Movies
'The Woman in
Red' is fine comedy
By SHAWN BEHLEN
Staff Writer
How far will an ordinary man
go to sleep with the most beau
tiful woman in the world? That
is the question Gene Wilder
tries to answer in his delightful
new comedy, "The Woman In
Red."
Teddy Pierce, a happily mar
ried man, is innocently parking
his car one morning when a vi
sion in red appears before his
eyes. The most beautiful
woman he has ever seen walks
in front of his car and stops to
do a dance over an air vent. In
true Marilyn Monroe style, the
dress flies up to reveal long,
lean legs and scanty panties
while Stevie Wonder sings in
the background. Pierce is lost
forever and no one could blame
him.
From there follows one of the
most endearing romantic
chases seen on the big screen in
quite a while. Pierce can't be
lieve that he is risking a success
ful marriage, but each time he
catches a glimpse of the gor
geous Charlotte, he falls in love
all over again. Wilder is in true
comedic form when he starts
riding horses at the same eques
trian club as she does just to be
close. To say the least, the horse
is not on his side.
The reason this film works so
well is the excellent cast. Gene
Wilder is hilarious as Teddy
Pierce, a lovable and warm
hearted innocent completely
obsessed with a situation he
cannot control. Kelly LeBrock
portays Charlotte, the woman
in red. To say the woman is
beautiful and sexy has got to be
the understatement of the year.
Before this film, the English
model was famous for being the
center of the controversial set of
Christian Dior ads. She, unlike
many models, makes the tran
sition from modeling to acting
seem remarkably easy. I predict
we will see much more of her in
the future.
The other standouts in the
cast are Charles Grodin ("The
Lonely Guy"), Joseph Bologna
("Blame It On Rio") and Gilda
Radner. Grodin plays one of
Pierce's best friends and almost
steals the show with a blind
man in a fancy restaurant rou
tine. Grodin's character is also
homosexual and he experiences
the same set of trials and trib
ulations with his lover as every
one else. This illustrates that all
sexual relationships, whether
homo- or hetoro-, are the same.
Bologna is just as funny as
another of Pierce's friends who
is left repeatedly by his wife. He
becomes manic immediately af
ter she leaves, but soon after,
he is back in his old form chas
ing anything on two legs.
Radner portrays Miss Milner,
the woman scorned and stood
up by Pierce because of a mis
understanding over the phone.
He thinks he is calling Charlotte
and makes a date, but he is
really talking to Milner. Her
transformation from mousy of
fice secretary to hot, bar-hop-
ping sexpot is hilarious and the
revenge she exacts from Pierce
afterwards is just as funny.
These supporting characters
are an integral part of this film.
All of the subplots are woven
into the story so as to illustrate
Pierce's dilemma, not detract
from it with meaningless side
trips. That serves to make the
film much more meaningful
than it would be with just
Pierce's story to examine.
Overall, the film is quite
good. As we realize that every
one in the film is cheating in
their relationships in one way
or another, it becomes obvious
that temptation is a universal
experience. As director, writer
and star. Wilder has made the
only truly funny adult comedy
of the summer.
Eastwood takes risks in 'Tightrope'
By SHAWN BEHLEN
Staff Reviewer
Clint Eastwood's latest cop
film, "Tightrope," is a taut, racy
and hard-nosed thriller that
looks at the fine line between
the good and evil sides in all of
us.
The film centers on the seamy
side of New Orleans where
someone is raping and mur
dering prostitutes. Detective
Wes Block (Eastwood) is as
signed to the case and the hunt
begins.
That sounds like a good set
up for a Dirty Harry film and
with Eastwood starring, that's
what I expected. Block is similar
to Harry Callahan, but there are
some major differences be
tween the two. These differ
ences are what makes "Tightro
pe" a movie to contend with
and not one for just Eastwood
fans to sit through.
Block is divorced with two
daughters, ages 12 and nine. As
the film begins, this
relationship illustrates the lov
ing or good side of Block. He
takes them to ball games, tucks
them in bed with a kiss and fa
therly words of wisdom and
adopts every stray dog they can
find.
As the film progresses, how
ever, we discover that the evil
in Block is just as strong. The
man is no stranger to New Or
leans night life. In his search for
the killer, he travels from strip
joints to whorehouses and does
a bit more than just interrogate
witnesses.
It turns out that the killer's
method of attack is to handcuff
his victim, rape her and then
strangle her with a red cord.
That strikes home with Block.
We see several scenes in which
he shows signs of sexual vio
lence — even to the point of us
ing the handcuffs himself. Sev
eral of the women he ends up
with become victims and even
tually he and the killer almost
parallel each other.
Those scenes are a change for
Eastwood and a huge risk. That
is what makes "Tightrope"
worth seeing. He has taken a
very serious subject, and, in a
huge departure from his past
roles, explored it fully with a
complex and multi-dimen
sioned characterization. It is
nice to see him expanding and
trying new stuff after so many
films in which he did nothing
more than squint into the dis
tance.
Block is another Dirty Harry
only on the surface. Under
neath, he is undergoing a mas
sive psychological stuggle.
Coming to grips with the fact
that he is so lixe the very man
that he is hunting is not easy. In
the final chase scene, it is the
killer who is in control. He has
set up a path of sexual sleaze for
Block to follow and shows Block
time after time how much they
are alike.
Block's daytime love interest
in the film is portrayed by Gen
evieve Bujold as strong-willed
and slightly masculine and she
never wears any make-up. That
gives a visual counterpoint to
the women he sees at night. Bu
jold does a great job of portray
ing the hard-nosed director of a
rape crisis center and even
tually becomes the protaganist
for Block's emotional upheaval.
When she and Block's daugh
ters are threatened, his true
feelings come to light and he is
able to conquer his dark side.
Tnis film explores its subject
in great detail and is nol pretty
or sweet. In fact, it is hig ly de
pressing. It brings up some as
pects of human nature that peo
ple don't like to think about,
but should. Don't go see it ex
pecting just action and adven
ture. Do go see it with an open
mind that is ready to analyze
and question.
"Tightrope" a departure for Eastwood
In this action thriller, tlint Eastwood does more than just squint and
scowl, giving an emotional performance that goes beyond Dirty Harry.