Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1996)
The Battalion ilonday ebruary 19, 1 996 Aggielife Page 3 Politics in City Hall prove too real to < capture interest iiary 19, ms ^adcast 0 iimeras t year k and ;,id. “| jth profi (t'tual di a realii ,,1ien you’, rig wiijl t the rC uid denw , thatb .iice in Ik The Battalion |ohn Cusack and Al Pacino portray New York City deputy mayor Kevin Calhoun and mayor )ohn Pap pas in City Hall. Director Harold Becker brings a convincing dose of reality to City Hall, the new political thriller about cor ruption in New York City. The problem though, is that real-life politics is all not that exciting sometimes. John Cusack stars as Kevin Calhoun, NYC deputy mayor, the right-hand man of leg endary mayor John Pappas (Al Pacino). Calhoun, a Louisiana native, beams with idealism and plays politics like a game of Chinese checkers. Calhoun and Pappas maneu ver their way smoothly through a labyrinth of deals, dollars and darkness that is part of politics in the nation’s biggest city. But everything goes haywire when a shady shootout kills a small time crook with ties to a mob boss, a celebrated detective, and a 6-year-old child. Questions immediately arise about the shootout: why was the detective meeting this low life criminal, especially without reinforcements; why was the crook, convicted of felony drug Movie Review^ City Hall Stalling: Al Pacino, John Cusack, Bridget Fonda and Danny Aiello Directed by: Harold Becker Rated: R BlauSnn rl 1 fit '‘rSiF" *** possession, out on probation in stead of in prison serving the mandatory 10 to 20 years; and what is the mayor going to do about this situation? Pappas and Calhoun spring into action to reassure the city that they will make the city safe again. Calhoun digs into the pasts of all the players in this comedy of errors, and every clue points to corruption fester ing throughout the city. Each new puzzle piece slowly unravels Calhoun’s black-and- white, right-and-wrong world. The problem with this baby- step revelation system is that it doesn’t lend itself to a suspenseful plot. The truth emerges piecemeal and builds almost anticlimactical- ly. When everything is said and done, watchers scratch their heads and wonder, “is that all?” This lack of suspense wastes some great perfor mances by Pacino, who pow erfully portrays the ideologue mayor. Pacino researched the role by spending time with former NYC mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins and cur rent mayor Rudy Giuliani, and it shows. Pacino’s Pappas is a brilliant populist speaker to the masses and a shrewd politician behind closed doors. There is a poignant scene be tween Pacino and Danny Aiello, who brilliantly portrays a Brook lyn political boss with ties to the mob, where Pacino finagles Aiel lo’s support for a new building complex during the intermission of a Broadway musical. Cusack is solid as Calhoun, the Louisiana outsider who loves to run the show behind the scenes. Bridget Fonda, as the lawyer for the fallen detective’s widow, makes a good foil to Cal houn as they seek the truth .be hind the shady affair. Despite the acting, City Hall's writing still comes out as a liabili ty. Maybe Becker should have re lied less on reality and more on suspense. It might have made for a better story. ■These arf /es depend e goodes- , but they jgh school ijmalsj I (jvestoi ! { love tit ihe oppo; and seen I h ether t it is free ' money to ;s. he head their col- lemselve 5 jstinence of absti- decision'; tionship 5 ssured by g iL \. ting their may feel ,y do not parts of dth these elk fs and lot physl ,hen the) 1 decision- ice. active or ire of the EWS Epitf* |TOR lies Enifl# OR ■anor Col' 11 ' ff, Kendu 1 iiffin. Amt* 1 Goad, 1^ ,ni rs: Hete 1 itopher, O 11 Clark, t"' hns Milk 1 / BrownW l an Icy, lillMv tnifer tyR 1 * iter, Anil*' ty in the H 1 ' laTfiT The rr claisiW and off'" up a and $5(1 fn -n. fail and I •xr opton , 6 postage as A&M Sandler makes hole-in-one with Happy By Jonathan Faber The Battalion Adam Sandler’s latest film, Happy Gilmore, is childish, unrealistic and at times, dumb. All these features of the film merge, however, to create one very funny movie. Sandler plays Gilmore, a man aspiring to be a great hockey player, yet he never learned how to ice skate. There is some con flict when it is discovered that Gilmore’s grandmother hasn’t paid taxes for about 20 years and the government is repossessing her home. Granny is told she needs $270,000 to keep the house. Soon, Gilmore accidentally discovers that he has the ability to drive a golf ball over 400 yards, and puts that ability to work on the pro golf tour to help his grandmother. Coached by a one-handed golf pro named Chubbs (Carl Weath ers of Rocky fame as Apollo Creed), Gilmore’s unorthodox swing earns him a strong following on the tour, as do his habits of throwing his clubs and swearing incessantly in front of the TV cameras. Gilmore’s major oppo nent, Shooter Mc- Gavin (Christopher McDonald), also hap pens to be the tour’s leading money win ner. McGavin is upset by the stir Gilmore’s antics create and wants him thrown off the tour. McGavin runs into opposition from the tour, as Gilmore attracts a large younger au dience, and the sport gets more sponsors when he plays. McGavin decides to take it upon himself to get Gilmore off the tour. He hires a heckler to distract Gilmore during a Pro-Am so Gilmore will do something outra geous and finally get kicked off the tour. What results is the funniest scene in the movie. Gilmore’s partner, Bob Barker, gets upset when he sees that Gilmore is hurting the team. The two soon go at it in one of the funniest fight sequences ever filmed. It takes the sweet-talking of tour public relations director Virginia Venit (Julie Bowen) to keep Gilmore from being kicked off the tour. Venit realizes that Gilmore has a heart of gold when he tells her that he is on the tour to save his grandmother, and a romance between the two soon follows. Though very entertaining. Happy Gilmore falls short in several areas. The plot takes several unnecessary turns such as Gilmore killing the alligator that a few years before had taken the hand of his coach, Chubbs. The climactic point in the movie has Gilmore sinking a putt from behind a fall en observation tower in “off the pole, off the banner, through the metal, nothing but net” fashion. An annoying role in the film was played by senior pro golfer Lee Trevino as himself. TYevino never uttered a word, but was al ways shown shaking his head with a stupid look on his face whenever Gilmore did some thing dumb on the golf course. These problems are outweighed, however, by the comedic ability of Sandler. For those who liked Sandler on Saturday Night Live or in his hit Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore is .a hole- in- one. Chubbs (Carl Weathers) is a one-handed golf pro who coaches Hap py Gilmore (Adam Sandler). Adam Sandler portrays Happy Gilmore, a man who enters the pro golf circuit to help his grandmother pay back taxes. DeGeneres makes Wrong turn „ Movie Review Mr. Wrong Starring: Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Pullman ^ 5 ; ,.. Directed by: Nick Castle m Rated: PG-13 " Playing at: Hollywood 16 *** By Rachel Barry The Battalion There is such a thing as too good to be true, and in Mr. Wrong, Ellen De Generes’ character Martha Alston learns the hard way that a good first im pression is no indicator of how a relationship will turn out in the long run. With Valentine’s Day at hand and the wounds of seeing her younger sister get married still seething, Martha Alston heads to a bar to find a little solace in a few drinks. There, she meets the man of her dreams, Whitman Crawford, says the predictable “I don’t usually do things like this,” and jumps into his bed before the coffee they were sipping has had time to cool. While the first five dozen roses he sends her are still fresh in her office, Alston becomes aware of a succession of red flags that make her evermore wary of the seemingly fairy tale rela tionship she finds herself in. Crawford’s bad poetry, games of charades with his mother’s maid, and his bit of an Oedipus complex make Alston realize her Prince Charming may be more terror and less charm. The realization comes a little too late, though, and the fungus known as Whitman has sunken its teeth hard and deep into Alston’s life. Crawford’s obsessive attempts to make Alston his bride turn her life into a tumultuous struggle to break away from his psychopathic expres sions of love. Mr. Wrongs black comedy is fun ny and unique but unfortunately fails to come across with the punch needed to deliver such situations as two-story tall clowns and interroga tions in a Mexican prison. Mr. Wrong's weakness lies in the fact that its script and direction don’t fit together. The sarcasm behind the majority of the film’s jokes may be lost in the lack of bite in the direction. It is the direction of Mr. Wrong that keeps the film teetering be tween a downright off-center come dy and a run-of-the-mill humorous film. It is funny, but disappointing to think of how much funnier it could have been. Throughout the movie there is a sense of something lacking. De Generes and Pullman don’t seem to be at their full potential of wise cracking and fade into the back ground of predictable humor and slapstick comedy. Viewers discover real gem in Muppet Treasure Island By Amber Clark The Battalion Muppets — They’re not just for kids anymore. Of course, true Mup pet fans already know this. Yet for those who remain suspect, Muppet Treasure Island should remove all doubt. Based on the original story by Robert Louis Stevenson, the characters are portrayed by the standard part-Muppet/part-human cast. Jim Hawkins, played by newcomer Kevin Bishop, receives a treasure map and a warn ing of a one-legged man from his dying friend Billy Bones (Billy Connelly). Teaming up with buddies Rizzo the Rat and Gonzo the ... whatever, Hawkins sets out with the map to seek fortune on the seas. Needing a ship, they seek help from the half-witted son of a wealthy ship merchant (Fozzie Bear). The dim bear relies on a man named Mr. Bimbo, who lives in Fozzie’s in dex finger, for constant consultation. This motley crew embarks on the Hispan iola, led by Captain Smollet (Kermit the Frog), unaware of the dangerous one-legged Long John Silver. Silver (Tim Curry) has surreptitiously peopled the crew with muti nous pirates in a plan to take the treasure for themselves. Despite being a Muppet movie, the film is primarily aimed at a grown-up audience. Fillea with obscure references and anachronisms, the movie hilariously ap proaches the story with a parodic outlook. Perhaps the most humorous example is found in the pleasure cruising rats as a Love RoaLish subplot is developed throughout. The rats, touring on an 18th century ship, amuse themselves with shuffleboard, photo opportunities and margaritas at the midnight buffet. The most pleas ing aspect is that, despite the pass ing of creator Jim Henson, the Hen son family and the Walt Disney com pany have main tained the long-standing tradition of Mup pet entertainment. The Muppets are supported by a fine hu man cast that creates a harmony between re ality and fantasy. Perpetual bad guy Tim Cur ry (Rocky Horror Picture Show) provides his standard element of creepiness in the portray al of Long John Silver. His development of vo cal and facial characterizations add to his long repertoire of odd performances. Billy Connelly, who reappears from his comedic career and brief stint on Head of the Class, is excellent in his short performance as the drunken Billy Bones. His hyperbolic Scottish accent and knack for physical come dy provide a strong opening for the film. Drawing on the fond memories of gener ations of Muppet fans, each having experi enced Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, the film provides hope for the con tinuation of the Muppet legacy. This newly established sophistication is best reflected in the self-effacing humor of the Muppets and the pirate genre. As seen in numerous asides to the audi ence and the contrived comedy of forcing every known Muppet character into the movie, the humor of Muppet Treasure Is land appeals to the young, old, and those of us somewhere in between. -Movie Review Muppet Treasure Island Starring: Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear and Tim Curry > k: : : Directed by: Brian ffenson Bated:GV i PlayingahhHej^srood 16 •'"'It.;,**** font of five)
