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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 1990)
% Thursday, August 2,1990 The Battalion Pages 4 Theater Focus: (hjijk Cf^dljas Photos by Sondra Robbins Burke and De Korne try to woo an airline stewardess played production of “Boeing” continues today through Saturday, by theater arts major Stephany Tramel. MSC Dinner Theater’s Aggie Players will perform “Sea Horses” next week. ini also soff le Mot ni (In tin! if if, s indee; gpin Ag Players fall short with grole f at the ;the Iragon 1 dy, -in- d 'and a,"fo ines castin; :rgmat Tiance iptata y/t tha : By Don Atkinson Jr. ^M^he Aggie Players have done some quality productions in the past. Most recently, the performance of “6 Rms Riv Vu” offered an evening of solid entertainment. Unfortunately, the same can not be said for their current production of “Boeing-Boeing,” a 1967 French farce written by Marc Camoletti. It would be easy to blame the disappointing presentation on the actors or the director, but the problem is more basic than that. The Aggie Players should have never even attempted to perform “Boeing-Boeing.” Because the play takes place in Paris, most of the actors are forced to speak in false accents, thereby distancing themselves from not only their characters but from the play itself. Although the actors did the best they could given the source material, there was no way they could do more than just speak their lines. Because they had to constantly deal with fake speech patterns, the end result was all of their characters came across as little more than weak stereotypes. Another problem with “Boeing-Boeing” — it is hopelessly outdated. The play was written at a time when the devil-may-care playboy was still very much in vogue. By today’s standards, “Boeing-Boeing” is remarkably sexist. The play centers around Bernard (Jonathon Burke), a hormone-crazed Frenchman who has managed a unique arrangement with his lovelife. He is engaged to be married to three women, all airline hostesses working on three different airlines. Through careful planning and a handy airline schedule, Bernard rotates the women into his bed one at a time. Of course the three women have no idea what’s going on. In the midst of this debauchery comes Robert (Steven DeKome), an Englishman who is a friend of Bernard’s and apparently has an overactive libido of his own. At first Robert is leary of the situation but soon finds himself trying to bed all three of Bernard’s fiancees. The first object of his lust is Janet (Stacey Noessel), an American stewardess. Since Noessel had the only role not requiring a fake accent, she was able to give her character some depth. awkward ‘Boeing After Janet’s departure, Robert quickly discovers Jacqueline (Stephany Tramel), a French stewardess. She briefly becomes the object of his affections but is tossed aside upon the arrival of Judith (Wendy Young), a German stewardess. Of all the characters in “Boeing-Boeing,” Judith is the most intriguing. Young apparently knew that the phony accent and corny dialogue would be a burden and instead made it an asset. She overplays the role beautifully, making Judith come across as a homy Col. Klink, goose-stepping around and barking all of her dialogue. As the play continues, Robert discovers that because of a series of coincidences, all of Bernard’s fiancees will be in the house at one time. “Boeing-Boeing” concludes with plenty of slapstick action as the three women continually just miss each other. Bernard and Robert are trapped in the middle trying to keep the situation under control. During these moments, “Boeing-Boeing” is enjoyable to watch. Because of the constant action, the sexist theme and wooden characters are easily forgotten. But, when the play ends, you are left with an unsatisfied feeling. Because of Bernard’s blatant disregard for the women he uses, you feel no sympathy towards him. I found myself wishing desperately that both he and Robert would get caught, which of course removed any Boeing’ suspense elements from the hit- and-run action between the three women. I would like to make it clear that I think the cast of “Boeing- Boeing” did the best they could. However, since they were given a play with an outdated theme and impossible phyical demands, I can only lay blame for this production on whoever chose the play in the first place. “Boeing-Boeing” has its funny moments and is by no means the worst play I’ve ever seen. But because of the constant barrage of weak accents and sexual degradation portrayed, I was never able to lose myself in the fantasy of the storyline. For a play not to be able to do even that, I hardly consider it worth watching. : ‘Revenge,’‘Driving Miss Daisy’ cruise into video, " bring quality entertainment to recent dull releases By Todd Stone Driving Miss Daisy Rated PG Driving Miss Daisy” is a wonderful ~ilm able to charm even the most die- ard “Friday The 13th” fan. “Daisy” received an Oscar nomi- ^ I tation for best picture, and Jessica Tandy rightfully won an Oscar for ?saS Dest actress as Miss Daisy. Her co llar Morgan Freeman, received a best actor nomination for his por- rayal of Daisy’s driver, Hoke. There’s a good reason why all |hese Oscar nominations were brown at this film — it’s damn ood. “Daisy” is the kind of movie hat takes the fear out of guessing which new video has a chance of be- ng entertaining. Miss Daisy is a wealthy Jewish southerner who can no longer drive herself safely around town. When he cannot drive her car out of the jarage safely, it becomes apparent hat something must change. Daisy’s son, played by Dan Ayk- oyd (He also received an Oscar omination for best supporting ac- ■or.), hires a chauffeur, Hoke, to ca!l Idrive for his mother. Hoke is a sim- leniBjie anc j delightful older black man ijvith a contagious charm. ■ Miss Daisy has no interest in hav- -hf ■ng a driver and seems immune to w°;Ploke’s charm. Fiercely indepen dent, she resents the fact that she eeds Hoke at all. The interplay between Hoke and aisy is acting at its finest. Daisy is trong-willed and spiteful. Still, her tiff, lady-like pretentions have a ertain sweetness. A friendship develops between |ioke and Daisy in spite of their dif- Iferent social, economical, educatio- For §pal and racial backgrounds. The rnt" jifriendship seems natural, not forced a a* |by overzealous screen writers, thf If you need a tug at the heart or a ty’s IgGod laugh, this film will deliver, igal With strong performances by i:i; [Tandy and Freeman, “Driving. Miss aisy” is simply a joy to see. Release ate — today. Grade: A- — mis- ese red 3 Revenge Rated R |‘Revenge” is a gripping film that de livers all the tension, anger and vio lence the title suggests. That may be the one problem with this movie. The story predic tably moves along to set up the moti vation for ... revenge. No surprises with this movie. The plot is simple. One guy gets another guy mad, because he wanted to be bad with the mad guy’s wife. The mad guy gets the other guy even more mad. Before you know it, someone wants ... (see the aforementioned title). “Revenge” would not be interest ing if not for the intriguing perfor mances of stars Kevin Costner, An thony Quinn and Madeleine Stowe. Costner stars as Cochran, a hot- shot fighter pilot who decides to re tire from the Navy and “find him self.” He takes a vacation in Mexico to visit his friend Tibey, played by An thony Quinn. Tibey is a Mexican kingpin and controls the labor and politics with a Mafia-like style. He is fond of Cochran and always respects his wishes. Their friendship is interesting and fun to watch. However, Tibey has a beautiful wife, Miryea, played by Stowe. Mi- ryea and Cochran fall in love and have an affair. Now, there is a prob lem. Tibey discovers the affair and catches the lovers in the act. His men beat Cochran and leave him for dead, and Tibey forces Miryea to en dure worse. Naturally, Cochran is mad and wants... Director Tony Scott (“Top Gun” and “Days Of Thunder”) keeps the story moving along at a quick pace. Scott’s work is slick in this film. He evokes striking images with lighting, shadows and colors. Costner brings tension to the screen as Cochran, but his character was more interesting before he gets mad and becomes a one-dimensio nal, revenge-seeking killer. Quinn puts forth a dominating and intim idating presence as Tibey. Stowe is engaging as Miryea. Overall, it’s the performances of Costner, Quinn and Stowe that over come incomplete character and plot development, making “Revenge” an entertaining film. Release date — Wednesday. Grade: B Other releases: Flashback, Para site, After Midnight, Personals, Sorry, Wrong Number, False Iden tity — release date is today. Blue Steel — release date is Wednesday. Previewed videos and release dates are courtesy of 2 Day Video. Loop’s minimalist release creates only tranquil noise By John Righter Loop’s A Gilded Eternity finally fits that musical niche that fans have so long desired: music for washing dishes to. A Gilded Eternity is a sometimes arousing, but largely repetitve mess that predictably chugs along like an assembly line. The easiest comparison for Loop, Londoner’s that had previously re leased a handful of independent sin gles and two LPs before its RCA de but, is to imagine listening to a scratched version of Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psycho Candy while on heavy sedation. Loop relies on minimalism and the impression of repetitive rhythms, vocals and effects laid over one another. Resembling somewhat the early effects of the Velvet Un derground, heavy distortion, raw bass lines and wailing guitar solos circum sort, incomprehensible vo cals, spouted in short bursts. Although the long, constant repe tition and fuzzy sounds are dehuma nizing and barely register in most in stances, there are a few strong tracks that actually succeed via its method of tranquil, reiterated noise. “The Nail Will Burn” is a moving track with a quivering guitar that en ters and exits selectively through the song. The vocals are slight whispers punctuated by a tight bass line that evolves into an epic snare. The repe titiveness builds to a climax over the song’s five-minute duration. The side-one finale, “Blood,” is a startling track that utilizes voice de lays and Filters in the same manner as early Killing Joke. The undeci pherable chants and groans roll faithfully through the constant, peakless song. Side two’s “Breathe Into Me” most noticeably resembles the Jesus and Mary Chain with its straight rockin’ lines funneled through a distortion wall and reinforced with solid guitar work. What A Gilded Eternity needed to be was an EP that could’ve kept an intrigue with the stronger tracks submerged in its vague, repetitive method. Instead, the album registers as elevator music, tuned out because its tiresome, assembly-line rhythms. Loop has certainly fit the name to the sound: constant, simple and am- bigious. I recommend that an ear be left open for future Loop efforts, but don’t climb the walls searching for A Gilded Eternity. • Video Spotlight » Maybe the greatest war film ever made, “Apocalypse Now” is definitely the most compelling and arousing of the Vietnam-era films. “Apocalypse Now” is actually less a war film, instead a dark, psychological drama conceptually based on Joseph Conrad’s “Heart Of Darkness" and Dante's “Infer no.” The story concerns Lt. Wil lard’s (Martin Sheen) pursuit through the jungles and battle fields of Vietnam after the mys terious Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando in a perfect casting role). Willard’s orders are solely to find the renegade Kurtz and “termi nate his command with extreme prejudice.” The horrors that Willard un veils while slowly progressing to wards Kurtz and then upon his armal to Knit/.' savage camp, evokes interesting complexes as to the basic, most elemental na ture of man, both civilized and savage. “Apocalypse Now,” was nomi nated for eight academy awards. The direction of Francis Ford Coppola is outstanding, as is the cinematography and music — both Oscar winners. The cast is an ensemble of first- rate actors, including Sheen, Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford, Frederic Forrest and Sam Bottoms. Whether you are a war-flick fan, or not, “Apocalypse Now” is an amazing film that goes far be yond the physical battleground and into the introspection of two men’s minds, hopelessly trying to cope with the war and hell around them. Grade: A •JOHN RIGHTER