Lifestyl
The Battalion
Page 11
Movie Review
'Grand Canyon' well worth the view
by Timm Doolen
The Battalion
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Social Distortion
"Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell"
Epic
There's something about a Social Distortion song that makes
you want open a cold brew, hop into your vintage Chevy, and
fake off for a cruise down the Pacific Coast Highway. For most of
us it's not quite that easy, but with the punkabilly rock of "Some
where Between Heaven and Hell," we've at least got a proper
mood setter.
For the past decade, Social Distortion has memorialized the
decadance of adolescent southern California in their songs. After
making a name for themselves as one of the essential L.A. punk
bands along with Black Flag, X, and T.S.O.L., the band released
"Mommy's Little Monster," still considered a hardcore classic.
Soon after, however, singer Mike Ness began to live his own
lyrics with a long chain of arrests and chronic heroin addiction.
Most fans wrote the band off as washed up, just another example
of how the same rock n' roll spirit that fires a band can cause their
self destruction.
Ness surprised everyone, though, by making a comeback with
new band members, a drug free life, and songs that looked back
on his former lifestyle with regret instead of glorification. The
See Social/Page 12
Grand Canyon
Starring: Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, Mary
McDonnell
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Rated R
"Grand Canyon" is one of those movies
that aims high and almost makes it. Both the
strongest and weakest points of this drama are
its complexity. By trying to show us how
equally good and bad life is, the movie mirrors
life itself by being intricately complex and oc
casionally losing cohesion.
Writer-director Lawrence Kasdan shoots
for big issues in this film - he questions why
life is like it is, especially for a particular hand
ful of Los Angeles residents. Why in the space
of a day or just a few hours can life seem both
completely unbearable and utterly incredible?
The story of almost a dozen characters is
complex, to say the least, and while the time
covered in the film is only a few months, the
diversity of issues covered vary from dealing
with middle-age and letting your kids go, to
experiencing what it is like to almost be killed.
The main character of the film. Mack
(Kevin Kline), gets stranded on some back
streets in L.A. after a Lakers game. While he's
hounded by five members of a street gang, the
tow-truck arrives to pick up the disabled car,
scaring the thugs off and saving Mack's life.
Tire driver of the tow-truck, Simon (Danny
Glover) and Mack slowly become friends.
Meanwhile, Mack's friend Davis (Steve Mar
tin) is shot in the leg by a robber, and Mack's
wife Claire (Mary McDonnell) finds an aban
doned baby while jogging. Also, Mack's secre
tary is in love with him after a one-night mis-'
take, and Mack's son falls in love while at sum
mer camp, causing Claire to have to deal with
letting her baby boy go.
On the other side of town, Simon's sister's
son is a member of a gang, while Simon him
self is divorced with a deaf daughter who is at
tending college in Washington, D.C. And that's
just the main points of the plot!
This is a variety of stories combined - it's
"The Big Chill" (which was also directed by
Kasdan) meets "Ordinary People" meets
"Fried Green Tomatoes" meets "Boyz 'N' the
Hood." The story is occasionally overburdened
Mack (Kevin Kline) and best friend Davis (Steve Martin), a movie producer, discuss the virtues of directing cheap
action films on the set of a Hollywood studio in writer-director Lawrence Kasdan’s new drama, “Grand Canyon.”
by sub-plots and dream sequences which are
sometimes meaningful, often not.
Many times there's just the feeling that
there's too many things going on - you never
know what's going to happen next, what is rel
evant or what is important to remember. For
example, at one point in the movie, in the
space of about two minutes. Mack cuts his fin
ger while cooking, then there's an earthquake
and then the next-door neighbor has a heart at
tack. Each of these might be the basis for a sig
nificant sequence of the movie, but strewn to
gether, the individual events lose individual
significance, and the plot becomes almost en
tirely subordinate to the theme of the film.
This makes the generally impressive movie
wildly uneven. There are times when I thought
I couldn't stand it, and other times when I felt
it was almost achieving the realization of its
grandiose themes - trying to figure out life.
At several points in the film, individual
characters try to understand life and why it is
so great and so screwed up at the same time.
People are poor while others are affluent, ba
bies are bom and neighbors die, thugs rob in
nocent bystanders but good men come to the
rescue, lovers make promises but don't keep
them - life is great and horrible at seemingly
the same time.
Several shoot-from-the-hip philosophies
are expounded, though none in-depth. Simon
relates an individual's existence to the Grand
Canyon - man seems humbled and virtually
non-existent compared with the majesty of one
of Earth's greatest natural wonders. Mack re
lates life to driving a car - you have to be fast
or you'll get caught in the cross-stream.
And Davis, a producer of cheap action
movies, says Mack should watch more movies,
because the mysteries of life are explained in
them.
While Kasdan's "Canyon" may not be able
to explain all the mysteries of life, he definitely
has the guts to say its more complex than can
be resolved in a two-hour film. And although
the writing and story are somewhat uneven,
"Grand Canyon" is often worth the view.
Peat Marwick
The Partners
& Professional Staff
of KPMG Peat Marwick
are pleased to announce that
the following graduates of
Texas A&M University,
Class of 1991-1992
will be joining our Firm.
Daix Anderson
Sandra Byrne
Julie Cruser
Doug Dormer
Jason Epps
Eric Fournet
Tracy Geisler
Darron Gill
Stacy Hansen
Rusty Hruby
Tracey Icken
J.D. Jones
Dana Kirchgessner
Jim Kruse
Kim Peterson
Warren Prihoda
Lisa Quick
Mike Ramke
Terry Scoggin
Jennifer Smith
Kathleen Smith
Melissa Smith
Holly Sparkman
Scott Vacek
Patty Waldrep
Mark Watson
Gary Webb
Alisha White
Stacie Wiatrek
John Young
Welcome to Peat Marwick!
Spring Interview Dates:
February 20,1992
(Internship Postions);
February 21, 1992
(Permanent Positions)
Equal Opportunity Employer - M/F/V/H