The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 9A
"That's how you make babies?"
MADAGASCAR
From Page 5A
Wait for the scene where they have plane-con-
struction labor struggles with monkeys, a bit like
real-life labor politics. (The first film was all about
balls-to-the-wall sight gags and showcasing pen-
guins.) And the swimming birds are back in force;
look for them hijacking trucks at break-neck speed.
This time around, though, the ante is upped with con-
stant gags, better joke timing and fewer manipulative
themes. Unlike the original, the ideas don't have to
be spelled out at the end - you can figure them out
on your own.
Julien the lemur has great, subtle one-liners allud-
ing to contemporary class struggles and airport secu-
rity. To stop a pest child from getting on his plane,
Julien screams: "Stop him! He has scissors and hand-
cream!" The penguins showboat yet again as they get
all the best jokes in the film. And the best part? The
best lines aren't spoiled in the previews.
With "Madagascar," one has to wonder if the age-
old cartoon allusions are understandable or relevant
anymore. Everyone's heard "The Good, The Bad &
The Ugly" theme used in a joking context, likely in
a cartoon (it was even used in a trailer before this
movie). But how many eight-year-olds will know
where it comes from? Is playing "Copacabana" by
Barry Manilow funny for tots?
Also, parents are now in their 30s and 40s, mean-
ing they're late 1960s to 1970s children. They likely
haven't seen "Breakfast at Tiffany's." And with cer-
tain lines - like a monkey saying someone looks like
"Breakfast" 's lead actor George Peppard - one won-
ders: Who's this film for: weird critics who actually
care about what directors enjoy making note of? No,
"Madagascar" is a cute and funny film that's actually
a little better than the first. Yeah, it's kids' stuff, but
at least it's pleasant.
POW
From Page 5A
stomach with a little sudden mill,"
and milk as "climb up in sight
climb in the whole utter needles
and a guess a whole guess is hang-
ing." She presents the idea of tak-
ing the immediate world around
her and making it into art by see-
ingit through a new lens.
Poet Frank O'Hara wrote about
the same power of recognizable
objects in his poem "Today," which
begins with a rag-tag list of objects:
"Oh! kangaroos, sequins, chocolate
sodas! /You really are beautiful!
Pearls, /harmonicas, jujubes, aspi-
rins!" The poetic list creates vivid
images of childhood, and walking
along the pavement to visit the
corner stores that sell such 99-cent
objects. O'Hara is aware of the
power of conjuring these powerful
cultural images when he writes,
"These things are with us every
day /even on beachheads and biers.
They /do have meaning. They're
strong as rocks." We may perceive
the inaccessible, the expensive
and the superfluous as "artsy"
or culturally important. But for
Ginsberg as low
culture? Hardly.
Frank O'Hara, everything we deem
ordinary or mundane, everything
that is recognizable to us, boring or
seen-before is significant.
Maybe we've gotten this all
wrong. It's not the haute couture
that should be catching our atten-
tion, not the desirability of catwalk
bodices glittering in a way that
only millionaires could afford.
What we should be looking for
are the ketchup-stained aprons of
diner waitresses, the arm tattoos
of the Fleetwood chef frying up
hash browns for hungry, hung-
over customers at ten o'clock on a
Sunday morning.
A lot of the celebrated contem-
porary art around us has substan-
tial roots in Americana and all
the word entails, including grimy
kitchens and chain-smoking diner
patrons. The idea of"low" art
should be reconsidered. There's
nothing "low" about Stein, O'Hara,
Ginsberg or Dylan, and, if this is
true, there's nothing "low" about
apple pie, skull tattoos, deep-dish
pizzas and licorice - the images
these artists likely grew up with
and lived with. In order to create
art, we take from what is around
us, what is accessible to us - nico-
tine and caffeine included.
Pow just got a Fleetwood tattoo. It's
rad. E-mail her at poww@umich.edu.
THE SMITHS
From Page 5A
formula: Morrissey's captivating lyrical wit. Tracks
like "Handsome Devil" ("A boy in the bush / is worth
two in the hand") perfectly illustrate how he twisted
and contorted the energy of punk until it fit his eccen-
tric, introverted and sexually ambiguous persona.
Admittedly, it can often be hard to tell where Mor-
rissey's sincerity ends and comical self-parody begins
- a problem that's given The Smiths an unfortunate
reputation as proto-emo. But even on his more sub-
par efforts, Morrissey hits notes of both humor and
raw honesty that his supposed followers could never
reach. Fallout Boy's Patrick Stump would do well to
listen to The Sound and contemplate retirement.
The second CD, sold as part of the "deluxe set,"
offers a number of intriguing B-sides and live trucks.
Among the more notable is a live version of "Meat is
Murder," on which Morrissey's strained vocals make
a more compelling case than they do on the studio
cut. For those who are well acquainted with "The Boy
with the Thorn in His Side," these lesser-known gems
will be the most intriguing aspect of The Sound.
As with any compilation, it's possible to nitpick
about questionable inclusions ("Money Changes
Everything") and conspicuous omissions ("I Know
It's Over"). It's debatable whether the album ulti-
mately justifies its own existence, but it seems to more
than most of the band's previous compilations.
TheSoundofTheSmithsgathers up allof The Smiths
that most people will need. It also does it at a price
equal to three of the band's original studio albums
at a used record store. It's an excellent summary of
a legendary band, and those new to The Smiths can't
go wrong in taking a listen - but they could do even
better with The Queen is Dead.
Yeah, he makes us uncomfortable too.