For many people, the Olympics is a major highlight.

Watching incredible feats of athleticism in unfamiliar
locales is always a treat, and the 2018 Winter Olympics
in PyeongChang was no exception. No matter the
season, no matter the sport and no matter the country,
the Games are a delight for people around the globe.
That said, we can only ever view the Games through a
television screen, thousands of miles away from the real
action. This is part of what makes the film “Olympic
Dreams” so enticing — it’s a
chance to see the Olympics from
a new point of view, a behind-
the-scenes look at the way the
Olympics is run and the people
who come to the Games with big
dreams.

The film follows two main

characters:
Penelope
(Alexi

Pappas, “Tracktown”), a first-
time Olympic athlete competing
in cross-country skiing, and
Ezra (Nick Kroll, “Big Mouth”),
a sociable dentist who takes the
opportunity to volunteer at the
Olympics. The two characters
have very different experiences
at the event: Penelope is plagued
by the pressure to perform well in her competition,
while Ezra enters the village joyful for the chance to
even attend.

While Penelope’s perspective as an athlete is a new

and interesting story for the average audience, Ezra’s
is one that we understand. The way his eyes light up as
he takes in the sights of the Olympics is charming and
relatable, the awe of seeing a new side of something
that he finds great joy in. But despite their differences,
they are drawn together by their titular dreams and a
struggle to understand what they want in life moving
forward, causing them to form a strong connection.

Despite the somewhat cliché premise, “Olympic

Dreams” is a very unique film for a number of reasons.
For one, it was filmed in the PyeongChang Olympic
Village during the 2018 games, depicting rooms and

buildings that were actually being used for the Olympics
during shooting. The reason this was possible is one of
the other unique things about this film: Kroll, Pappas
and director (and Pappas’s husband) Jeremy Teicher
(“Tracktown”) were the only members of the cast and
crew during shooting, though you would never guess
that from watching.

Another unique aspect is the sheer number of athletes

in the film. Pappas, Olympian-turned-Hollywood
actress, ran track for Greece in the 2016 Olympics in Rio
and released a film that same year (“Tracktown,” which
starred Pappas and was co-written by Pappas and
Teicher). In addition to Pappas, several of Ezra’s patients

were real Olympians in the 2018
games. It also features Morgan
Schild, a freestyle mogul skier
for USA, as Penelope’s hallmate
Maggie, and Gus Kenworthy, a
freestyle skier, playing a version of
himself that strikes up a delightful
friendship with Penelope.

But the main star of the film

is
the
relationship
between

Penelope and Ezra, an emotional
connection that formed so quickly
and so intensely that they couldn’t
explain what it was, but knew that
they would never forget it. Pappas
and Kroll are both effortlessly
charming, conveying a warmth
and bliss in each other’s company

in every scene. Watching Penelope and Ezra run
through the Olympic village, eat Korean barbeque and
dance like no one’s watching, you get a sense that these
are two people who are perfectly happy when they’re
together.

“Olympic Dreams” is a love letter to the Olympics, to

the good and the bad of finally achieving your dreams
and finding people in the chaos. For an hour and a half,
you are transported to a snowy village in South Korea,
where you get to watch two people find each other
within the brief bubble of the games. Despite the cheesy
title and premise, the film manages to weave a story that
is a perfect middle between stiff and cheesy, a sweetness
that is injected in every line and interaction in such a
way that you walk out with a smile on your face and a
warm feeling in your heart.

‘Olympic Dreams’ is a
warm hug on a winter night

FILM REVIEW

KARI ANDERSON

Daily Arts Writer

Walking out of Ford Field Saturday night, I

felt like I had made a mistake. My ears buzzed
with the sound of a record-breaking 70,000
strong audience sing-along. My mind raced to
try and capture the memory of what I had just
seen — a 58 year old Garth Brooks sprinting
back-and-forth across a circular stage, and then
lots of subsequent panting. My throat hurt, of
course, from all the cheering. In the back of my
mind however, I couldn’t help but feel foolish.
Or even worse, mean.

When I saw that Luke Combs was coming

to Grand Rapids and Garth Brooks was
playing in Detroit on back-to-back weekends,
I immediately decided that I had to attend and
compare the experiences. Combs and Brooks

outline the ideal trajectory of a career in country
music — Combs’s stardom is rising and Brooks
is a bonafide legend. The opportunity to see
both ends felt unmissable. However, I should
have known that trying to compare anyone to a
seven-time CMA Entertainer of the Year meant
setting up the other artist for failure.

Still, as my starstruck daze starts to fade, I

can see where my head was at: Combs has been
heralded as the second-coming of neotraditional

country — the ’90s sound that Garth is the King
of. Combs’s latest album beat Brooks’s Hot
Country Chart record for the most entries in
a single week. The most explicit link between
the two artists was drawn by Combs himself:
During his concert, he covered one of Brooks’s

signature songs “The Dance.” The potential for
Combs to become the next-generation Garth
Brooks is clear — once one is able to reconcile
their age differences.

Take, for example, the shows’ energetic

highpoints. In the middle of “1, 2 Many,” one
of Combs’s uptempo drinking songs, a crew
member rushed a can of beer to the middle of
the stage. There was a pause in the music as the
crowd unraveled what was happening. When it
clicked that, yes, he really was about to shotgun
a beer on stage, the audience erupted.

During “Ain’t Goin’ Down (til’ the Sun Comes

Up),” Brooks didn’t reach for a beer, but two
uncapped water bottles. Instead of downing
them (which seemed warranted given all of his
running around), he splashed them around the
stage, into the audience, and finally poured out
two more onto a drum set.

Whereas Brooks’s crowd interaction involved

trading cowboy hats with a young fan for a few
verses, Combs later refilled the contents of one
audience member’s raised red solo cup with his
own as he was singing.

While
these
approaches
to
audience

engagement feel comical in comparison, both
artists’ enthusiasm, and more importantly,
skill for connecting with their fans, is obvious.

Brooks showcased his ability to read the room
when, after a sequence of fast songs, he decided
to scrap the upcoming slow song on the setlist
and keep the high energy going. Combs also
demonstrated his ability to manage an audience.
Even though he has two incredibly popular
albums out, Combs held the crowd in the palm
of his hand while playing an unreleased song
called “Without You” acoustically.

I chalk this power up to Brooks and Combs

having what I hesitantly call “dad energy.” Not
because they have kids (Combs doesn’t), but
because they care in a way that feels uniquely
genuine. Brooks was all waves, hand-hearts
and “Happy Birthdays!” during his show. He
repeatedly expressed his gratitude, staring
starry-eyed into the stands and opening his
arms wide, as if he was embracing everyone.

Combs is less direct at showing his love, but

just as emotional in his songs. “Refrigerator
Door” and “Even Though I’m Leaving” were

both sweet moments at his show that highlight
Combs’s knack for appreciating life’s little
things. “Dad energy” is about warmth. Lots
of country artists are good at conveying joy
or heartbreak, but it’s much harder to make a
crowd feel safe in the way Garth and Luke can.

Most of Garth’s encore consisted of just him

and his guitar. He took song requests from the
signs his more-seasoned fans knew to bring,
and he made a request of his own by deciding
to cover “Piano Man.” This, I think, is the
mark of a legend. The ability to rely exclusively
on your discography and yourself to pull off
entertaining a stadium of people. Combs hasn’t
had the time to get there yet, but even Brooks
himself thinks that he will get there eventually.
After winning his latest Entertainer of the
Year Award in 2019, Garth predicted that Luke
would grow to become Entertainer of the Year
eight times — breaking another one of Garth’s
records.

Two concerts, two weeks: Luke Combs and Garth Brooks

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

KATIE BEEKMAN

Daily Arts Writer

COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW

COUNTRY LIVE/ELLEN

DANA PIERANGELI
Community Culture Editor

‘Lord of the Flies’ rendition
is disturbingly brilliant

As most public school kids in America will

remember from their ninth grade English class,
“The Lord of the Flies” by William Goldingis
is the quintessential dystopian novel of our
childhood. While I was never fully convinced
by the 1940’s classic that humans in general,
let alone 12 year old boys could collapse into
madness so easily, the University department
of Theatre and Drama performance may have
convinced me otherwise.

Music, Theatre & Dance fifth year senior

James Harbaugh, the director of “The Lord
of the Flies”, brings the story to life in an
innovative and breathtaking way. Harbaugh
depicts the young boys’ quick descent into
chaos as all forms of civilization break down
in a way that sheds light on a side of humanity
you never wanted to see but can’t look away
from.

Harbaugh is a genius when it comes to the

stage. His vision for this show was shocking
and terrifying and all around horrible in the
best possible way. He made smart choices
that utilized the space, props and actors in
unexpected ways, while staying true to the
story.

Instead of an overdone jungle theme,

Harbaugh put his actors in worker jumpsuits
and used classroom and construction props
as the minimal set. Though it wasn’t canon
with the original story, it made perfect sense
for this production and didn’t detract from
the realism of the show. Their fire was a
rope of orange extension cords, their shelter
a metal construction lift. He even made use
of the light box in the studio; the final scene
depicted Jack stabbing his spear through the
switch box, killing the lights on his hunt for
Ralph. This use of technology and modern
appliances gives the play an almost “Black
Mirror” feeling, bringing a dated book into
the modern age with new significance on how
technology interacts with the very core of
humanity.

His use of sound effects was minimal and

effective: Throughout most of the show,
a hollow wind sound engulfed the stage,
sucking the air out of the actors and audience
alike. I don’t think I took a full breath the
entire show, and suddenly Piggy’s asthma
predicament didn’t seem so comical.

The most genius part was Harbaugh’s

casting. Instead of the traditional all male
cast, he had a mix of male and female actors,
with females portraying most of the leads.
Music, Theatre & Dance freshman Claire
DeJean played Ralph, the textbook honorable,
but occasionally naive leader; Music, Theatre
& Dance senior Jillian Lee Garner played Jack,
the schoolroom bully turned savage hunter;
and Music, Theatre & Dance junior Shea
Fairbanks Galaudet played Piggy, the beloved
superego of the group. These three women
portrayed their characters with fascinating

depth and a childlike vigor that didn’t seem
manufactured. Watching every character
onstage have an emotional breakdown for two
hours was exhausting but utterly convincing.

Allowing women to portray these roles

solved what is most lacking in the original
book. This story takes the ‘boys being boys’
argument to the extreme, but by having the
majority of the characters played by women,
the characters became more universally
human. Not only can these characters as
women still behave just as savagely and cruelly
as the original characters, but it also proves
that women are fully capable of playing these
types of roles. Rarely are women cast in roles
that allow them to explore such emotions,
because it’s even more rare that such roles are
written for women. By placing women in roles
that are not only usually portrayed by men
but are also so viscerally human, Harbaugh
broke down the expectations that women
are fundamentally different from men and
created a story anyone, regardless of gender,
can see themselves in. Whether they want to
or not.

The book is disturbing enough; reading

about 12 year old boys succumbing to their
wild side, ripping each other to shreds with
no ounce of morality is gruesome at best and
emotionally scarring at worst. But seeing that
story play out onstage was something else
entirely.

Of course, we all look at those kids and think

‘I would never do something like that, they’re
monsters.’ But skimming through “The Lord
of the Flies” the night before a high school
English test in the comfort of your bed is one
thing. Watching real people, people you know,
people you go to school with and are even
friends with, unlock that side of themselves
for a performance makes you realize just
how easy it could be to succumb to those
temptations, if put in the right circumstances.

The final performance of “The Lord of the

Flies” will take place on Friday, Feb. 28 @ 8pm
in the Newman Studio.

IFC FILMS

Both artists’ enthusiasm, and

more importantly, skill for

connecting with their fans, is

obvious

Combs and Brooks outline

the ideal trajectory of a

career in country music —
Combs’s stardom is rising
and Brooks is a bomafide

legend

“Lord of the Flies”

Friday, Feb. 28

Newmann Studio

8PM

“Olympic Dreams”

dir. Jeremy Teicher

IFC Films

5 — Friday, February 28, 2020
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com