Friday March 10, 2006 arts.michigandaily.com artspage@mickigandaily.com Ra e ~ TSitt til 5 uourtesy Of Paramount "This new self-tanning spray gun is really sweet!" 'Failure' to entertain By Sarah Schwartz Daily Arts Writer Finally, a proper name has been given to the countless grown men who still live at home. They are no longer "slackers" or "losers." Instead, the movie "Failure to Launch" unites them under the title "adult children." Unable to leave the security of a world where par- ents cook, clean and Failure to Launch At the Showcase and Quality 16 Paramount take care of their every need, such men simply refuse to grow up. This may not seem like the makings of an ideal romantic leading man, but in the form of Trip (Matthew McConaughey, "Sahara"), this situation creates a fresh dynamic. But despite its somewhat clever premise, the movie relies too much on the typical romantic-comedy storyline to really take off. For Trip, taking the next step into adult- hood has been slow in coming. The solu- tion presents herself in the form of Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker, TV's "Sex and the City"), who simulates a romantic relation- ship with men like Trip. With her "pro- fessional" help, these men gain enough self-confidence to finally move out. Trip's parents Sue (Kathy Bates, "About Schmidt") and Al (Terry Bradshaw, "Robots"), desperate for their 35-year-old son to move out, recruit her services. At its heart, the movie is about two peo- ple both scared of the next step - but the obviousness of the plot's direction makes the audience completely indifferent to the way the characters get there. Free Ride' botches improv edge The movie does, however, give an interesting brand of relationship advice. By its logic, a relationship is a five-step process. Boy and girl meet cute, pretend to like everything the other likes, bond over an emotional crisis, get the nod from the friends and teach each other something. True, brevity suits the film's 96-minute length, but through this oversimplifica- tion, the story loses the romance in its romantic-comedy formula. Also by this formula, the audience should not be more interested in secondary characters then the romantic leads. Both Trip and Paula are beautiful and charm- ing, but their onscreen coupling fizzles, and it falls to the supporting cast to make up for this mismatch. Kit (Zooey Descha- nel, "Elf") steals every scene she's in. It's a bad sign when the audience is more interested in her problems with a mocking bird than with the chemistry between Trip and Paula. It doesn't help the protagonists any that castmembers Ace (Justin Bar- tha, "Gigli") and Demo (Bradley Cooper, "Wedding Crashers") have some of the best dialogue in the movie, either. The film is full of wasted potential. Besides the hilarious supporting charac- ters, it cleverly allows Trip to use his par- ents in a breakup. There's even an entire arc about Trip's lifestyle following a course contrary to nature, leading to attacks by a chipmunk, dolphin and lizard. McConaughey, for his part, pulls off the physical slapstick comedy without a hitch and there are some inspired lines ("I'll give you a Canadian Goose"). Terry Bradshaw even gets naked - it should have all come together. But it doesn't. "Adult children" is clever, even socially sensitive, but I'd just as soon call them slackers if it meant someone could reuse the premise for a better movie. DAILY ARTS. WEIRE KIND Courtesy of UMS Marc Bamuthi Joseph will per- form at the Power Center tonight at 8 p.m. SPEAK UP MARc BAmuvil JOSEPH BRINGS DYNAMIC PERFORtAANCE TO POWER CENTER By Andrew Klein Daily Fine Arts Editor Productions such as "The Laramie Project" and "The Vagina Monologues" stand as a few of today's most recognizable - and controversial - con- Word temporary dramas. In these shows, the stage functions Becomes not as a fictional sphere of Flesh escape, but as an outlet for Tonight at 8 p.m. human emotion, a barom- $32-12 eter of social progress and At the Power Center a flesh-and-blood blog of everyday life. Tonight at 8 p.m., the Power Center will bring renowned performer Marc Bamuthi Joseph and his spoken-word performance piece "Word Becomes Flesh," a multimedia memoir revolv- ing around an unplanned pregnancy and the internal struggle of a single father-to-be. A National Poetry Slam champion with sev- eral appearances on HBO's "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry," under his belt, Joseph has also written two performance pieces, Tony Award-winning "The Tap Dance Kid" and "Stand-Up Tragedy." By definition, spoken-word poetry is a form of performance art, and thus an extension of the body. Joseph's performance pieces are a fusion of bodily and verbal expression, as well as a throw- back to orally based dialogue and storytelling. Self-evolution through adversity, no mat- ter how eloquently expressed, is an inherently amorphous topic. But Joseph leaves behind nothing onstage. The performance is structured as a series of letters to his unborn son, a raw and emotive approach to a simple theme. A trio of bass, drums and guitar accompany Joseph's letters, expanding the story through rhythm and melody. "Word Becomes Flesh," The stage regardless of its intrinsic social commentary, does just not as a fil what its title proclaims: It tells the story of Joseph's personal sphere of trauma regarding unplanned pregnancy. but as anC "The Vagina Monologues" human en and "The Laramie Project" have the potential to over- a baromet whelm a casual viewer with linguistic reversals of slang, SOCial pro vitriolic announcements ofp independence and a mass of viewpoints told through a large ensemble of characters. In comparison, "Word Becomes Flesh" con- sists of one man and his struggle to come to terms with the hand life has dealt him. This premise is more intimate, more immedi- ate than the overreaching - but certainly still important - themes presented in "Laramie" and "Monologues." "Word Becomes Flesh" takes on an almost epic dimension, chronicling Joesph's personal and emotional transformation through speech and performance. While the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, the RC Players, Basement Arts and other prominent student theater groups uphold the image of theater as a grand arena of Shakespeare, magical realism, slapstick functions ctional escape, outlet for notion, er of gress. the serious and comedy and progressive writ- ing, performances such as the "Monologues" and "Laramie" create the biggest buzz because they enlighten, educate, call for social change and transcend the realm of theater as a venue of entertainment. They are commentaries on the here and now, the vital and the ignored, and this is what the public responds to. A powerful collaboration of poetry and performance the- ater, Joseph's "Word Becomes Flesh" is a must-see. For both the casual theatergoer, the per- By Mark Schultz Daily Arts Writer ur parents don't after college. Note to students: Yo want you to move back in OF ILIK ThE LAW LIBRARY. formance will be more than a treat for the ears and eyes - it's an example of contemporary theater at its best. While the ordeal of unplanned. pregnancy might not strike everyone as immediate or espe- cially urgent, Joseph's representation of the human condition - his own - is an experience not to be missed. But that doesn't seem to bother Nate Stahlings Free Ride (former theater star Josh Dean), the protagonist Sundays at of Fox's purported com- 9:30 edy "Free Ride." Decid- ing he isn't "majorly into" his major, Nate returns home to a fractured family. His parents, Margo (Loretta Fox, "Curb Your Enthusiasm") and Bob (Allan Havey, "Punk'd"), have started counseling, and their marriage isn't helped by the fact that Nate's stay might be more than temporary. Living at home is enough, but Nate takes a bigger hit when he finds his life is strikingly similar to that of crass Mark (Dave Sheridan, "The Devil's Rejects"), one of his former schoolmates. Confound- ing the situation is Amber Danwood (Erin Cahill, TV's "Power Rangers"), the cute former classmate who rekindles feelings of romance but is engaged to another old friend - which just makes thing worse. "Free Ride," described as a "partially improvised" sitcom, fails to pull off the deliciously awkward spontaneity that made shows like "Curb Your Enthusiasm" suc- cessful. Any improvised moments come off as forced, probably because they rest on of a cast of unknowns with less-than- spectacular acting skills. The improvised conversations also feel increasingly out of place when juxtaposed with the show's ridiculous situations and characters. At times, "Free Ride" feels like two directors' takes rammed together as one disjointed program. The sitcom's saving grace comes, sur- prisingly, in Mark. The typical bad boy with no future and questionable morals, he wok,c as cormedic foiil to level-heraded U So. You want one good reason to earn a pharmacy degree from t e University of M ichigan? Here are 12 good reasons, for starters: 1. Unparalleled career choices 2. Continuous growth potential 3. Job security in economically uncertain times 4. Unlimited opportunities to improve patients' lives 5. Outstanding pay 6. Life and career mobility 7. The power to apply medical knowledge at the forefront of technological innovation 8. Financial support unequalled by any other U.S. pharmacy school 9. Membership in an influential alumni network spanning the globe 10. The prestige of owning a degree from one of America's top- ranked pharmacy schools 11. Individualized learning with world-renowned faculty 12. Respect To learn more about the PharmD Program at the University of Michigan, 1.' . .