Wednesday, Jay 14, 1993 - The Michigan Daily Summer Weeky -9
Flashy 'F
By BRETT FORREST
The overall quality of Wolfgang
Petersen's ("Das Boot") "In The Line
Of Fire" is best stated by main charac-
ter, Frank Horrigan (Clint Eastwood)
when he describes himself as, "a bor-
derline burnout with questionable so-
In The Line Of Fire
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen; written
by Jeff Maguire; with Clint Eastwood,
John Malkovich and Rene Russo.
cial skills."
Itis difficulttocomprehend why so
many upstanding American citizens
are enjoying this film when the ratio of
plotholes to plausible happenings is
not unlike that of lettuce to meat on a
Big Mac.
"In The Line Of Fire" spins a tale
of vengeance and intrigue within the
structure of the U.S. Secret Service (a
setup last seen in the brash "To Live
And Die In L.A."). Screenwriter Jeff
Maguire utilizes Secret Service agent
Horrigan'sinvolvementinJFK's 1963
assassination in Dallas as a backdrop
for the character's now pained and
hidden persona.
Mitch Leary (John Malkovich)is a
crazedassanssingoneanti-Americawho
plans to take out the commander in
chiefduringtheheightofapresidential
'ire' fizzles out
campaign. Leary forges astrange rela-
tionshipwithHorriganthroughaseries
of phone conversations that deal with
Horrigan'sfailuretosaveJFKinDealey
Plaza.
The basic storyline is noteworthy,
delvingintoHorrigan'spsycheasLeary
attempts to draw likenesses between
the two men. Both characters agree
that the country used to be a different
place, a better place.
Leary is bent on exchanging his life
for the president's, while Horrigan
grapples with the same question every
Secret Service agent faces - whether
the president's life is more important
than his own.
Malkovich pulls offastunning por-
trayal of a psychopath who commits
horrid murders at the drop of a hat.
Eastwood's redemption-seeking rep-
resentation of Horrigan is quality as
well. And Rene Russo ("Lethal
Weapon 3") puts in a commendable
performance as the highly-capable
agentLily Raineswhofallsfor Horrigan
but must maintain her professional
obligations.
These performances are executed
in an entertaining and skillful manner,
but are wasted when placed in the
often-unbelievable narrative.
Consider this:
When John Hinckley Jr. shot
President Reagan, 20 Secret Service
agents:
a. yelled, "Can you please stop
shooting the most powerful man in the
world?"
b. asked for Jodie Foster's home
phone number.
c. attempted to imbed Hinckley's
head in the nearby building.
If on-duty Secret Service agents
flirt witheachotherwhile being trusted
and paid to guard the life of the presi-
dent, they will be:
a. chastised for not doing it more
often.
b. given Air Force One for week-
end saunters to Cancun.
c. asked to turn in their earplugs at
their earliest convenience.
EWhenahighly-intelligent,trained
killer knows his phone calls are being
tapped and the authorities will be athis
door when they discover his location,
he will:
a. start sending strip-o-grams in-
stead.
b. save everyone allthe trouble and
turn himself in.
c. stop calling the wrong people or
abandon the location before the cop-
pers arrive.
If you answered (c) to all the ques-
tions, then don't pay your hard-earned
dough to see the film.
IN THE LINE OF FIRE is playing at
the Ann Arbor1 & 2.
[WHOWHATWHEREWHEN
Hearts of Darkness
If God were in charge of schedul-
ing at the Michigan Theater, the results
would be something like this ... That's
right, this Saturday night you can catch
the two grittiest, most lyrical films of
1992, back-to-back, on the big screen
at the grand old Mich.
Haven'thadanepiphanyinawhile?
Have the edges gone out of your life?
Feelingalittle toogray, toomuted, too
... even? The only solution is to make
tracks to 603 E. Liberty this Saturday
to see "Bad Lieutenant" and "Reser-
voir Dogs." You just may find your
calm, dishpan-drablife come into full,
tumultuous, glorious focus again.
Yes, "Bad Lieutenant" is NC-17
and may include the most disturbing
scenecapturedonfilmsince RobertDe
Niro stuckhisthumbin Juliette Lewis'
pubescent mouth in "Cape Fear." And
yes, "Reservoir Dogs" has a scene so
violent that many of your fellow mov-
iegoersmayendupbolting tothelobby
with their palms pressed to their ears.
But you, you're tougher than that.
You're strong; you've seen it all. The
sheer genius of Harvey Keitel (who
starsin both films)stuns and chills you
and you wouldn't dream of missing a
second of his surly presence.
That is why you're clearing your
schedule Saturday night to be at the
Michigan at9:25 and 11:30 to see the
two Movies That Could Change Your
Life. See you there. Call 668-8397.
Saved by Neil Simon?
Maybe the sinewy heart of Harvey
Keitel movies is too much for your
weak psyche to bear.Ormaybe it's just
thatyou'dratherseeaNeilSimon play.
If so, the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre is
offering its rendition of the snappy
Simon standard, "Biloxi Blues."
With lots of those patented one-
liners and more gushy sentimentality
than "Sleepless in Seattle" or an epi-
sodeof"LifeGoesOn,""BiloxiBlues"
justmightprovidetwe kick you need to
burst out of the dog days of summer
with a big, dumb grin on your face.
"Biloxi Blues" is running through
July 24. Tickets are $7, and you can go
two-for-one on Thursdays.Go see it. It
beats sitting on your porch and whin-
ing about the impending fury thatisArt
Fair. Call 971-AACT.
Eastwood returns to the big screen as a Secret Service agent.
DESPITE MINIMAL AIRPLAY,
CYPRESS HILL PROVES TO BE A HIGHLY
RESPECTED RAP GROUP
ATTRACTING LISTENERS FROM ALL GENRES...
HIP HOP, ALTERNATIVE, POP AND ROCK.
BLACK SUNDAY
S R E CO RODS
r~m
AVAILABLE JULY 20-TOWER ANN ARBOR WILL STAY
OPEN PAST MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY, JULY 19
SO THAT YOU CAN BE AMONG THE FIRST TO
PICK UP CYPRESS HILL'S NEW RELEASE
"BLACK SUNDAY" SALE ENDS7;27/93
OPEN 9AM TO MIDNIGHT EVERYDAY!'- MAILORDER: 1-800.6484844 (9AM-9PM E.S.T.)
STUDENT CUSTODIANS
THE MICHIGAN UNION IS NOW
ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR
ART FAR WEEK
JULY 1$ 52S
7AM - 2AM
FLEXIBLE SCIEDULE
FUN WORK ENVIRONMENT
APPLY AT 1310 MICHIGAN UNION
MICHIGAN UNION
I
ANN ARBOR -A
South University Galleria
1214 South University Avenue, Upstairs
. ;.,. a a x , x . - aIem..-