The Battalion
LIFESTYLES
5
Monday, September 4,1989
The Battalion
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By John Righter
Of The Battalion Staff
As a presentation of MSC Town
Hall, KKYS and Coors Light, the
1989 Comedy Commandos
launched their verbal assault on a
sold-out Rudder Auditorium Friday
night.
Performing exactly two hours,
and finishing in plenty of time for
yell practice, comedians David Nas-
ter and Taylor Mason entertained a
large and vociferous crowd that sup
ported A&M’s recognition by the
Adolph Coors Company as . . the
biggest crowd of all college tour
stops since the Commandos’ intro
duction in 1987.”
Leading off the comedy task force
was Mason, a former member of the
famous Second City Theatre of Chi
cago. Mason immediately broke the
ice and set the firepower in motion
by telling the audience, “I know you
wanted Sam Kinison. But my name
is Taylor Mason. I am someone you
can afford.”
Mason’s set was an impressive
blend of timely comedy, song par
ody and a superb ventriloquism act
that included his “partner” Slash, “a
puppet with an attitude.”
Without a doubt, Slash was the
highlight of the evening, selectively
antagonizing Mason and the audi
ence, a la Chuck of the old “Soap”
series.
One gentleman especially pro
voked Slash’s attention.
“He’s starting to piss me off,”
Slash said.
“Come on. You’ve got a bad attitu
de,” replied Mason.
“Yes I do. I’m sick and tired of be
ing a puppet. This is a suck job!”
“Isn’t there a good puppet job,”
asked Mason.
“Yes there is, and Dan Quayle’s
got it!”
Mason proved just as hilarious be
hind the piano, where he performed
several parodies, including a mon
tage of “The Flinstones’ ” theme
song, characterized in the voice and
rhythm of The Who’s “Won’t Get
Fooled Again,” the Fim*-¥oung Can
nibal’s “Good Thing,” Bob Dylan’s
“Like A Rolling Stone,” Bruce
Hornsby’s “The Way It Is” (during
which Mason exclaimed, “I hate that
song”).
It also included the Rolling
Stone’s “Beast of Burden,” an espe
cially hilarious rendition of Bruce
Springsteen’s “Born To Run,” in
which a gruff-voiced Mason takes us
to a beach where junkies and a bare
footed man named Fred roam a
beach littered with syringes and sew
age, and Lou Reed’s “Walk on the
Wild Side,” complete with a chorus
of “yabba dabba do do do do do . . .
yabba dabba do do do do do . . . . ”
Following Mason was headliner
David Naster, a three-time Com
mando veteran, who in the words of
Variety magazine “has become the
most sought after performer on col
lege campuses today.”
Combining percussion (a pair of
drumsticks and a microphone stand)
and a kazoo, with plenty of unique
character voices and some extremely
boisterous comedy, Naster, remi
niscent of a young Robin Williams,
won the crowd over with his zany
and energetic set that shot out into
countless, sometimes undeciphera
ble, directions.
Running out onto the stage, Nas
ter jumped and gyrated, hooting
and bellowing “Welcome to Texas!”
He immediately recognized the
Coors Light promo sign, and as Ma
son previously had done, delivered
his commissioned pitch.
Attacking Old Milwaukee (both
comedians included tirades on com
petitors’ commercials in their
ma'terial), Naster commented, “You
know, the commercial shows four
guys sitting around in the woods by
themselves, saying ‘It doesn’t get any
better than this.’ I think it does. It’s
called a date!”
Like Mason, Naster proved timely
in material that dealt with current
events, and both were in tune with
popular A&M grievances such as
parking, class size, school spirit and
Bryan-College Station, which Naster
seemed to think was, “out where the
cow pastures are.”
Overall, the Coors Light Comedy
Commandos proved that laughter
does come in many disarming forms.
The diversity and uniqueness of Ma
son’s and Naster’s sets were much
more significant than their comedy
material alone. They both provided
Photo by Mike C. Mulvey
Comedy Commando Taylor Mason performs with his friend
Slash on Friday in Rudder Auditorium.
refreshing acts, culling the audience
for direction.
And Naster even brought one
overly enthused (actually intoxi
cated) crowd member on stage.
Standing along side of Naster, the
man led the auditorium in the
night’s first yell, bewildering a sur
prised Naster.
Mason appeared more relaxed
when he was behind the piano or
conversing with Slash than when
speaking directly to the audience.
But he also involved the crowd, and
he received a long, resounding
round of applause at the conclusion
of his act.
A last recognition goes out to the
attending Aggies, who lived up to
their billing as the top supporters of
the Commando series. Rest assured
Ags, that when the Commandos
launch their 1990 assault, A&M will
be one of its first attacks.
Weak script of ‘Rude Awakening’ signals
death of blockbuster summer movie season
By Todd Stone
Of The Battalion Staff
Rude Awakening
Rated R
Starring: Eric Roberts, Cheech
Marin, Julie Hagerty and Robert
Carradine
It’s the Hippies vs. the Yuppies in
“Rude Awakening,” a film that
might be a sign that the summer’s
blockbuster movies already have
come and gone.
I keep asking myself what hap
pened to the fun action films like
"Lethal Weapon 2.” Where is the
sincerity of “Dead Poet’s Society,”
the romance of “When Harry Met
Sally,” or the sweet family life of “Pa
renthood”?
“Rude Awakening,” is about four
friends who were a part of the “f-
lower power” culture and have re
united after 20 years.
Because they participated in ille
gal political demonstrations, Fred
(Eric Roberts) and his sidekick, Jesus
(Cheech Marin), were forced to live
in a Central American jungle to
avoid the wrath of the Justice De
partment. In the jungle, they lived in
a small, agrarian community to es
cape the greed of the world.
Sammy (Robert Carradine) now
owns a tanning salon, and Petra (Ju
lie Hagerty) has become a successful
fashion designer. They both are liv
ing unfulfilled lives while trying to
be a part of the upper class society
they once ridiculed.
The idea for the film is good: Ex
amine the different attitudes be
tween the “all you need is love” cul
ture of the 1960s and the “look out
for number one” attitude of the
1980s. However, the movie includes
numberous distractions that prevent
the filmmakers from developing any
interesting material about the peo
ple representing the two time peri
ods.
Fred and Jesus return to America
because they found a dead C.I.A.
agent with secret plans for the
United States to participate in a war
in Central America — another Viet
nam. They must warn the American
public, and in the process, they get
chased around by the Justice De
partment. At this point, the story be
comes contrived and reveals nothing
about the characters or their differ
ing attitudes.
Fred and Jesus visit an old hang
out which has been converted to a
restaurant with 60s decorum in or
der to make a profit from the 60s
nostalgia. They don’t even react to
how the 1960s and all the high prin
ciples and causes of that time have
been trivialized as a passing novelty.
They merely talk about how differ
ent the place looks.
The film also does little to reveal
anything different about the hippies
beyond the long hair, drug-related
flashbacks and the occasional “dig it”
in the dialogue. The yuppies are
resented as pretentious and shal-
ow with no feelings for one another.
The film does expose the apathy
that seems to exist more today than
during the 1960s. In one of the few
strong and revealing scenes, Fred
unsuccessfully tries to muster sup
port for stopping the war in Central
America, and he is shocked to dis
cover that people are not as willing
to take up a cause as they once were.
“Rude Awakening” offers little in
sight into what we were like during
the 1960s, or what we have become
in the 1980s. This film is a great ex
ample of a good idea that develops
into a lousy film.
Avoid it.
A
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offer. Prices may vary. Customer pays applicable sales tax.
Delivery areas limited to ensure safe driving. Drivers not
penalized for late deliveries. Our drivers carry less than $20.
©1989 Domino's Pizza, Inc.
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