8A -The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 25, 2006 'Windy City' [ A wannab4 By Kristin MacDonald Daily Film Editor Can this possibly be real? Grant- ed, Holly- wood has . its share of naive, self- important buffoons - (see every 1 Will Ferrell character ever created), x but "Scary" Perry Kara- MOVIE: vello, or at ** least the SPECIAL FEATURES: incarna- tion of him * presented Windy City in Com- Heat edy Central's Comedy Central "Windy City Heat:' takes the cake. And probably eats it whole in a single slobbery bite. Perry's hair is shoulder-length, dry and frazzled out like an '80s pop star. Despite his insistent tough-guy fagade, he's pudgily out of shape, and his preferred attire, whether in character or not, is a beaten-up leather jacket and a flattened, over- sized fedora. His nose has a proud Italian hook to it, although his face's most standout features are without doubt his large eyes and even larger mouth, both of which flare to double their normal size with many sudden bursts of nasal, shrieky, playground- lite anger. Perry may fancy himself the neighborhood bulldog, but he's got a puppy's bark and nothing close to bite. This man is either the world's most committed actor or its most pitifully deluded one. The movie wants you to believe the latter. A full-time ignoramus and wanna- be movie star ("a star more than an actor," he confidently affirms), Perry has just landed his big break, courtesy of a smug line-up of Com- edy Central B-List favorites. It's a giant joke leading Perry from the movie's fake casting call to its even faker final premiere, and every one on screen is in on it except him. His "starring role" is Stone Fury, a hard-boiled Chicago detective, and it should tell you enough about Perry that he thinks the charac- ter name is the unironic ultimate in cool instead of a Steven Segal reject. Perry also doesn't balk at performing his opening film-noir monologue on a moving conveyer belt in front of a blue-screen, but then again, he thinks he's beaten out Bruce Willis, Arnold and Car- son Daly for the part. He also thinks those three names don't sound odd together. Perry is absolutely clue- less, and he's absolutely hysterical. It's too bad the rest of the cast - and they're professional comedi- ans! - is so painfully not. It's hard to watch more than 10 minutes of this giant prank at a time, since the sup- porting players have little more to do than just coast along and watch the perpetual car accident that is Scary Perry. Picture him as an old beat-up Toyota hitting every single parking meter on a long stretch of sidewalk - he hits one, backs up, starts again and hits another, the whole process so repetitive that pretty soon you're cov- ering your own eyes and wincing. Normally, of course, you might actually feel sorry for such an obvi- ous dupe, but Perry's spectacular ignorance extends to all realms of life. He doesn't bat an eye at the "casting director" named Roman Polanski or the "PA" named Susan B. Anthony (although he certainly gets a happy eyeful of her absurdly padded chest), and his blatant homophobia runs unchecked. When he gets real shit thrown in his face for one scene, it's not funny just because he's naive enough to take it in stride - he's naive enough to deserve it. "Windy City Heat" is the title of Perry's supposed movie; to this day, it seems he still believes it was made and was successful. His total disconnect with the concrete reality of being continuously made fun of is mind-boggling, and provides such a perfect set-up for the ultimate in meta-comedy that its waste here is frustrating. The extras are bet- ter than the actual film simply for their brevity - in fact, they're all you need to watch. The movie itself required editing with all the polish of its root concept; it could only say something about the comedy of self- awareness by taking it seriously. 4 What a misleadingly tame photo for this movie. Not a body fluid in sight. SHOCK AND AWESOME SECOND HELPING OF JACKASS' MORE THAN WELCOME By Blake Goble Daily Arts Writer Mel Brooks once said something to the effect that tragedy is when a man cuts his finger. Comedy is when he falls into an open manhole and dies. "Jackass: Number Two" falls head- first into that manhole. But when it falls, it falls with a hook in its mouth, a foot in its balls and feces all over the place. In a total affront to good taste and maturity, the nine boys of MTV's "Jackass" are back and as harebrained as ever. But they've gotten older. If "Num- ber Two" isn't a rapid-fire slug-out like "Jackass The Movie," it's only because it lingers on the real hurting. Weath- ered and more fragile with age, Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam ("Sociopath") Margera and other favorites retake the screen in far more breakable condition. They cry, they pant, they hold them- selves in pain. Yes, they're still seeing who can pull the craziest stunts, but this time it feels more distressing. It feels dangerous. Nude midgets. Rocket rides. Horny old people. Poo-eat- ing. Branding. An explosive musical finale. That's just a fraction of masoch- istic man-boy action in "Number Two." These nine guys may just never grow, up. Even the title is a * bad poop joke. Jackass: The fact is, the Number Two boys of "Jackass" have forced them- A theQh 1case selves into torment a for life. Getting Paramount rushed by a yak is what Johnny Knoxville is going to be remembered for, just as Ehren McGhe- hey will live on forever dressed up as an Arab with a pubic-hair beard. At one point, Barn Margera even whines that he's sick of all the "Jackass" buffoonery. He wants to stop exploiting his body for cheap thrills. And yet, the lunatic in him keeps coming back for more. Maybe Margera wishes he went to college, just like Ryan Dunn tries to imagine life without having ever used heroin. Dave England wants hospital vis- its to no longer be the norm. After the most repulsive moment in the film (abso- lutely unmentionable even in any public forum), Chris Pontius finally states that he's completely ashamed of himself. Like the rest of them, he should be. As long as they keep doing it, we'll keep watching. And laughing. There are still people in this world who actually find a football in the groin very funny (name- ly, me). And yes, there are about a couple thousand YouTube videos for these stunts. But damn it, "Jackass" still does dumb shit better than anyone. It's OK to laugh at their expense. They're asking for it. A 'Flyboys' a safe flight By Christina Choi Daily Arts Writer Unlike most war movies, "Fly- Off into the sunset. boys" doesn't unfold to the sound of ever created. furious gunfire in a corpse-riddled Despite the big explosions and battlefield. It smooth digital effects, "Flyboys" begins with a doesn't bank on its uneventful fight- cowboy. ing scenes. It's the characters that James define the film. Franco (fresh A son (Tyler Labine, "Aurora from his box- Borealis") tries to win his way back ing days at into his aristocratic father's good "Annapolis") graces. A devout pilot (newcomer plays Blaine Pip Pickering) sings hymns to focus Rawlings, an while in the air. A hardened veteran all-Ameri- (Martin Henderson, "Torque") can't can farm boy help but see a younger version of who enlists himself in Rawling's idealistic com- in the French Flyboys mitment to honor. military dur- At the Showcase None of the fighters are perfect ing World and Quality 16 -- their idiosyncrasies are realistic War I to MGM enough that their inexperience is avoid getting painful to watch. This is the rare type arrested for of action flick that actually wants you instigating a brawl in his hometown. to care about who lives or dies. He becomes a part of the historic But it's still a product of Holly- Lafayette Escadrille, a group of eager wood and not the History Channel. young Americans who have no idea There are cinematically unrealistic what lies ahead as they learn how to moments where all battle tactics are pilot some of the first fighter planes tossed aside in favor of highly drama- tized one-on-one pilot showdowns. In true "Top Gun" style, fighters careen Study Participants toward each other in the ultimate contest of chicken; eventually, the W ante d peacock with the brightest feathers (in this case the Germans) wins and a convenient moment of orchestral 4 tragedy ensues. The film also has its fair share of contrived storylines. As the branded hero, Rawlings is able to survive a crash, wake up in a brothel filled with beautiful women and then quickly fall in love with a sweetly inno- cent French girl, Lucienne (Jennifer Decker), all inthe same day. Aside from the obligatory hero/ damsel-in-distress romance, there's also a racially charged side plot with Labine's character Briggs Lawry. He politely objects to rooming with a black comrade, Skinner (Abdul Salls, "Sahara"), because that would mean "sleeping with the servants." Later, of course, Skinner winds up saving his life and the two make up over a bottle of 100-year-old brandy. And as unoriginal as this lesson is, at least there's some booze and genuine fel- lowship involved. Despite these conventions, "Fly- boys" wisely fixates on showing how human its characters are rather than how cold a war can be. This creates a film that's oddly devoid of political bias, where even the Germans are painted as surprisingly docile. Per- haps the scenes in which we witness them being shockingly gracious to their enemies are meant to be a tell- ing statement in itself. I We are an investment bank with an energetic, entrepreneurial culture that sets us apart from the typical bulge bracket banking firm. We specialize in the growth sectors of the economy with a particular focus on the technology, healthcare and consumer industries. Our seasoned professionals have a strong track record of servicing growth-oriented corporations and investors and are recognized for their deep industry knowledge and world class execution. Join our team in either Investment Banking or Equity Research and accelerate your financial career. Please submit your resume and cover letter through Career Center Connector on the Career Center website by October 2nd, 2006. Phone interviews will be conducted in lieu of on-campus interviews. The University of Michigan Department of Dermatology is enrolling psoriasis patients (cases) and normal controls for a genetics study [IRBMED 1990-0381]. This type of study requires that the cases and the controls have a similar ethnic makeup. At this time we have openings for psoriasis patients of all ethnicities and adult controls of White and Hispanic ancestry. Additional :riteria also apply. Participants will provide about one ounce of blood, and will be paid $24. Please call_800-356-2840. Because... a summer internship i WashingtonP.C. just miiht change your life. PSIP Mass Meetings: Wednesday, 9/27, 5:30-6:30pm or Friday, 9/29, 12:00-1:00pm e The Careerllenter, $200 SAP www.areereeter.smih.edu/students/flndinginternship/psip/psip.htl The C.rareerCenter I A14 4