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Arts & Entertainment
Page 5
The Battalion
Tuesday, September 1,1992
'Honeymoon in Vegas' provides
colorful characters, despite mediocre plot
JENNY MAGEE
Special to the BATTALION
"Honeymoon in Vegas"
Starring Nicolas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker, James Caan
Director\ Writer Andrew Bergman
Rated PG-13
Playing at Manor East 3
"Honeymoon in Vegas" fulfills all the requirements of a typical
American movie. In a nation that has been raised on Saturday morn
ing cartoons and bedtime stories, the movie's predictability is easily
melted by the flashing Las Vegas lights.
Jack Singer (Nicolas Cage) is a 90's man. He has a good job as a
small-time private detective in New York City. He has a beautiful
girlfriend, a slightly receding hairline, and a big problem with com
mitment.
Jack's girlfriend, Betsy (Sarah Jessica Parker) is understanding
and patient about Jack's aversion to walk down the aisle. She is sub
tly persuasive, playfully flirtatious, and pours into every outfit that
she wears. But a woman can only fight th; ticking of a biological
dock for so long, and competing with the final request of Jack's de
ceased mother for him to remain single is too much to expect.
Faced with an ultimatum. Jack fights off nausea, pushes back the
memory of his mother, and jumps on a plane to Las Vegas with Betsy
to get married. They figure they will try their luck on the slot ma
chines, grab the Ali Baba Suite for a couple of nights, then take a
short trip down the aisle. Simple as that. End of story.
But in every good Las Vegas fairy tale a wealthy, sleek-suited
gambling shark must appear. Tommy Korman (James Caan) is the
type of man who lives faithfully by the philosophy that taking people
by the balls or the pocketbook is a sure-fire way to get what you
want.
When Korman spots Betsy (entangled in Jack's arms) across the
casino, Korman is'reminded of his deceased wife by Betsy's striking
resemblance.So, Korman uses his connections at the hotel to set up a
"get acquainted" poker game, in which Jack is conveniently invited.
Jack spends the rest of the movie trapped in a Wile E. Coyote car-
.toon, fighting against incredible odds.
The audience was easily drawn to both Nicolas Cage's perfor-
, mance and his character.
It is easy to relate to the whiny New York accent that carried him
through the dirty diapers in "Raising Arizona." In watching the
movie I could also understand his lustration, especially in his pursuit
of love.
Sarah Jessica Parker and James Caan both do adequate work.
What really brings life to the story is the use of several minor charac
ters, who add a fresh complication just when the plot begins to drag.
Such characters include a multitude of Elvis impersonators and an
extremely brief appearance by the professor (Ben Stein) in "Ferris
Bueller's Day Off." Overall such characters credit writer\director
Nicolas Cage, Sara Jessica Parker and James Caan star in the
comedy, "Honeymoon in Vegas"
Andrew Bergman's sense of exaggerated humanitv.
This is not a heavy movie. It probably won t change your life.
There are no gang fights, drug busts, and no pregnant teenagers.
But, in the movie there was an actual Las Vegas preacher who mar
ried the 80 year old couple sitting down the aisle from me a few
months ago.
Seeing this movie probably did change their lives. Because I have
never heard old people make so much noise in a public place in my
life.
I always liked a good fairy tale, whether it be in real life or on the
silver screen.
Damn Yankees' new
release falls short on
originality, energy
By TIMM DOOLEN
Special to THE BATTALION
Damn Yankees
"Don't Tread on Me"
Warner Brothers
Those damned Damn Yankees - they had to go and make a second
album that's better than their first. But even though it's an improve
ment, don't expect miracles.
Two years ago when I first heard of the odd combination of Ted Nu
gent, former Styx member Tommy Shaw and former Night Ranger Jack
Blades, I expected a lot. Their first album was good, but in my opinion
somewhat of an artistic failure.
Two years later, they're trying it again with the same lineup, and the
group's accomplishments are moderately better on "Don't Tread on
Me."
Although there are a few songs that I call "generic rock" ("This Side
of Hell," "Fifteen Minutes of Fame") on the album, the band has diver
sified its styles a bit more. I say "generic rock" meaning songs that
bands like Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, the new Van Halen and other hard rock
bands put out that all seem to sound exactly the same.
Treading in better directions are songs like "Where You Coin' Now,"
a wonderful rock-ballad that has the obvious influence of writer-singer
Shaw stamped all over it.
In musical contrast is the best song of the album, the bluesy "Double
Coyote," that is more than likely Ted Nugent's creation. Nugent, Blades
and Shaw take writing credit for all the songs on the album, but on
most of them it's easy to tell who had the heaviest influence - Shaw def
initely dominates the album and sings on the,best songs.
A problem throughout the album is inane lyrics that are either plainly
rpeaningless or attempt to be meaningful and just come off as shallow.
"Uprising" is supposed to be about the plight of the Native Ameri
can Indian. Or is it? The lyrics are almost indecipherable: "When you
feel an uprising/ And your blood runs cold/ You dig a little deeper/
To the bottom of the hole." Hello? What are you talking about?
Another problem is the band slipping into the "generic rock" formu
la - some songs start out great and then suddenly shift into the same
hard rock, heavy guitar, heavy drums, shrill voice formula that we've
heard a hundred times before.
One important exception is "Firefly," which starts off with mellow
guitar and then explodes into a flurry of energy behind a heavy drum
beat.
It seems that the creators of the album were trying to run a particular
theme through the songs one of freedom, accomplishment and upris
ing. And although lyrically this album falls short across the board, the
music and singing more than make up for it on most of the songs.
Quite honestly, the most interesting aspect of this album is trying to
figure out how the musicians with their different styles and attitudes
combine to make an album. And that's what will continue to make the
Damn Yankees an interesting prospect on future albums.
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