared at the vortex of stardom and wealth, Ander- sen loses his moorings. The film pro- ceeds to veer off in a fit of sententious preaching on the merits of familial devotion and respect for one's roots. Eventually, Andersen's family of eccentrics will remind him what real- ly matters in life and save him from the temptations of fame. The entire production looks and feels like a sitcom that an undisci- plined director simply forgot to termi- nate after a half hour of running time. The quirky family members lack zest and the script relies on retread stereo- types. Needless to say, stoner cousins, senile grandparents and backwoods bumpkins populate the ranks of the Andersen clan. The script has a few jokes that might elicit a grin, but fails to venture off to the land of the laugh out loud. The acting consistently dis- appoints and the film falls back on a tortured plot device and an uncon- vincing rendition of a tyro hustler by Ja Rule to reach its climactic scene. But what "The Cookout" lacks in script, acting, directing and soundtrack it more than makes up in a surfeit of scatological humor. The script is pep- pered with mordant one-liners like "that don't smell like feet, that smells like ass" and zany plot twists like the time two stranded motorists get a lift from a manure salesman. This brand of hilarity provides little comedic punch to an already thin script. In the film's most serious disap- pointment, three extremely capa- ble performers - Queen Latifah, Tim Meadows and Danny Glover - all contribute lackluster efforts. In a performance that channels the gopher-obsessed Carl Spackler of "Caddyshack" fame, Queen Lati- fah plays a megalomaniacal security guard with an unhealthy fixation on the subdivision's rules and regula- tions. Tim Meadows struggles to inject an iota of believability into his role as Uncle Leroy, a conspiracy the- orist who believes his experience fail- ing the bar exam 14 times has granted him expertise in the field of jurispru- dence. Danny Glover gives a dada per- formance as a judge with a penchant for marijuana and classical music. It's impossible to blame the trio for their inability to enliven the film when they are given such tired material to work with. Their failures stand as monu- ment to the hopelessness at the center of "The Cookout." Professional athletes at their finest. protagonist. Whereas the previous DVD was a lackluster effort featuring no special features, the new edition takes advan- tage of the pop-culture sensation that competitive poker has become. In addi- tion to an engaging commentary track with the director, screenwriter and Norton, there is an additional feature- length commentary with four profes- sional players. While their thoughts on the actual card playing in the movie are Movie: **** Picture/Sound: **** Features: *** a *1 gold- bond cleaners Quality Dry Cleaning and Shirt Service 332 Maynard St. across from Nickels Arcade 668-6335 668-7017 Voted #1 Textbook Store '4 Bookstore School Supplies, Electronics Software, and more. Come and see why we are the fest bookstore in town. (nvreniently IoQited at the corner of 1. University and . 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