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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1983)
Movie 'worth seeing' despite some problems by J. Cary Stegall Battalion Staff Francis Ford Coppola's newest film, The Outsiders, is an intriguing departure in style from current movie-making techniques, yet it is a thoroughly entertaining film — an unusual combination. The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, deals with the con flicts between two rival gangs. The socs (short for socials) are the "nice kids" from the South Side with money and tough cars. The greasers are not so nice. They're from the North Side where kids get beat a little more often and parents drink to stop worrying about mortgage payments. But even the worst situations are tempered with hope. This is evident in the relationship be tween Ponyboy, the narrator, and his best friend, Johnny. Ponyboy and Johnny decide to run away when life on the home front becomes unbear able. Johnny is having problems recovering mentally from a beat ing he received from the socs. Ponyboy, whose parents are dead, is feeling stifled by his old er brothers. Running away seems to be the best solution. Both actors — C. Thomas Howell as Ponyboy and Ralph Macchio as Johnny — give be lievable, if overly-sensitive per formances. Matt Dillon stars as Dallas, the older and much rougher tough that Johnny and Ponyboy hang out with. Dillon does a fine job; Dallas is always filled with nervous energy, spontaneity and exasperation. The depth of the supporting cast aside, the biggest selling point of The Outsiders is the tension and energy it has. The characters are vital and endear ing, yet credible as members of a gang. The main theme of the movie is that the people behind the stereotypes are often more com plex than image conveys. The audience is pulled into the ac tion by the members of the cast to discover this theme. The movie's problem, and a distracting one — The Outsid ers is not as slickly produced as most movies are today. A lot of the scenes seem melodramatic — the colors too vivid, the music too sweeping. ' The editing between scenes Matt Dillon appears to have been executed without any attempt at style. When a sharp break would be effective, there is a fade out, and vice versa. Despite the stylistic prob lems, this film is very entertain ing. You need only put up with a few annoying technical stylings in exchange for some old- fashioned enjoyment. Carrasco to headline party Joe "King" Carrasco and the Crowns will headline this year's Beaux Arts Ball, titled the S.S. Titanic Party, April 16. Carrasco is known for his eclectic Tex-Mex brand of new wave dance music. He has just released his latest album, "Party Weekend". A loc al "ska" band, Baggy Trousers, will open the show. The Beaux Arts Ball is an annual event sponsored by the Associated Student Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the American Society of Landscape Architects. Tickets will be on sale next week at the Rudder Box Office, Sbisa Dining Hall, the Quadrangle and the main hallway of the Memorial Student Center. Tick ets are $8 presale and $9 at the door. Happy Hour 4-Midnight Weekends 4-1:00 a.m. FUN • FOOD • DRINK' Movie review Bad Boys called truthful, realistic J. Cary Stegall Battalion Staff The situation behind the plot of Bad Boys is quite simi lar to that of The Outsiders— kids growing up in street gangs. But the similarities end there. The Outsiders is set in the suburbs of Tulsa; Bad Boys comes from the slums of Chi cago. The Outsiders' charac ters always have redeeming qualities; Bad Boys isn't afraid to live up to its name, many of the people just aren't likable. However, the biggest differ ence is the degree of juvenile delinquency. The kids in The Outsiders never get in deep enough to go to a juvenile center; the greater portion of Bad Boys takes place in one. Sean Penn (Taps, Fast Times at Ridgemont Times) plays Mick O'Brien, a street kid, in his most convincing role to date. Mick and a friend decide to steal a drug stash from a rival, Paco, portrayed by Esai Morales. Instead of a suitcase full of drugs, Mick gets one dead friend and a juvenile sentence for killing Paco's younger brother. Mick is sentenced to St. Charles Correctional, where he soon fights his way up to inmate boss. Things are run ning smoothly until Paco is arrested for raping Penn's girlfriend and sentenced to the same "dorm". A confron tation is imminent, but Penn is trying to keep a good record for his upcoming parole re view. Obviously fights, shootings Movie Review and rape make this a violent picture, but it is necessary to show the type of environment that these characters live in. In fact, the best part of Bad Boys is its realistic attitude. In contrast to The Outsid ers, where Coppola provides a good depiction of a story. Bad Boys's director Rick Rosenthal attempts to capture reality and succeeds. The lan guage works well, and the actors are good enough to make the audience forget that. they are actors. Although the subject mat ter is not the most appealing to mass audiences. Bad Boys is a very compelling and satis fying movie. If you are look ing for an interesting Friday night fare, see The Outsiders. But if you then need a jolt back to reality, you will find it in Bad Boys. CULPEPPER PLAZA iamond Room 3731 E. 29th ■ 846-4708 Bryan 707 Shopping Village 693-7444 College Station
