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.