Thursday, July 19,1990
The Battalion
Pages
T’ilin ‘Ford Fairlane’ falters with uninspired script,
'emphasis on comic Dice Clay’s chauvinist persona
By JOHN RIGHTER
The Battalion Staff
(“Dai
The Adventures
Of Ford Fairlane
Starring Andrew Dice Clay, Wayne
Newton and Priscilla Presley
)irected By Renny Marlin
Sated R
spens
ryou ■ “The Adventures of Ford Fairla-
^ lie” is as funny as a twice-told joke.
j 115 ^ I And the action isjust as stale.
Milking Andrew Dice Clay’s
[Fairlane) controversial bad-boy
mage, director Renny Harlin and
icreenplay writer Daniel Waters
with assistance from James Cappe
nd David Arnott) deploy every de-
ftlorable Dice-man gimmick, includ-
ng most of the comedian’s standup
r fro:Routine.
The action isjust as contrived, re-
ying on the usual fast-speed chases,
tack-alley fisticuffs and multiple ex-
ilosives. Harlin, who was successful
n deriving excitement from a typical
action plot with “Die Hard 2,” fails to
foiosj inject any new twists into the devel
opments of “Fairlaine.”
Likewise, Waters, who wrote the
hilarious screenplay for last year’s
“Heathers,” falls short of developing
an original and funny line of dia
logue.
Harlin and Waters do nothing to
ort of* separate Clay from his comedic
1C, is image. Most of “Fairlane” is set to in-
ttaiBcorporate Clay’s routine, developing
■his persona (fiction or not) as macho,
lltiiMoutspoken, chauvinistic scum.
f The movie pits Fairlane as a rock-
n-roll detective in Los Angeles hired
first by his shock disc jockey friend
Johnny Crunch (a hilarious Gilbert
Gottfried), and then by the beautiful
heiress Colleen Sutton (Priscilla Pre
sley), to find a ditzy groupie of the
band Black Plague.
The onstage death of Black
Plague frontman Bobby Black
(Vince Neil of Motley Crue) and the
electrocution of the sleazy Crunch
is at
mad
Battalion File Photo
Rock n’ roll detective Ford Fairlane (Andrew Dice
“The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.”
Clay) swaps insults with the disco-jiving Lt. Amos (Ed O’Neill) in
propel Fairlane into one big disaster
after another.
In solving his big case, Fairlane
has his car blown up, his house
blown up, his prized Jimi Hendrix
guitar destroyed, his girlfriend (a
term used loosely in this case)
thrown out a second-story window
(she lives) and his pet koala bear
hung from a ceiling fan.
The only thing Fairlane is able to
keep intact throughout the movie is
his cockiness and sense of humor.
Just as the dialogue mimics Clay’s
stand-up routine, Fairlane’s setbacks
and eventual success (he solves the
case and falls onto the “lap of luxu
ry”) parallel Clay’s career.
For every MTV ban, Saturday
Night Live controversy and industry
ostracism, there has been a sold-out
Madison Square Garden perfor
mance or major movie release (two
this summer) around the corner to
reward Clay for his impertinence.
Although “Fairlane” falls far short
of being a competent action-comedy,
it does have a few funny moments
and makes some interesting com
ments on the state of the music in
dustry.
Employing Wayne Newton as the
shrewd, corrupt music mogul, Julian
Grendel (cute name play) was per
fect casting. Grendel epitomizes the
industry leader out solely for a fast
buck. He kills, ruins careers and pro
motes good-looking, talentless saps
aimed at destroying the industry
(New Kids On the Block?).
One of the more ironic moments
of the film is when Grendel, not real
izing he is on microphone, gives a
lengthy speech, overheard by a
crowd of industry-types, on how he
is methodically destroying music by
injecting it with his pop clones.
Coming from a ’60s pop-cover
artist turned Las Vegas showroom
man, the dialogue was quite descrip
tive of both the character and the ac
tor behind it.
Likewise, Clay and Waters take
several shots at MTV, even alluding
to Clay’s ban from the station. Most
hilarious, though, were the shots
(probably inadvertently) taken at
Neil through his character Black.
First, Black enters his final perfor
mance in a blaze of flames, then
halfway into the first song begins to
choke to death. The unsuspecting
audience cheers wildly thinking
Black’s death is just another theat
rical stunt.
Then at Black’s funeral, tickets
are scalped and sold to thousands of
heartbroken fans, who mob his glass
casket before it is knocked rolling
down the hill with the delirious mob
chasing after it (sounds like the fu
neral of a certain Middle-Eastern de-
mogogue we all know and love).
The final and most humurous
shot is the reference to Black’s anti
drug work. Fairlane cracks that he
found out all the junkie artists do the
anti-drug commercials when they
need money for their habit.
The funny part is that Neil, in an
interview with “Spin” (January is
sue), admitted he was “loaded” (and
still addicted) when he did his “Rock
Against Drugs” commercial for
MTV and other anti-drug ads.
“Ford Fairlane” works best as a
parody of the music industry and of
Clay. Clay is not a total disaster in
the lead role, but he certainly does
nothing to dilute his typecast as the
obnoxious, egotistical jerk.
Robert Englund as Smiley, a
wacked-out hit man and Ed O’Neill
(of Fox’s “Married With Children”)
as the disco-jiving Lt. Amos (anus to
Fairlane) are both good, as are
Gottfried and Newton.
It’s hard, though, to recommend
“Fairlane” even to Clay fans, since
the funniest material is old and used.
“Fairlane” might be worth a dollar
(if you accept the notion that Clay’s
chauvinism and prejudice is just a
routine), but I can’t say it’s worth
anymore.
'i Guitarist Belew incorporates influences
ideas a
l strong, slick release 4 Young Lions’
Off,
uraji
By JOHN RIGHTER
Of The Battalion Staff
Adrian Belew
t,to Young Lions
:leay Atlantic
leo.
Young Lions is the fifth solo re
lease from one of the most impor
tant session men of the last 15 years.
Adrian Belew has apparently been
an observant understudy, for the
former singer and guitarist of King
Crimson, and present axeman for
David Bowie, has successfully
blended the influences of his various
session bosses into this alternative
chart-topper.
Already supported by the hit
"Pretty Pink Rose,” a duet with Bo
wie, Young Lions is a slick, diverse
album that allows traces of King
Crimson, Bowie, Talking Heads and
Laurie Anderson to slip through.
Belew doesn’t shamelessly copy from
them, but he does selectively borrow,
which is definitely excusable given
the credentials of the above artists
and his past ties to them.
Belew has long been recognized as
a top guitarist. His innovative work
on King Crimson’s Discipline, an
outstanding and bizarre album,
Frank Zappa’s wild Sheik Yerbouti
and Talking Heads’ Remain In
Light (one of the ’80s best releases)
played major roles in propelling
these works to their critical success.
Young Lions, entirely Belew’s
work, takes a chunk from these
works. Belew performs almost all of
the album’s vocals and instruments,
as well as writing eight of the 10
tracks and producing the album.
Taking the reigns, Belew alter
nates Young Lions between avant-
numbers flavored with guitar twangs
and cushiony ELO-type “pop”
songs.
The album’s best work is Belew’s
partnership with Bowie on “Pretty
Pink Rose” and “Gunman” and the
enigmatic “I Am What I Am,” a song
built around a wailing guitar and a
funky radio sample of a charismatic
evangelist.
Both “Pretty Pink Rose” and
“Gunman” are tight, aggressive gui-
, the
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Battalion File Photo
Adrian Belew (left) teamed with David Bowie on “Pretty Pink
Rose” and “Gunman” from Belew’s fifth release, “Young Lions.”
tar numbers slickened by Bowie’s
strained harmonies.
Elsewhere, Belew opts for the ’70s
pop sound on the environmentally-
concerned “Looking For A U.F.O.”
and on his cover of the Traveling
Wilburys’ “Not Alone Anymore.”
The environment aspect resur
faces on “Men In Helicopters,” a
song touched off by Belew’s interest
in animal preservation, and the title
track, a descriptive tale of the Afri
can wilderness.
Young Lions is a catchy pop al
bum smartly punctured at the right
stops with avant wanderings to keep
it “collegiate” (for you elitists). It em
ploys the tape loop and almost spo
ken word a la Laurie Anderson, the
wailing guitar a la Belew’s work with
King Crimson, the African drum
beats picked up from his stay with
Talking Heads and finally adds the
popability of the master, David Bo
wie.
Belew has played with the best,
and on Young Lions, he has applied
this experience well.
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Soul II Soul strengthens own musical
conviction with ‘I990-A New Decade’
By JOHN RIGHTER
Of The Battalion Staff
Soul II Soul
Vol 11-1990-A New Decade
Virgin
Soul II Soul follows its 1989 de
but, Keep On Movin’, arguably the
most significant album of last year,
with one of’90’s best releases.
Vol 11-1990-A New Decade is a
continuation of bandleader Jazzie
B’s formulation of soul, hip hop and
ragamuffin. Jazzie B is the conduc
tor and coordinator of Soul II Soul,
a front he claimed is used to crush
black stereotypes perpetuated by the
media (May issue “Spin”).
The movement of the black artist
as social reformer has been labled
the “Funky Dread Vanguard,” and
includes among others, Spike Lee,
Yo! MTV Rap’s Fab Five Freddie
(who appears on Vol II’s last track)
and Jazzie B.
Vol II-1990-A New Decade is not
as eclectic in its style as it is in its per
sonnel. Jazzie B, the only stable fig
ure in Soul II Soul, alternates vocal
ists on each track, excluding the
album’s two instrumentals.
The different female singers
(there are two male-tandem tracks
and some backup vocals that include
Jazzie B) add diversity to Jazzie B’s
soulish hip hop blend of minimalist
orchestration through each num
ber’s vocal focus that allows the
singer to apply her (or his) own fla
voring.
Do not be misled by my reference
to Soul II Soul’s music as minimalist.
Jazzie B’s arrangements are slickly
devised and solidly delivered by his
group. Deep, punctuated bass lines,
restrained, but varied percussion,
timely horns and filler keyboards
serve out most of the album’s
rhythm, devising a soothing ambi
ence that still maintains a solid edge.
The unpretentious arrangements
are the perfect complement to the
album’s vocals, placing the emphasis
where it is most deserved.
From the opening “Get A Life,”
Vol IPs first single, it is the diverse,
but roundly impressive list of singers
that make Vol II such a strong re
lease.
Critics have followed Jazzie B’s
claim that Vol II is as equally deserv
ing of accolades for the power of its
lyrics. In all honesty, I found the
words, outside of “Get A Life” and
“1990-A New Decade,” to be largely
forgetable. Otherwise, the lyrics
largely reverberate cliche soul senti
ments of love and harmony.
I can accept the notion that the
success of a group like Soul II Soul
might carry a powerful message to
black and white entertainers, but this
is do to the amazing professionalism
of Jazzie B’s cast, and not to his ly
rics.
Still, Vol II is an outstanding and
diverse collaboration, slickly mixed
and produced by Jazzie B. The soul
ish, pop appeal transcends a black-
urban contemporary audience and is
just as worthy of alternative ears. For
this, Vol II might be the year’s most
accessible release, as well as one of its
strongest.