hursday, March 22,1990
The Battalion
Page?
by Scott McCullar © 1990
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YOU'RE KI&DINGf TRADITIONS
ARE GOINS TO POT' NEXT
THING THEY'LL LET WOMEN
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KEVIN THOMAS
BOWABOUT \ A A K S' 1
A A AG I
May August & December
SENIORS!
The Class of ’90 needs
CLASS AGENTS
Qualifications & duties of persons to be elected to
represent the Class of ’90 for the next five years will
be discussed at a meeting sponsored by. . .
Association of Former Students
TODAY March 22 at 4:30 p.m.
Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center
Attendance is mandatory to seek election as a Class Agent
SFADE PHILLIPS, /?/.
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So Worthless?
ORE'armed- ORtEtfTAL
AMD " PooR- Blac K-
Hanks, Ryan screen chemistry real,
but 6 Joe’ doesn’t live up to potential
By TODD STONE
Of The Battalion Staff
The old cliche “almost only counts
in horseshoes and hand grenades,”
applies well to the new Tom Hanks
film, “Joe Versus the Volcano.”
The recruitment of stars Hanks
and Meg Ryan suggests the film is
going to be a conventional romantic
comedy. However, writer and direc
tor John Patrick ShaidJksy attempts to
be unusual, bizarre and abstract with
his humor and themes.
As much as I appreciate the off
beat, “Joe” tends to meander more
than entertain.
Hanks plays Banks, Jo^e Banks. He
has a terrible job at a surgical supply
company, and he is always sick. At
the office, his world is a room with
no windows and flickering fluores
cent lights.
A demeaning and demanding
boss and a shy, flaky secretary are his
only companions.
Shanley puts Joe in a cleverly
crafted world that is morbid and
mundane, and in the beginning, it is
all interesting.
However, as Joe wanders through
his pathetic existence, so does the
film. For every scene that gets a
laugh, droughts of humor and ambi
guity follow.
Joe discovers he has a “brain
cloud” and has only six months to
live. Robert Stack begins a series of
amusing cameo appearances as the
cold and stoic doctor who warns Joe
of his imminent death.
Lloyd Bridges makes an appear
ance as an eccentric industrialist who
offers Joe three weeks of extrava
gant living if he will jump into a vol
cano.
Joe decides to enjoy the money,
find himself and die like a man — he
agrees to take the plunge ■ -
Although Joe now has money, he
still doesn't know what to do because
he never considered what he wanted
out of life. Ossie Davis appears and
charms as a chauffeur who teaches
Joe to dress with style.
In spite of the strong cameos by
Davis* Stack and Bridges, the perfor
mances of Hanks and Ryan is what
keeps this film from falling apart.
The two stars share a strong screen
chemistry as Joe meets three women
during the film, all played by Ryan.
As a quirky secretary, Ryan dis
plays a strong comedic touch with
her subtle glances, movements and
expressions. A few hilarious mo
ments follow as Ryan plays a superfi
cial artist, but as her final character,
a yacht captain, she doesn’t get much
to do.
Still, Ryan proves she can be
funny and inventive. I wonder how
good Ryan and Hanks would have
JOE VERSUS THE
VOLCANO
Starring Tom Hanks and Meg
Ryan
Directed by John Patrick Shanley
Rated PG
been together with a stronger script?
Hanks fails to compensate for all
of the, homing morijet.tts in the film,
but hle\bfiEinues id pull laughs out-
of nowhere.
If anyone else had played Joe, the
film would have been a disaster. Un
fortunately, Hanks too is held back
by a script that follows too many bor
ing tangents.
Of coufse, the climax of the film
focuses on Joe’s jump into the vol
cano. Will he? At that point, I didn’t
care. It was frustrating watching
Ryan and Hanks struggle through a
story and an a creative world that
lacked “punch.”
To his credit, Shanley had a vi
sion, and he deserves a slap on the
back for trying different ideas
throughout the film. Unfortunately,
the attempt at inventiveness failed.
If you enjoy Tom Hanks — and
you have to like him a lot — then
maybe this film will be entertaining.
Otherwise, “Joe Versus the Volcano”
is a potentially inventive film that
goes nowhere.
COMMIT TO
BE FIT!
• Classes 7 am - 8 pm
• High & Low Impact Aerobics
• Hydra-fitness Equipment
• Tanning
JOIN NOW FOR ONLY
$45.00*
Thru May 31,1990
theWr^
wam)\Bagm
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1003 University Drive East
‘Does not include tanning
MSC VARIETY SHOW
"A NIGHT UNDER THE STARS"
^TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE*
PARENTS’
WEEKEND
APRIL 6, 1990
?:30 RUDDER
FEATURING
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engineering week
March 26-31,1990
Monday
5:00 Zachry Lobby
Paper Airplane Contest
Sponsored by Andersen Consulting
5:00 Sneakers
Horseshoe Tournament
Sponsored by Union Carbide
Tuesday
12:00 Zachry Lobby
Egg Drop Event
Sponsored by Southwest Bell Corporation
5:00 Sneakers-
Horseshoe Tournament Continued
Wednesday
11:50 Zachry Lobby
Dean's Forum
Sponsored by College of Engineering and Student Engineers' Council
5:00 CE Materials Lab
Wooden Bridge Building Contest
Sponsored by Houston Lighting and Power and Conoco
7:00 Sneakers
Sandcastle Building Contest
Sponsored by E Systems
Thursday
5:00 CVLB
FORTRAN Programming
Sponsored by Du Pont
5:00 Zachry
Paper Competition
"How I as a Engineer Can Improve Society"
Sponsored by Frito Lay
42 Domino Tournament
5:00 Sneakers
Sponsored by Dow Chemical Company
5:00 Sneakers
Volleyball Tournament
Sponsored by Advanced Micro Devices
Friday
2:00 Sneakers
Volleyball Tournament continued
2:00 Sneakers
42 Domino Tournament continued
Saturday
10:00 am Sneakers
Volleyball Tournament finals
10:00 am Sneakers
42 Domino Tournament finals
5:00-7:00 Sneakers
Fajita Supper
Sponsored by Mobil
10:00 pm Sneakers
Joe King Carrasco
Participation prizes funded by Exxon
Coordinated by Student Engineer's Council
Texas A&IVTs video yearbook* Order
^Jgybur copy today from Student
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