10
Monday, May 21, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
MLM REVIEW
'Marigold Hotel' delves into life
Former football stars
raise money for Mott
bri
den
As te
wise ft
groupc
talente
throw
into a
shoot a
everyti
work
right i
But o
while,
tively f.
Such
case w
All-star cast Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,"
which features an all-star cast that
ngs understated performs superbly without the
gimmicks of avenging the Earth
nographic to light or robbing Andy Garcia (though
both are admirable pursuits). The
y PROMA KHOSLA charming film, an adaptation of
Daily Arts Writer Deborah Moggach's "These Fool-
ish Things," follows seven British
empting as it may be, it isn't senior citizens as they seek adven-
Dr film producers to sign a ture and peace in Jaipur, India, at
of famous, the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
d actors, (for the Elderly and Beautiful).
them The absurdly talented ensemble
location 11 et is led by Dame Judy Dench ("My
nd expect Week With Marilyn"), undeterred
hing to Exotic Man- by her traitorous corneas as she
out all gold Hotel expertly portrays the shy but
n the end. determined Evelyn Greenslade.
nce in a At the Evelyn is truly independent for
it's posi- Michigan the first time in her life, but at
oolproof. Fox Searchight the price of having just lost her
is the husband of 40 years. She is equal
ith "The parts alone and lonely, but Dench
knows the distinction and plays
the fine line to perfection. Evelyn
isn't in Jaipur in search of a grand
adventure, but to live out her new
life in a new place, free of judg-
ment.
That effortless inhabitance of
character pervades the cast; Tom
Wilkinson ("Michael Clayton") as
a man searching for his lost love,
Bill Nighy ("Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows: Part 1") and
Penelope Wilton (TV's "Downton
Abbey") as an incompatible mar-
ried couple and Maggie Smith (the
"Harry Potter" films) as a delight-
fully sassy old racist undergoing
hip surgery.
And even though the acting
personas are somewhat larger
than life - it may take a while to
stop mentally referring to them by
their real names (or as McGona-
gall and Harriet Jones) - there
isn't a moment in the film when
this ensemble doesn't bring their
confused band of travelers to life
with splendid ease. They are every
bit as real as the elderly couple sit-
ting in front of you in the theater
(they'll be there, I promise) and
deserve to be imagined complexly.
Anyone who's ever taken a
Humanities class can attest, older
people are among society's most
marginalized individuals. Espe-
cially in the media, where youth
and beauty are all but synony-
mous and coveted to extremes. In
the "riot of noise and color" that is
life in a bustling Indian city, the
travelers are treated as respected
guests instead of ticking time
bombs.
Dev Patel ("Slumdog Million-
aire") plays Sonny, the token
young, character, a goofy and
anbitious entrepreneur behind
the hotel. Though playing an inno-
vative Indian of modest means
isn't exactly branching out, the
role suits him even more than
his previous work, emphasizing
his respectable comedy chops
over his decent-at-best dramatic
ones. Sonny's story ties the travel-"
ers together as he struggles with
financial problems, a controlling
mother and big dreams. They see
their past mistakes in his present
and in offering him wisdom, set
their own spirits free.
Despite the simplicity of its
premise, "Marigold Hotel" suc-
ceeds impeccably in combin-
ing comedy and solemnity with
expert execution. It's a film for
the old school of thought that says
everything works out all right in
the end. "And if it's not all right,"
the characters remind us, "then
it's not the end."
to
E).
Ann
come
return
Hutch
ball sto
alma m
For
ers al
coache
annual
Mott
thon y
with f
a.m. ar
Brady:
M Den
More than The day-long radio-a-thon
raised money for the Coach Carr
75,000 donated Mountain Top Experience Fund, a
.nt nprogram started by Carr's former
Mountain Top players and colleagues. The fund
perience Fund gives directly to Mott and is based
on Carr's philosophy that the only
way to reach the top of a mountain
By KATIE BURKE is by finding a cause greater than
Daily StaffReporter oneself.
The fund set its donation goal
Arbor rolled out the wel- at $114,804 - the same number as
mat this weekend for the the Michigan Stadium attendance
of Charles Woodson, Steve record. The radio-a-thon ended
inson and other former foot- with a total of $77,622 raised but
ars as they gave back to their continued accepting donations
nater. after the show.
mer University football play- During the event, Carr said the
ong with past and current fundraiser was an embodiment of
es participated in the seventh his philosophy as well as that of the
. WTKA Takeover for C.S. University.
Children's Hospital radio-a- "I look back and what's hap-
'esterday. The event opened pened here in this community is
ormer coach Lloyd Carr at 7 an example of the mountaintop
nd closed with current coach experience," Carr said. "I don't
Hoke broadcasting from the think you can ask any more of a
at 5 p.m. Michigan man than what those
(players) have done."
Melissa Dyer, coordinator of the
radio-a-thon, said the event used to
feature current University football
players but switched to exclusively
former players last year because of
their celebrity effect.
"Last year we raised $107,000...
(which) was a huge jump, and we
think it's because of the star power
that was able to participate," Dyer
said.
Dyer added that she was look-
ing to top last year's total with the
array of players and coaches fea-
tured at this year's event.
Gifts given to donators dur-
ing the fundraiser ranged from a
ringtone recording of Carr to items
signed by the players and coaches
participating in the event.
The players and coaches remi-
nisced about their time at Michi-
gan and talked of currentMichigan
football as well as their experienc-
es at Mott.
Defensive coordinator Greg
Mattison shared a personal expe-
rience with the hospital about the
hole in his granddaughter's heart,
which was successfully treated by
the pediatric experts at Mott.
"I don't think I can ever put in
Monday, May 21, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
words my appreciation," Matti-
son said. "(The medical care) just
speaks to Michigan, to Mott Hos-
pital."
Former running back Mike
Hart said his participation in pro-
grams like working with Mott is
a major part of his personal phi-
losophy. 0 I
"We give back the way we can *pek a
- it's always big to give back,"
Hart said. "That's what really
matters at the end of the day, the
relationships we build with peo-
ple."
Members of the Mott commu-
nity also contributed to the show
to share their stories of the work
being done at the hospital.
Anne Ryan, whose son Mitch-
ell was treated for cerebral palsy
at Mott, said her experience with
the hospital inspired her to move "
to Ann Arbor and work there as a
volunteer.
"The best decision I ever made seo*
was to bring Mitchell to Mott,"
Ryan said. "We felt like part of
a family, we were treated like
we were part of the staff ... I've
never received so much love and
support than I did from the Mott
staff."
13
FILaM EV I EtW
Nuanced, campy 'Battleship' stays afloat
Time editor speaks on campus about Presidents Club book
By JACOB AXELRAD
Editor in Chief
There's alotofPeter Bergin "Bat-
tieship."- The creator of the critical-
ly acclaimed series "Friday Night
Lights" was handed the reigns of
an alien-invasion
movie based off*
of a board game
where play-E
ers attempt to
destroy each oth- At Qualityl6
er's ships through and Rave
a series of strate-
gic guesses. The Universal
story is at times
disjointed, making large narrative
jumps without fully developing
characters, and leaving plot holes
too big for viewers to fill in on their
own.
Admittedly, there are a few eye-
popping scenes of global destruc-
tion, yet these leave much to be
desired. What makes the movie fun,
however, is that Berg does what he
does best - injecting humor into
otherwise hackneyed moments,
winking at the audience the entire
time and informing us that it's OK
to laugh.
At the center of the plot is Lieu-
tenantj
"Frida
unlike
"Night
operate
with lii
his acti
But,
laced
Skarsga
shows
manys
his br
the na
that co
as thou
forcing
quent t
itable;v
to it?
B
Alex
ranks o
strongv
him thi
more it
Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch, father (a wonderfully surly Liam
y Night Lights"). He is not Neeson, "Taken") who also happens
Kitsch's Tim Riggins from to be the Admiral of the naval fleet
s" - a rebellious figure that in which Alex serves. And yet, like
es almost entirely on instinct the sly smirk that seems perpetually
ttle regard for the outcome of stained on Alex's face, we know all
ions. alongthatourhero onlyneeds asuf-
as first noted by his straight- ficient challenge to put his abilities
brother Stone (Alexander to the test.
ard, "Generation Kill"), he This challenge comes in the
potential, regardless of his form of aliens who seek to (what
screw-ups and mistakes. At else?) destroy Earth. Explosions
other's demand, Alex joins abound. Wills are tested. Life-or-
avy, a precipitating event death choices must be made. It's all
mes so out of the blue it's very familiar, and it's a familiarity
igh the movie is saying that that's acknowledged by the film-
this down-and-out delin- maker. This movie's pleasures lie in
o serve his country was inev- the nuances that are uniquely Berg:
why even attempt to build up Alex sneaks through the vents of a
convenience store solely to obtain a
chicken burrito for the woman he
desires. At a point of climax, a naval
lears beets engineer tasked with the make-or-
> > break shot against the enemy ship,
Battleship' turns to his companion and, with a
' laugh, informs him that he has not
fired a gun since summer camp. In a
sense, Berg makes fun of the campy
is promoted through the while simultaneously participating
f the navy, despite his head- in the campiness.
ways. But this does not earn Meanwhile, he looks out for his
e respect of his comrades or, characters, always remembering
mportantly, his girlfriend's to present them as complete and
BI
lit
at
"What do you mean 'The Secret Circle' was cancelled?!"
holistic, an aspect of his filmmak-
ing that's aided him well in televi-
sion. Singer Rihanna makes her
acting debut as Petty Officer Cora
'Weps' Raikes. But her sexual-
ity is not once over-emphasized or
exploited. Rather, her role is simply
that of another officer, doing her
job, playing her part in defeating
the invaders. The same can be said
of Brooklyn Decker ("Just Go With
It"), who plays Alex's love interest
Samantha. As was the case with
"Friday Night Lights," Berg's female
characters are strong and on equal
footing with the men, whether the
setting be a small town in Texas or a
battleship out at sea.
At film's end, a team of World
War II veterans is called upon to
operate the nearly defunct battle-
ship. Where they come from or why
they're ready to leap into action is
unimportant. The fact that they're
present is enough, which might be,
if there is one at all, the theme of
this B-level movie: give the formu-
laic a dose of lighthearted mischief,
and you'll be sure to entertain your
viewers.
Eve
Univer
honor
selecti
Club.
A n
Club,"
that si
Thursc
author
campu
to join
elected
Mic
tor of
author
visited
in Ani
sign ci
The
event
Luken
versity
with I
the 19
ook showcases paign who donated his papers to
the library.
tle-known facts Lukens, who has worked as a
political consultant, said she met
Duffy while he was at Time maga-
zine during the George H.W. Bush
By STEVE ZOSKI administration.
Daily News Editor "I got to know Michael then
because we were doing work for
n getting picked for the President Bush, and we just kind of
rsity's Order of Angell remained friends," she said.
society doesn't compare in Lukens added that she helped
vity to the U.S. Presidents Duffy while he researched Presi-
dent Ford.
:ew book, "The Presidents "I helped Michael with some
offers insight into this group of the research on the book on
ofew are able to enter. On Ford ... some things that dealt
day evening, the book's co- with the campaign in '76 and
stopped by the library on with the primary against Reagan
is named after the only man in 1975," Lukens said. "I told him
the club without ever being since the book dealt with former
d - Gerald R. Ford. presidents, he should come here
'hael Duffy, executive edi- to talk."
F Time magazine and co- Duffy, an Ohio native, -joked
of "The Presidents Club," early on in his speech about being
i the Gerald R. Ford Library in the territory of his hometown's
n Arbor to speak about and rival university.
opies of his new book. "Most of you probably know
library invited Duffy to the I am from central Ohio, so that
with the help of Mary C. (applause) really was beyond the
s, a Northern Michigan Uni- call of duty," Duffy said.
trustee who had worked Duffy, who wrote the second
Robert Teeter, a member of half of the book, said the Club
76 Ford presidential cam- wasn't something he and co-author
Nancy Gibbs, deputy managing
editor of Time magazine, made up.
"We soon came to realize it
wasn't just our idea - they talk
about it like, 'It's a club. It has its
own rules, it has its own feast days,
it has its own taboos, it has its own
trinkets, it even has its own club
house,"' Duffy said.
In an interview with The
Michigan Daily prior to the event,
Duffy said the library helped him
write the sections of the book
about President Ford along with
Marty Allen, chairman emeritus
of the Ford Presidential Founda-
tion.
"Allen told me an amazing story
about when Bill Clinton came to
Grand Rapids," Duffy said. "One of
the beststories inthe book is (about
how) Gerald Ford at one point tried
to save Clinton from impeachment
in 1998."
Duffy said Ford tried to deter
Clinton away from his trial pub-
licly and privately, and he told the
president that he should publicly
apologize for lying about the affair.
"Ford felt the trial was unneces-
sary (and) there were better ways
to solve the problem," Duffy said.
"He brought that uncommon Mid-
western common sense there."
He explained that Ford's desire
to help Clinton showed that he was
a member of the Club who appreci-
ated the presidency unlike most.
"Ford knew in ways few other
men did how important it was to
preserve the power of the office,"
Duffy said. "Ford preserved the
power of the presidency, especially
at a time when our politics were
broken ... I think what President
Ford was trying to do wasn't save
Bill Clinton, it was save the power
of the presidency."
Duffy said he's found that presi-
dents grow closer and come to
appreciate each other more over
time.
"After Ford died, Clinton makes
a visit to Grand Rapids and makes
a personal and private visit to
Ford's grave," he said. "That story
is also in the book - it's about two
men who came from fairly modest
means and a generation and a party
apart who, what often happens in
the Presidents Club, found a way to
work together," Duffy said.
Duffy explained that because
Ford lived a comparatively long
time after his presidency, he was
one of the most active members of
the club. Duffy added that Ford had
a close relationship with his former
opponent Jimmy Carter as well.
"(President Ford's) most
remarkable feature of his time
in the Presidents Club was his
unexpected and quite fruitful
partnership with Jimmy Carter,"
Duffy said. "The two fought in
1976; they didn't much like each
other until one day when they
were traveling back from Cairo in
1981 (and) they kind of realized,
'We kind of have more in common
than we have apart,' and they
became lifelong friends."
Elaine Didier, director of the
library and the Ford museum in
Grand Rapids, said she enjoyed
what she had read of the book so far
in an interview with the Daily prior
to the event.
"Gibbs and Mr. Duffy have both
been studying and covering the
presidency a lung time," she said.
"I just thought the quality of the
writing was really marvelous ...
the stories they're telling are just
amazing."
Didier added that while Ford
may not have joined the club like
the elected presidents,he was pres-
idential nonetheless.
"He took a different path to get
there, but he didn't choose that,"
Didier said.