___ _ T_ RTS The Michigan Daily Friday, January 11, 1991 Page 5 lmmigration wants Green Card I dir. Peter Weir by Mary-Beth Barber He doesn't seem like your typical qoomantic comedy hero. He's over- weight, his hair is longish and un- kempt, his speech is broken and, let's be honest, he has a big schnoz. But renowned French actor Gerard Depardieu, making his American de- but in Peter Weir's Green Card, is as charming and lovable as Richard Gere - even more so if you're sick of the man-saves-helpless-woman plot (a la Pretty Woman). * Written, directed and produced by Australian director Peter Weir, Green Card has an unpolished edge to it, adding a sense of individuality that separates it from the glitz and glam- our of Hollywood. It is the story of New York horticulturist Brontd Par- rish (Andie MacDowell, of sex, lies and videotape fame) and French composer Georges Faure (Depardieu) who agree to a marriage of conve- Onience and get caught by the law. Bronte wants a New York apartment with a greenhouse, but needs to be rmarried in order to qualify for the sublet. Georges wants to play his music in Los Angeles, but needs his green card in order to stay in the United States. The two are set up by a mutual friend, get married and plan on never seeing the other again. But when the Department of Immigration comes knocking on Brontd's door, demanding an interview and proof that the marriage is legitimate, the unlikely couple is forced to spend three days together and learn the intimate details of the other's life. They, of course, hate each other at. first. She thinks he's slobbish, selfish and arrogant; he thinks she's uptight, unrealistic and spoiled. He smokes, she doesn't. He loves rich French cooking and dark coffee, she prefers vegetarian plates and drinks decaf. But as the two learn more about each other the differences be- come obsolete and the sparks fly. Weir fans who loved the mystical quality of the other movies he has directed (Dead Poets Society, The Year of Living Dangerously and Witness, to name a few) shouldn't expect this of Green Card. The film is a simple romantic comedy, and the only mysterious intensity pre- sent is in the very end. But replacing intrigue is lighthearted comedy, wit and charm, especially when Georges convinces a wealthy heiress through his music to donate an exotic garden to get us! to Brontd's volunteer organization. Yet certain details are predictable, such as when Georges comments that he likes Bronte's hair down and loose, so the minute she is out of his sight she takes her bobby pins out. Weir deserves a hand of ap- plause, though, for the surprising finish. There is no fairy-tale happy ending, bringing a certain realism to a script that seems a bit contrived. Green Card is the perfect movie for Depardieu to first attempt En- glish because Weir wrote the charac- ter for him. The character actually is Depardieu, except Georges is a com- poser while Depardieu is an actor. But both the fictional character and the real man are children of poverty- stricken parents, left home in their early teens and persued an artistic ca- reer before they hit twenty. Yet while Depardieu is charming, there is an intensity missing that he has brought to other roles in his native French, such as his Cannes award- winning performance in Cyrano de Bergerac. This is the first time he has had to master English, and there is a subtle uncertainty in his actions. MacDowell provides the perfect match for Depardieu as the politi- cally-active horticulturist. Brontd is intelligent, compassionate and an ac- tive member of the "Green Gueril- Bronts Parish (Andie MacDowell) and Georges Faure (G6rard Depardieu) take photos of themselves so it looks like they are married but end up falling in love. las," a real-life organization dedicated to building parks in the poorer parts of New York City because "the chil- dren live in chaos" and deserve some beauty in their lives. But what stands out about MacDowell's char- acterization is her sense of indepen- dence. Although constantly berated by her parents to find a nice young man to settle down with, she insists on living alone and is content with her solitary life. Yet she is not an old maid; MacDowell's portrayal of the confident and charming Bronte is utterly attractive, and a welcome change from the heroines who al- ways seem to be in search of the per. feet man. GREEN CARD is being shown a Showcase. just Kidding ups Saturday Night Live Beth Colquitt ox Ve're like Saturday Night Live, but we're funny," boldly says pro- ducer/manager Rob Marks of his comedy troupe Just Kidding. After successfully establishing themselves as a sketch comedy troupe for the stage on a number of college cam- puses in cities from Washington D;C. to Los Angeles, the troupe has *settled on the East Coast. But once again it returns to its roots in Ann Arbor. The troupe even has plans for breaking into television soon to give the SNL crew some competition, says Marks. He may have something there. Michigan alumni, has sold out three shows on campus in previous years, two at the Power Center and one at the Michigan Theater last year. Back from their wildly successful national tour, they will be at the Power Cen- ter again this Saturday night with a show which will feature almost all new material. Just Kidding began as a spin-off of UAC's Comedy Company, the student-run comedy troupe. Al- though they are now based in Wash- ington D. C., Just Kidding looks on Ann Arbor as a starting point. The cast is made up of professionals who decided that they enjoyed, Comedy Company so much that they wanted to stay with it after graduation. But the troupe has gone through some personnel changes. New writers have brought in a diversity of material. New actors have given a different flavor to the show. But the most significant change is the size of the group. It started with eleven people, but is now down to five, including one producer, although they plan to add a couple more performers later this year. They try to keep their humor so- phisticated and to stay in touch with the college audience, despite having left the campus. "We shy away from the cheap jokes. We think our audi- ences have a brain," says Marks. "It there is one complaint that I hear, it's that our humor is too intelli- gent. I take that as a compliment." Like Saturday Night Live, Just Kidding does scripted vignettes, not stand-up comedy. "Most sketches take real life to an absurd level," says Marks. "We're mostly apoliti- cal. We do a lot of spoofing and satire, and then we have our silly sketches." JUST KIDDING will be at the Power Center Saturday January 12 at 8 p.m. Tickets for students are $5.50 in advance, $6.50 at the door (non- students: $8.50 in advance, $9.50 at the door) from TicketMaster. Ceder Point will be holding auditions for singers, dancers and musicians on Monday, Jan. 14 in the Anderson room of the Michigan Union. Registration is from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Ceder Point is also look- ing for stage managers and techni- cians. All applicants should bring a one page typed resume, singers should choose two vocal selections, one up-tempo tune and one ballad (piano accompanist will be pro- vided), and singers with dance ability should prepare a short dance routine to a prerecorded cassette tape. Musi- cians should prepare short selections of contrasting styles. Costumed characters are also needed, although there are height restrictions. For more information, call (419) 627- 2390. The U of Michigan Gilbert and Sullivan Society is h lding auditions for the April production of H.M.S. Pinafore..Auditions will be January 14-17, and the mass meeting is this Sunday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. in the Henderson Room of the Michi- gan League. Call 761-7855 for more details. Auditions for the First Basement Arts production Line by -Isreal Horowitz will take place tommamw and Saturday. Sign up sheets are posted in the green room adjacent to the Arena theater 1501 Freize bldg. University of Michigan Library School of Information and Library Studies present CLAUDE BROWN Author of Manchild in the Promised Land - and Children of Ham 2 pm January 21, 1991 Michigan Union Ballroom Martin Luther King Day Symposium A- 1 f f.4t ..+ q'"