10 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 1, 2005 Apolitical'Over There'1 .f follows soldiers in Iraq By Eakta Khangura anyone has seen fit to do so during a war that's still For the Daily going on. As a result, FX continues to uphold its growing reputation for intense and provocative shows; "Over There" joins a bold cast alongside "Nip/Tuck," "Rescue Me" and even "The Shield." Steven Bochco has slam dunked his way into Surprisingly apolitical, Bt yet another Emmy-worthy show choose to concentrate on the c with FX's new war drama "Over Over the issues of war, giving us t There." Not unlike "Hill Street thize with the troops who real Blues" and "NYPD Blue," Boch- There The show follows an eclectic co brings yet another thought- Wednesdays from markedly different back provoking and novel idea to the at 10 p.m. headed by Erik Palladino ("ER small screen to prove once and FX aka Sgt. Scream due to his pet for all that mind-numbing "real- shouting orders at his troops. T ity" TV and reruns have not yet accomplished derson as Bo Rider, a bright-ey their grand scheme at total summer domination. terback in love with the army; "Over There" is the collaborative effort of Frank Dumphy, anIvy League- Bochco and Chris Gerolmo. Set in present-day because he was stupid enough Iraq, the show takes a refreshingly honest look and Kirk "Sticky Fingaz" Jone at the ongoing conflict through the eyes of one who spends his duty cozying up Army unit on its first military tour. Jane. Then there's Nikki Aycox Although the idea itself is not new (following a Mitchell, an enigmatic 18 year group of young soldiers as they attempt to survive tude, and Lizette Carrion in tf the horrors of war), it might well be the first time Del Rio aka "Doublewide,"a Leads drive stock By Zach Borden tancy to get back into the dating game. Daily Arts Writer She's ultimately forcedto date again when her sister (Elizabeth Perkins) posts a pro- "E file for her on a dating site. Citing that she loves dogs, the profile catches the atten- In "Must Love Dogs," Diane Lane tion of the friend of anotherbroken-heart- plays a divorced preschool teacher in her ed divorcee (John Cusack) who spends 40s, a far cry from the his hours building boats and obsessively searching housewife Must Love watching "Doctor Zhivago." The sparks in sordid affair with Dogs are there as Jake falls for the confused a kinky French book romantic, but Sarah's more resistant as she dealer she took on At the Showcase also sets her sights on one of her student's in "Unfaithful," but and Quality 16 fathers (Dermot Mulroney). what're you going to warner Bros. Based on the chick-lit novel by Claire do. Since her Academy Cook, "Must Love Dogs" was adapted Award nomination, the luminous actress and directed by Gary David Goldberg, has jumped fromone romantic comedy to best known for creating the award-win- the next, this time following in the "You've ning Michael J. Fox sitcoms "Family Got Mail" tradition and tackling the grow- Ties" and "Spin City." It would seem like ing trend toward online dating. a given that someone who's mastered Sarah (Lane) spends most of her time the art of crafting robust half-hour com- moping around, fighting off a deep reluc- edies would churn out a witty romance, ochco and Gerolmo haracters rather than the chance to empa- ly are over there. group of soldiers, all grounds. The cast is ") as Sgt. Chris Silas, nchant for incessantly here's also Josh Hen- yed high school quar- Luke MacFarlane as grad nicknamed Dim to land in the Army; s as Smoke, a soldier p with 01' Lady Mary x as "Mrs. B" Brenda old with a chilly atti- he role of Esmerelda a tough-as-nails new mother who proves women have just as much power on the battlefield as men. Although much of "Over There" follows front- line combat, there are small snippets that show those who are left behind and must deal with the aftermath and heartbreak at the absence of loved ones. It's the inclusion of their stories that makes the show so relevant for those of us watching from the home front. Bochco and Gerolmo never retreat from the harsh realities of war. Gunfire and explosions are everywhere, but so too is the pain of realization in the soldiers as they look upon the bodies of those they have slain. One can watch the naivete slip away from their faces as they become con- scious.of the fact that these are human lives that were taken by their own hands. No preaching. No politicizing. No debate about right or wrong. "Over There" is single-minded and powerful, a raw singular look at war through the eyes of several young soldiers who are in for the fight of their lives. romance but surprisingly, Goldberg's screenplay is downright flat and fails to engage audi- ences with a derivative narrative of loss and hearts on the mend. Unfortunately, Goldberg seems per- fectly content to ground his humor and characters in all the usual conventions of the genre. The vulnerabilities of the char- acters are predictable and their quirks have been explored better in other screen romances. The plot is also loosely drawn and often tiresome, as Sarah is given one opportunity too many to wallow and show she's afraid of getting hurt again. Worse yet, the movie's "laughs," which are scant enough as it is, are mild and unin- spired. Its humor is ignited from the most predictable situations, mainly the uncer- tainty of Internet dating (which Goldberg also critiques in a random scene featur- ing Stockard Channing). He also intro- duces plenty of throwaway characters, such as a gay teacher that Sarah knows and Jake's womanizing best friend. The film is topped off with generic directorial style (complete with dating stories that bookend the movie), making it clear that Goldberg's talents simply aren't suited for 90-minute stories. I (734) 623-7272 * 401 E. Huron Street FRESH.- FAST* Medium 1 Topping Pizza * ~*799 Order online at w'ww.papajohns.com. * ,-n - Expires: August 3, 2005 Vald at this lv tion only Cstomer pays ale4 pori, , e taxes. "Where's my radio?" The only times that the movie is enter- taining and even remotely interesting are when the leads share the screen together. Lane and Cusack, her with a quiet radi- ance and him with a wry sense of humor, have an easy-going, very natural chem- istry, and their scenes are charming and authentic - even when they head into cliched territory. But because the story focuses mainly on Sarah, these moments are few and too far between. 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