Monday, July 26, 1999 - The Michigan Daly -11
Runaway Bride
ramount Pictures and
ouchstone Pictures
At Briarwood, Goodrich and Showcase
starting Friday
*
Watching "Runaway Bride" you'll
find as I did that the armrests aren't
sharp enough for you to slit your wrists
with. The wounds on my wrists will one
heal, but the psychological trauma
of having seen this film never will.
In Hollywood, romantic comedies
rarely differ from each other: Boy
meets girl, girl hates boy (initially), boy
grows on girl, boy and girl fall in love,
something keeps boy and girl apart, boy
and girl eventually live happily ever
after as man and woman. While this
formula worked earlier in the summer
for Julia Roberts in the entertaining
"Notting Hill, in "Runaway Bride" it's
in wreck.
oberts teams with her "Pretty
Woman" director Garry Marshall and
co-star Richard Gere for "Runaway
Bride," but comes nowhere near recre-
ating the flair of the initial teaming.
Though Roberts and Gere have to suf-
fer Josann McGibbon and Sara
Parriott's awful script, these two have
less than zero chemistry on screen.
art of this stems from the fact that
e is so gray and has aged so poorly
that he looks old enough to be Robert's
father. How romantic.
The story goes that "USA Today"
columnist Ike Graham (Gere) writes a
slanderous column about Maggie
Carpenter (Roberts) after he learns that
she has dumped a few men at the alter.
Carpenter fights back with a letter to
the editor, getting Graham fired.
Vengeful, Graham travels to
C- rpenter's hometown of Hale,
land days before she is to marry
groom number four. Honing to catch
Carpenter bolting again and get a "GQ"
cover story and revenge, Graham
inserts himself into Carpenter's life.
From there they hate each other, fall
in love with each other, etc.
What's so disturbing isn't that this
film is formulaic (most films are,
including "Pretty Woman"), but that
*t's going on within the formula is so
piss poor. Not only is there nary a laugh
in this so-called romantic comedy, but
there isn't much romance either.
I had to sit through this film. You
don't. So, if you decide to see
"Runaway Bride," pull a Maggie
Carpenter and run, run, run for your
life.
Ed Sholinsky
IkSpector Gadget
ena Vista Pictures
At Briarwood, Goodrich and Showcase
Of of the recent classic TV shows
that have been turned into movies,
"Inspector Gadget" may well be the
most true to the original. It's certainly
the first cartoon made into a live action
film years after it was taken off the air.
*isney did non try to make
"Inspector Gadget" anything more than
the original ever was. The characters
and dialogue are cartoonish, and any
content that tries to exceed the level of
the TV show is a bonus.
Matthew Broderick does a fine job
succeeding the voice of Don Adams
(best known for his sitmilar role in "Get
Smart") to the title rote. Broderick sim-
ply loses himself in the goofy character
of the bungling, half-robotic investiga-
tor. The supporting cast including
Gadget's niece Penny (Michelle
Trachtenberg), her dog Brain and Chief
Quimby (Dabney Coleman) are satisfy-
ingly reproduced on the big screen.
Even Inspector Gadget's gadgets are
familiar, and the Gadgetmobile is ani-
mated with a wise-cracking voice.
Rupert Everett gives a weak perfor-
mance as a tepid replacement for the
sinister Dr. Claw. His role is the chief
disappointment of "Inspector Gadget."
Far better is "Saturday Night Live"'s
Cheri Oteri as the ditsy mayor.
"Inspector Gadget" tells the story of
how Gadget was propelled from a rent-
a-cop to a super-hero, and became
Chief Quimby's worst nightmare. The
plot is mundane compared to some of
the exotic episodes of the TV show.
While lots of fun at first, the film
becomes rather dull without a quality
bad-guy.
Those who were "Inspector Gadget"
devotees in their youth will get a chance
to leap back into their childhood. Sit
back, reminisce and enjoy this tribute to
one of the great Saturday morning car-
toons.
Jonah Victor
anti OWeen iv u
3 HauntingC remake doesntie up to forigina
By Jeremy Salvatori
Daily Arts Writer
The
Haunting
At Briarwood, Good-
rich and Showcase
Boo!
Did that
scare you?
Neither will
" T h e
Haunting."
After experi-
encing the
sheer terror of
"The Blair
Witch Project,"
seeing the
Dream Works
remake of"The
Haunting" is
like going to
Stucci's for Grasshopper Pie ice cream
and instead getting Bob's Mint Cookie
Surprise.
Director Jan de Bont unfortunately
decided to scare you using in-your-face
special effects. Some of this "movie
magic" actually does the job, especial-
ly the well-engineered sound effects.
Remember the powerful "animal-like"
sounds of the tornadoes i "Twister?"
These sound effects are another gener-
ous helping of good stuff.
If you're looking to experience a
movie of true terror, though, look else-
where. The story line is capable of
using psychological twists to create
fear, but the filmmakers decided this
approach would take a back seat to the
special effects approach. As a new
member of the horror film genre, this
film is in neither cheesy nor scary, but
instead just kind of blah.
The plot line is fairly simple: Liam
Neeson plays a psychologist who
recruits insomniacs (Lili Taylor,
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Owen
Wilson) for a deception experiment in
fear. They arrive and stay at Hill House,
a large mansion they later discover to
be haunted.
If you want a REAL scare, see "The
Blair Witch Project." If you're looking
for awesome sound effects, however,
then check out "The Haunting." Just
make sure you watch it with a good
sound system.
'Blair Witch Project' strikes terror in hearts
By Ed Sholinsky
Daily Arts Editor
"The Blair
Witch Project"
is much like a
rollercoaster, it
The Blair should come
Witch Project with a warn-
ing: Don't
**** attend if easily
at state (starting frightened,
Thurs. at midnight) have a weak
bladder, have a
weak heart or
plan on going
camping any-
time soon.
" B l a i r
Witch" is per-
haps the scariest film ever made
because it succeeds where films like
the original "The Haunting" do -they
make it so the terror isn't from what's
happening around the characters, but
from what is going on in the charac-
t-' 1-4- ^ A ~'~ cv '^ th- 'nristh
fact that writers/editors/directors Ed
Sanchez and Dan Myrick have gone
out of their way to make you believe
that the film is a documentary.
And actors Heather Donahue,
Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams
(all playing themselves, essentially)
complement this perfectly, making you
think you're watching three college
students lost in the woods, rather than
three actors playing make-believe.
Though "Blair Witch" documents
one day too many, sapping part of the
film's intensity by the end, it's scary
enough and conceptually innovative
enough that by the films chilling end
none of that really maters too much.
But the real fright. ar to come when
Hollywood decides to remake this film
with a A-list cast.
Courtesy of Buena Vista PICT res
Matthew Broderick pulls a Fred Astaire
In his new film, "Inspector Gadget."
rte.; g F s
p co t cutw
cc Acc
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