The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Wednesday, November 29, 2006 - 5A

Courtesy of Waere Bros.

"You know, this movie needs some bluegrass."

Intoxication, sex
and divorce

A mild 'Consideration'
MASTER OF THE MOCKUMENTARY BARELY BREAKS EVEN

By SARAH SCHWARTZ girls on a faux "TRL"-style set - the classic pit-
Daily Arts Writer falls of Hollywood.
If only Guest hadn't fallen as well. His previ-
Somewhere in the midsection of "For Your ous efforts, including "Waiting for Guffman,"
Consideration," everyone agrees the Oscars are "Best in Show" and the perennial favorite "Spinal
"the backbone of an indus- Tap" capitalized on stereotypical characters, but
try that has no backbone." ** those characters kept their human side as well.
It's an appropriate obser- The cast members in "For Your Consideration"
vation, considering the For Your are just the stereotypes - the actress who only
spinelessunravelingof any Consideration wants to be called by her character's name, the
group of actors the instant At the producer who doesn't want to be filmed from
someone says the magic Michigan Theater behind - without some gravitas to give them
words "Oscar buzz." Waroer Bros, substance.
Having covered rock In several inspired segments, Guest proves
stars, dog shows and community theater, actor/ he still has his comedic game down. Though
writer/director Christopher Guest ("A Mighty some bits are overused and tiring - a running
Wind") now takes on the movie industry with his gag of the aging actors' lack of knowledge about
signature mockumentry style. the internet quickly gets old - there's also a gay
Guest plays the director of "Home for Purim," makeup artist with a wife, a comment that a set
a touching tale of a Southern family with alesbian of lights are brighter than Stephen Hawking and
daughter and a dying mother that comes togeth- the idea that one can't "throw the baby out with
er for one last crank of the grager (noisemakers the bathwater because you'll get a wet, critically
used for the holiday). With a single mention of injured baby."
lead actress Marilyn Hack's (Catherine O'Hara, Familiar faces pop up, including Sandra Oh
"A Mighty Wind") Oscar-worthy performance, (TV's "Grey's Anatomy") and Ricky Gervis (the
the cast of "Purim" falls into disarray. Relation- U.K.'s "The Office"). But while Gervis plays well
ships fail, body parts get nipped and tucked and as the head of the studio coming off as a British
a 60-year-old man ends up grinding with young Harvey Weinstein, the rest aren't given much to

do. Guest is beloved in Hollywood and his mov-
ies have a cult-like following, but it's almost as
if these popular actors provided cameos just to
say they were ina Guest film instead of an actual
film.
The movie seems stifled, without the easy
improv feel which categorizes Guest's previous
films. That's not to say the actors didn't give it
their all: O'Hara deserves an Oscar nomination
for her workhere (ironic,no?), completely charm-
ing her way across the screen. And Fred Willard
("Anchorman") finds humor in the pain of others
as Chuck Porter, a reporter for an "Entertain-
ment Tonight"-like television show.
Plainly speaking, the whole idea of the awards-
show season, when looked at critically, is just
silly. Of course, if you're actually nominated, it's
a large honor and all the hoopla is well-deserved
and blah blah blah. But going on the promotional
circuit (from late-night television to radio) never
happens to these less-than-indie-budget film-
makers just thrust into the arena. The actors
of "Home. for Purim" (eventually turned into
"Home for Thanksgiving" to give it a wider audi-
ence) don't fit into the Hollywood award-show
world. They seem to just be doing it for the love
of the work itself.
What's wrong with that?

Pamela Anderson's annual
breakup came a little late
this year. After only three
months of marriage to Michigan's
proudest white-trash hick-hopper,
Kid Rock, the aging playmate filed
for divorce, citing irrec-
oncilable differences. -
Ironically, the two were
recently named GQ's
newlyweds of the year.
In a year of unexpected .
celebrity breakups,
this one comes as no
surprise to anyone with
a computer and a pen- PUNI
chant for home videos. M
According to the MAT]
New York Post's Page Six col-
umns, Kid Rock got visibly angry
after a private screening of
"Borat," yelling, "You're nothing
but a whore! You're a slut! How
could you do that movie?" in front
the other viewers. Bret Michaels,
Tommy Lee and now Kid Rock.
Anderson's slept with and broken
up with her own shit-metal band
and has the diseases to prove it.
"Headbanger's Ball" isn't a show;
it's what she wakes up next to
each morning.
Coming of her own trashy
divorce, Britney Spears is
attempting to resurrect what
little career and respectable
image she has left. She might
need a little guidance, however,
as she's turned to Paris Hilton
as her late-night party compan-
ion. It's indicative of Spears's
public freefall that she's latched
onto the despised Hilton to gain
some noteworthy press and
improve her image. Last time
she put herself next to a public-
ity-starved, moronic figure (with
dubious looks who spent all his
time siphoning money from
family members so they could
drink, smoke and dance), she got
divorced.
Fellow idol to prepubescent
girls with poor taste, Hilary Duff
recently ended her relationship
with Joel Madden of Good Char-
lotte. They started dating two
years ago when Duff was only 17,
and fortunately managed to avoid
any pop-punk collaboration that
would have easily found a home
in the interrogation chambers
of Guantanamo Bay. Madden
announced the breakup while
DJ-ing at a nightclub, and later
reports indicated that the age dif-
ference of nearly eight years was
a significant factor. The thrill just
goes away once they're legal.
Duff's weight loss during the

Jennys ready to 'Wail' at the Ark

relationship (score one for criti-
cal boyfriends) didn't come even
close to Nicole Richie's wither-
ing figure. The ugly one on "The
Simple Life" got into a recent
spat with her former stylist, who
purportedly encouraged
the weight drop. Richie
eventually realized her
problem and addressed
the issue, gaining some of
the pounds she had lost.
But even the most sympa-
thetic people cheered on
the annoying "actress" as
T she got smaller and small-
er, to the point where,
OO hopefully, she would just
disappear.
"30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan
inched closer to the eccentric per-
sona he plays on television with
his second DUI of the year. Rather
than facing prison for violating
his probation, he rejected a plea
deal and will face trial. Morgan
was stopped on New York's Hud-
son Parkway after a cop saw him
weaving between lanes. The cop
smelled booze on his breath, saw
the bloodshot eyes and decided to
Young, old or
divorced - it's all
the same.
charge.
Cops stopped another, less
famous TV personality earlier
this month. "Growing Up Gotti"
star, Frank Agnello, took enough
time to step away from reinforc-
ing any possible derogatory New
York Italian stereotypes to run a
red light. Agnello, who stood out
as the spoiled, perma-tan grand-
son of mafia Don John Gotti was
caught with weed, Oxycontin and
morphine in his 2006 Chrysler
Pacifica.
Let's see: John Gotti makes his
name by brutally intimidating
all enemies in order to become
New York's most powerful don
and inflates his image with gaudy
suits and cars. His grandson,
meanwhile, makes his name driv-
ing erratically in a soccer mom car
carrying fucking Rush Limbaugh's
drug of choice.
THUG. FOR. LIFE.
- Mattoo will be the first
Arts writer to score a date
with Paris Hilton. E-mail him
at mattoop@umich.edu.

By ANNA ASH the class
For the Daily the form
group Sc


This Thursday night The Ark
will be graced by the presence of
three of the most _
stunning female Wailin'
voices in folk JennyS
music. Not only Jennys
that, the women Tomorrow
will also be at 8 p.m.
armed with ban- $15
jos, guitars, har- At the Ark
monicas, fiddles
and mandolins.
That's right, The Wailin' Jennys
aren't just a trio of pretty, sing-
ing ladies, they're arguably three
of Canada's most distinguished
instrumentalists.
The Jennys feature Nicky Mehta
(guitar, harmonica and percus-
sion), who was nominated for a
Canadian Music Award for her
solo album Weather Vane in 2002.
Second up is Ruth Moody (guitar,
banjo, bodhran and accordion),

tually m
The new
Annabel
and man
with bot
Yo
Do
Ch
Dar Will
Sincet
which w
for best
The Wal
a conte
grass sos
Moody's
poetic, s
er menta

ically trained vocalist and incredible gospel-jazz alto voice.
er singer of the Canadian With their recent appearance
ruj MacDuhk(which even- on National Public Radio's Prai-
orphed into The Duhks). rie Home Companion, The Jennys
est member of the group, popularity in the states has begun
le Chvostek (guitar, fiddle to flourish, sending them and their
dolin), who has performed new album Firecracker on a widely
h Martha Wainwright and anticipated international tour.
Firecracker is the Jennys's sec-
ond album, but it's the first with
)u like folk? new member Chvostek rounding
out the trio instead of founding
esn't matter. member Cara Luft, who left the
group in 2004 to pursue her solo
eck em out. career. The album is a prime exam-
ple of what happens when three
gifted individual musicians col-
liams. laborate to form one phenomenal
their first album, 40 Days, musical group. Each member con-
on a Juno award in 2005 tributes four songs to the album,
roots/traditional album, each taking her turn on lead vocals
ilin' Jennys have crafted and interjecting her own distinct
emporary country/blue- songwriting style. The result is a
and that openly embraces piece of art that reminds you just
Celtic roots, Mehta's how brilliant folk music can be and
ometimes-dark songwrit- how goddamn beautiful female
ality and now Chvostek's harmony really is.


And fortunately the Jennys tal-
ent isn't being ignored. Firecracker
earned the group nominations for
best vocal group and best contem-
porary album at the Canadian Folk
Music Awards.
If Alison Krauss and Gil-
lian Welch's harmonies on the
"O Brother Where Art Thou"
soundtrack left you slack-jawed
and momentarily breathless, then
these deft vocalists will surely
make you appreciate the delicacies
of three-part harmonies. While
their music may rely heavily on
country roots, Moody, Mehta and
Chvostek (soprano, mezzo and
alto, respectively) are musicians
who know exactly how to use har-
mony without sounding like a trio
of twangy Southern belles.
Their voices are gorgeous, their
lyrics are thought-provoking and
their instrumentation is diverse.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the
music starts at 8. Tickets are avail-
able at the door and online.

- " 'A W A Y S " emaijonethenecto-com
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