12 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, July 13, 1998
'Lethal Weapon 4' a nice blend of the old and new
By Span Bennett
For the Daily
During a summer when there are millions of dol-
lars at stake to see who can con movie-goers into
believing something is a summer blockbuster
before it's even released, "Lethal Weapon 4" was
everything it was cracked up to be, and then some.
As usual, millions of dollars of hype was poured
into a movie in which millions of dollars had
already been spent in order to make many more mil-
lions of dollars. But every cent (or at least most of
every cent) was worth it for "Lethal Weapon 4."
As in the prequels, Mel Gibson and Danny
Glover play Riggs and Murtaugh - a bad cop,
worse cop routine that has kept audiences laughing
and crying during the two heroes' ups and downs.
As before, the two blow up nearly everything in
their path en route to taking out a ruthless villain,
with Joe Pesci once more playing Leo Getz, a for-
mer witness under protection, then Real Estate
Realtor, now Private Eye,
who adds a little extra to the
comic element in the movie. ,
But unlike the other V
"Lethal Weapons," a new Lethal
formula for success has been Weapon 4
sought out to guarantee *
returns at the box office.
Chris Rock plays Det. At showcae
Butters, a multi-talented and Briarwood
comedian/actor whose
recent HBO comedy special, s
"Bring the Pain," earned
him several awards and cat-4
apulted him to superstar-
dom.
But it doesn't end there. Jet Li, an amazing mar-
tial arts superstar in his native China (second only
to Jacky Chan, and the gap is closing) also joins
the cast to play the bad guy for the very first time
in his career, providing some of the most excellent
fight choreography seen this side of the Pacific
since "Enter the Dragon." (At the end of the fight
scene in the Murtaugh home, the audience
clapped.)
In this latest "Lethal Weapon," Riggs and
Murtaugh have been promoted to captains to
keep them off the streets. The police department
cannot get insurance because Riggs and
Murtaugh keep blowing things up.
After being promoted, the duo stumble upon
a sinister plot. Jet Li, playing the leader of the
Triad Gang here in America, is making counter-
feit money to pay a corrupt Chinese general for
the release of the Four Fathers, the main leaders
of the Triad Gang imprisoned in China.
Along the way, Murtaugh finds out that Det.
Laugh
with 'Ps
By Michael Galloway
F Daily Arts Editor
Ever feel like the biggest fre
aF history of humanity? Or feel lik
the most obsessive/compulsive
OF a you know? Well, laughter is
medicine, or form of psycho
FF and the new play being perfo
the Performance Network pok
FF neuroses and how they're treat
"Psychopathia Sexualis" is the
FF two couples and a
rather interesting *
friendship between
the two men. Psycho
Howard is a
controlling busi- $G
nessman recently Perfo
"retired" from his
job. Arthur is a July 16-1
neurotic and spine-
less artist engaged
to be married inl10
days to the
untamed texas
beauty Lucille. To
make the wedding night run s
Arthur has to have one thing in
E "perform" -- his father's socks.
1 Unfortunately, Arthur's thera
CIA Block, took them and will r
RE: them back, and so ensues a 1
effort to retrieve the socks, unit
Offset prinyi
Phoocornie
Butters (whom he suspects is gay) is really the
father of his oldest daughter's husband and the
father of her child, and Riggs decides whether
he is ready to marry Lorna Cole (Renee Russo).
With its formula of old and new, this movie had
to succeed, and did. Not only was the action fan-
tastic, but there was more comedy than most
action movies care to bother with.
The comic timing of Rock added to Pesci's act
ing made for a hilarious bit about cellular tele-
phones, and the hysterical interplay between
Gibson and Glover starts from the first five min-
utes and only ends into the credits. Renee Russo
also adds her own blend of humor and does an
excellent job as Cole, the hard-core but not hard-
hearted Internal Affairs representative.
The final product is pleasing. "Lethal Weapon
4" was quite a ride and, minus a few bumps, well
worth the trip and the ticket price.
it yourself
ychopathia'
and Lucille in holy matrimony, and
attend to the mental health of all the
ak in the players in involved.
e you're Writer James Shanley's characters are
e person rich and layered, and the dialogue is won-
the best derful and insightful. The Performance
itherapy, Network's production is not quite as fan-
irmed at tastic, but J. Center gives a worthy per-
es fun at formance as the unpredictable Dr. Block,
ed. making the play work. Christine Huddle's
story of Lucille is too fiery and feisty to. be
ignored and is also praise worthy.
Bill Mahoney (Howard) and Joanna
Hastings (Howard's wife, Ellie) do wel
pathia in serious scenes, but neither their pe
formance, nor Scott Screws' (Arthur), is
,XUaSis as polished as Center's or Huddle's.
irmance Still, the play is a better investment
Network than most of the latest overhyped
9& 23-26 movie blockbusters, especially with
Thursdays being pay-what-you-can
night. And the nice thing about the
Performance Network theater house is
that its intimacy makes you feel
involved with the production.
A session with "Psychopath
moothly, Sexualis" will let you laugh at your own
order to anxieties, at the anxieties of others and at
how they're treated. No matter your own
pist, Dr. mental health, by the end of the play,
not give you'll feel it was time well spent -
hilarious something you may not feel after spend-
e Arthur ing money on actual psychotherapy.
ng
, 5 Feeling
creative?
Feeling
and smart?
Stop by The
Daily. Write°
lc for Arts.