2B - Thursday, September 13, 2007

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

THE ESSENTIALS: WEEKEND MUSTS

* AT 308 S. STATE ST.

0 ON CAMPUS

The Studio Go out and tell
and the Lab: the what happened

us

intersectilonof
Art and Science"
It's just as its title says. But
this exhibit and its pieces
aren't so simple. As the heav-
ily belabored placards imply,
there is a sophisticated air of
interpretation and innova-
tion throughout the works.
There exists on another level a
certain quirkiness, where seri-
ous science is laced with the
peculiar, the personal and the
fantastic.
O AT THE RECORD STORE

To all of you 24-hour party
people (God bless you, Tony
Wilson): Remember to e-mail
Daily Arts' new party and
events column, High Society,
at highsociety@umich.edu
with updates on your riotous
weekends - and weekdays, too.
We've already heard about a
number of toga-themed parties
on South Campus, so we expect
to hear your stories about get-
ting sloshed on ambrosia and
reminiscing about Pelopon-
nesian War battles. Or just
crazyshit going down at Rick's.
COURTESY
OF COLUMBIA

TH E V 'AFT FIVE EASY PIECES' (1970)
A cab to the unknown

CALENDAR4
The Daily Arts guide to the
next week's events
Today 9.13.07
The Bloids with Novada,
Cardif Giants and Ceton
Clawson Revolution
9:30 p.m.
$6/$9 under 21
At The Blind Pig
Demetrius Nicodemus
8 p.m.
$5-$10
At the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase
Tomorrow 9.14.07
CSAS Scholarly Lecture Series
(Manishita Dass)
5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Free
At the School of Social Work, Room 1636
On the Road to Asia: UMS
Fundraiser
6 p.m.
$60
At the BiomedicalScience
Research Building
Saturday 9.15.07
Dylan Fest
8 p.m.
$10/$13 under 21
At The Blind Pig

By NORA FELDHUSEN
Daily Arts Writer
The Jack Nicholson of 1970 isn't
too different from today's, albeit a
little sexier and with more hair. In
"Five Easy Pieces" he flaunts that
full head as a young man, Robert
Dupea, on the search for something
"real." Befitting such an earnest
protagonist, Dupeagoes on the hunt
for this realness by abandoning his
privileged family and working in an
oil field. But even with all that drill-
ing, he can't shed his restlessness.
Dupea invites comparison to
that iconic figure of youthful angst,
Holden Caulfield. Escaping from an
upper-class lifestyle - his family
consists of concert pianists who live
on an island off Washington state
- Dupea is on a spiritual search
for mediocrity. Too frightened to
examine the roots of his anger, he

continues to look in all the wrong
places.
Karen Black is fantastic as
a neglected girl-toy hopelessly
devoted to her man. (Interestingly
enough, Black also plays The Mon-
key to Alex Portnoy in the 1972 pro-
duction of "Portnoy's Complaint."
There's something about her that
screams "Disrespect me.")
Portnoy and Dupea have a lot in
common. It's easy to have a false
feeling of superiority when you sur-
round yourself with people whose
ideas you believe, but know to be
less intelligent thanyourself. Is this
Dupea's idea of "real"? Hanging out
with down-to-earth, blue-collar
types, just to step all over them?
Dupea's experience is quintes-
sential for our age. Doesn't every
young, idealistic 20-something
want to shed his material goods
for a more rustic and fulfilling life-

style? But it's not as easy as taking
a job in an oil field and dating a
waitress who's never left her home-
town. There is self-reflection and
examination involved - the exact
obligations Dupea dodges.
If he comes across as someone
who understands his insecurity
beyond the condescending exte-
rior, Dupea just keeps moving.
And that's the moral: He just keeps
moving. Whether it's uplifting or
depressing, he never changes; he
ignores the truths he learns on
the road, and his pretensions and
stubbornness persist. As a viewer
you feel somewhat disappointed
he might never see through his
ways. But if you search beyond that,
there's a little envy lurking behind
that disappointment as we watch
him spontaneously hop up into that
cab and head off, once again, into
the unknown.

Sunday 9.16.07


Natalla Zukerman and
Nervous But Excited
7:30 p.m.
$15/$20
At the Ark
College Radio Station
Orientation: Become a DJ
at WCBN
4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Free
At the Student Activities Building
Monday 9.17.07
Redman
9:30 p m.
$25
At The Blind Pig
Please send all press releases
and event information to
artspage@michigandaily.com.

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