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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.
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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
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