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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 26, 1990)
The Battalion LIFESTYLES Thursday, July 26,1990 Romantic thriller ‘Ghost’ pulls surprise as summer’s first successful dark horse Ghost Starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg Directed By Jerry Zucker Rated PG-13 By DON ATKINSON JR. Of The Battalion Staff After seeing “Ghost,” all I have to say is I’m glad I never bet anyone that Patrick Swayze couldn’t act. In this film, Swayze plays Sam Wheat, a yuppie dedicated to his job and his live-in girlfriend, Molly Jen sen (Demi Moore). Sam and Molly are a perfect cou ple: they make love while listening to “Unchained Melody,” make love while making clay pots and presu mably, intend on making love after seeing “Hamlet.” Unfortunately, fate intervenes. At work, Sam was a little too close to some illegal money-handling and is killed before he and Molly can...well, you know. For reasons explained later in the film, Sam gets to stick around as a ghost and find out who killed him. Since no one can see or hear him, Sam follows Molly around and even attends his own funeral. He inadvertently stumbles across a phony psychic, Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg), who actually can hear him but not see him. With her help, he is able to finally commu nicate with Molly. “Ghost” has been the number one film in the nation for the last two weeks and with good reason. Com bining comedy, romance and drama, the film deserves to be the first ma jor blockbuster of the summer sea son. Aside from being completely original (i.e. not a sequel), “Ghost” is a quality film. The subject matter may seem more suited to a director like Steven Spielberg, but it’s handled well by Jerry Zucker. Zucker and his brother David, along with Jim Abrahams, are fa mous for co-directing comedic films such as “The Naked Gun,” “Ruthless People” and “Airplane.” Now solo for the first time, he shows a flair for characterization and drama never before seen in his previous works. “Ghost” also shows a side of Swayze rarely glimpsed in earlier films. Being dead is a totally new experi ence for Sam, as I’m sure it would be for all of us, and Swayze conveys his character’s discomfort well. Once Sam settles into his new existence, Swayze displays a gift for comic tim ing with various well-placed funny remarks. Moore also handles her role well. Molly is the ultimate girlfriend: ded icated, emotional and completely adoring. In less experienced hands, this role would have become a joke. But Moore handles it with remarka ble style, managing to add some es sential human elements to the char acter. Without a doubt, however, Gold berg steals the movie as the phony psychic. At first, her character seems like nothing but comic relief from the se rious storyline, but as the plot con tinues to unfold, she gets the chance to show a more serious side. If it hadn’t have been for the ex cellent chemistry between the three actors, I doubt “Ghost” would have been as good of a film. As mentioned before, the film is currently out-grossing all others at the box office. I think the reason for this partially has to do with the film’s underlying philosophy of death. In “Ghost,” being dead is a tran quil experience. Sam is allowed to stay behind and complete unfi nished business, including telling Molly all the things he never got a chance to say when he was alive. “Ghost” suggests that after death, no one is alone. The bad guys get punished, and the good guys head for their final reward. Under those terms, dying no longer seems like a terrifying experi ence. If you’ve had your share of disap pointments with this summer’s crop of movies, “Ghost” is definitely the film to see. Flood of low-budget releases in home-video market forces new search for entertaining video substitutes ByTODD STONE and DON ATKINSON JR. Of The Battalion Staff For the second week, new video releases have been at best unknown, at worst, pitiful. When “Lobster Man from Mars” is one of your better choices, a visit to the “new release” section of your favorite video store becomes a frustrating experience. Although the quality video drought continues, there is hope. August will be a good month for vi deo releases. Films such as “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Born On The Fourth Of July” and “Revenge” will soon ar rive, and lobster movies, soon for gotten. To help you survive until next month, video spotlight is expanded to offer some entertaining video op tions. The Sure Thing Rated PG Director Rob Reiner has made a strong name for himself with suc cessful films such as “When Harry Met Sally” and “Princess Bride.” But it was his second film, “The Sure Thing,” that shot Reiner to the top. “Sure Thing” (1985) was an im portant reminder to the movie in dustry during the early ’80s that teenage-exploitive sex films were not the only way to reach the teen and young adult market. John Cusak (Gib) and Daphne Zu niga (Alison) play two opposites forced together during a trip across the country. Gib is searching for sex, a sure thing, but discovers he wants true love. Alison realizes her need to es cape the entrapments of her stuffy lifestyle and enjoy the freedoms that love can offer. Reiner develops a gentle sweet ness to this film, but it isn’t sappy. The characters are well-defined, fun to watch and deftly portrayed. And, there are plenty of laughs through out the story. Alison and Gib must deal with the innocent fears of love, and the film shows the awkwardness young peo ple can have with sex. A rare sight in films. “The Sure Thing” is for the young at heart as much as it is for the young. Certainly, it’s one of the better films of the ’80s. Grade: A- • T. STONE Bill Cosby - Himself Rated PG Before “The Cosby Show” began its current slide into mediocrity, even before there was such a show, there was “Bill Cosby - Himself’ — a film featuring Cosby doing standup com edy live in concert. With nothing more than a chair for a prop, Cosby makes his witty ob servations about drinking, family life and dentistry. The film runs a little less than two hours but is spellbind ing the whole way through. As Cosby describes his family, you begin to see the blueprints being laid out for what would later become one of the most popular sitcoms in tele vision history. A surprising fact about “Bill Cosby - Himself’ is the entire film contains only one swear word. Cosby proves that foul-mouthed comics like Eddie Murphy and Andrew Dice Clay are excessively vulgar for no reason. Grade: B + • D. ATKINSONJR. Blood Simple Rated R “Blood Simple” is a chilling, bizarre film from Joel and Ethan Coen, the same two brothers who gave us “Raising Arizona.” “Blood Simple” was their first film and tells the story of a wife, played by Frances McDormand (“Missis sippi Burning”), who has left her anal-retentive husband, played by Dan Hedaya (Carla’s sleazy spouse on “Cheers”), for another man played by John Getz. In a fit of jealousy, the husband hires a quirky private detective (M. Emmet Walsh) to have the two killed. From that point on, “Blood Simple” resembles an Alfred Hitch cock film more than “Raising Arizo na.” Filmed in the Coen’s distinctive style with lots of weird camera angles and impossible tracking shots, “Blood Simple” is not a film for viewers with a weak stomach. Cer tain scenes are nightmarish and vio lent in nature. If you’re looking for a well-made film that is not your standard video fare, “Blood Simple” will definitely fit the bill. Grade: B- • D. ATKINSON JR. New Releases: Valmont, Everybody Wins, Little Sweetheart, Girlfriend From Hell, Lobster Man from Mars, Double Revenge — release date, today. Energetic 24-7Spyz fuses vast ethnic influences, refinement in more accessible ‘Gumbo Millennium ’ 24-7 Spyz Gumbo Millennium in Effect By JOHN RIGHTER Of The Battalion Staff A polished, more refined version to last year’s Harder Than You, Gumbo Millennium loses some of the energy and aggression of 24-7 Spyz’ debut, but turns out the stronger for it. Gumbo Millennium is yet another outstanding release in a year strewn with excellence. Harder Than You was unfortunately eclipsed by the more accessible Vivid (Living Co lour), but Gumbo makes clear that 24-7 Spyz are destined to be the true Afro-axers of the ’90s. Actually closer to Bad Brains than Living Colour, with a strong hint of George Clinton thrown in, 24-7 Spyz reverberates the Afro mix of reggae and thrash set by the aforemen tioned Brains. The thrash influence is less on Gumbo Millennium, as the Spyz really let loose on only four tracks, including the fiery “Racism” and grunge-metalish “New Super Hero Worship.” More often, the Spyzers’ (vocalist P. Fluids, guitarist Jimi Hazel, bassist Rick Skatore and drummer/percus sionist Anthony Johnson) are quite timid, even recording the catchy “Don’t Break My Heart,” a ballad by any nature (The band realizes their diversion and classify the song as ory,” a bass-thumping, guitar-wail ing instrumental that explodes into “New Super Hero Worship” and the rockin’ “Deathstyle,” a bleak number about the increasing problems of AIDS, drugs, family violence and in ner-city life. While Harder Than You was solely the lyrical work of P. Fluid, Gumbo Millennium features song writing by all four members. The di versity in song styles allows for out- Gumbo listens like a Reader’s Digest version of Afro-American music, glossing over minute details, but retaining enough gist to convey the vast impact of performers such as George Clinton, Prince, Bob Marley and Bad Brains on modern music — yet another outstanding release in a year strewn with excellence. “file under cheesy.”). “Don’t Break My Heart” is quite a progression for a group that re corded the X-rated and insensitive “Spyz Dope” on their first album. Gumbo Millennium opens with the cosmic “John Connelly’s The- standing tracks such as Johnson’s anthemic “Don’t Push Me” (he also does the rapping on it) and Hazel’s “Heavan and Hell” and “Don’t Break My Heart.” The most enlightening aspect of Gumbo is the album’s eclecticism. 24-7 Spyz blends almost every possi ble facet of modern rock into Gumbo, including hardcore, metal, rap, soul, funk, rock and reggae. The depth on side two is astound ing, constantly flip-flopping between radio accessibility and avant rage. From the frustrated harmonies of “Valdez 27 Million?” to the diametri cally shot “Heavan and Hell” to the spoken-word tribute of “Some De fenders’ Memories,” side two sizes brief snaspshots of the Afro-Ameri can influence on American music. Gumbo listens like a Reader’s Di gest version of Afro-American mu sic, glossing over minute details, but retaining enough gist to convey the vast impact of performers such as George Clinton, Prince, Bob Marley and Bad Brains on modern music. Gumbo Millennium is another strong release for 1990. The Spyz’ latest sound is more accessible than Harder, retaining an Afro-pop- through-the-cheese-grater appeal that should serve as shelter from the convenient and haphazard listener. Todd Stone 845-; In Advance Th RC Theater arts majors Stephany Tramel, Jonathan Burke (mill' die) and Steven De Korne star in MSC Dinner Theater's lat est production, “Boeing-Boeing.” Aggie Players perform ‘Boeing The MSC Dinner Theater pro duction of “Boeing-Boeing” will begin tonight and continue through Saturday. The Aggie Players will perform the comedy written by Marc Camoletti in Rudder Forum at 8 p.m. Performances will continue next week, August 2-4. “Boeing” is the story of a Frenchman, Bernard, who has three fiancees, Janet, Jacqueline and Judith — all are airline stew ardesses. Each woman can visit Bernard two-days-a-week and conve niently, their schedules allow them to visit Bernard at different times. A maid and bachelor friend help Bernard continue the charade. Bernard faces his toughest challenge, however, when the three fiancees visit him at the same time. Jon Burke; stars as Bernard: Stephany Ti;amel as Jacqueline Wendy Young as Judith; Stacy Noessel as Janet. Daniel Smith plays the maid and Sit phen De Korne plays Bernard friend. “Boeing-Boeing” is directedh Bob Wank. The dinner portion of the eve nine will begin at 6 p.m. in the Rudder Exhibit Hall, and a van ety of buffets will be served- Italian, Cajun, Texas barbecue and international fare. Tickets can be purchased atthe Rudder Box Office. Prices fortht dinner and play are $15 forstu dents and $20 for non-studenti Tickets for only the play are Ji For more information call Mb 1234. • TODD S UM Arachnophobia' mislead! delivers jolts, not laughs Arachnophobia Starring Jeff Daniels and John Goodman Directed By Frank Kennedy Rated PG-13 By TODD STONE Of The Battalion Staff The film “Arachnobphobia” is like a bread sandwich — you have something on the top and something on the bottom, but not much in the middle. Advertised as a “thrill-omedy,” the filmmakers promise a movie that will make you jump in one scene and laugh in the next. This concept is a return to the ’50’s creature films, and it’s a good idea. The film “Tremors” success fully used the same laughs-thrills concept with subterranean crea tures. This time, the thrills come from spiders in “Arachnophobia.” In a stirring and visually captivat ing beginning, an entomologist dis covers a new species of spider in a Venezeulan jungle. We soon dis cover this is no ordinary spider. It kills and kills quickly. The panoramic scenes during the early part of the film are incredible. Unfortunately, one of the deadly spiders immigrates to a small Cali fornia town and this begins an hour- long lull in the film. Not only do the eye-pleasing scenes disappear, but so does a ma jority of the tension the film gener ated. The story quickly regresses to a constant repetition of close-calls and spider murders. Jeff Daniels (“Terms of Endf ment”) stars as a doctor who) moved his family to the spider-n aged town to get away fromthepi sures of city life. Unfortunately, the doctor isit fied of your basic daddy-longlef when he comes across the killer ders, his worse nightmares co true. If you are the least bit unconrfe able with spiders, this film cringi®! and deftly plays on that fearJ during the middle part of thefilf over-useS the same devices of d calls and surprises around theff ner. The narrative doesn’t dev» further until the climax. Then.. Wow! The ending is slick < tense. Director Frank Kennf packs some action and surprises!' should have been used through the whole film. John Goodman (“Always" 1 “Sea Of Love”) appears more i previews than he does in the fi the local exterminator Delh Goodman was supposed to be film’s comic relief , but he had I to say and little to do in this film Screenwriters Don Jakoby ; Wesley Strick come up with onl 1 few giggles, so the comedy pan this film fails. But director Kenn f is able to compensate to somedef with genuine surprises. Still, anytime you get aqualin- tor-comedian like Goodman, ' should be able to come up with so* hilarious scenes. But it never h pens in this film. But if you’re looking fora : surprises and a chance to see sc killer spiders, “Arachnophobia’’ probably satisfy. But don’t lei “From Stephen Speilberg” label! you. It’s no Indianajones Sc othe C Don latte T mea rem: don’ Lou M Sam but: the Min HO! age tern* G Joht Fair Live cass< stag, thre the; <