March 4,19% ^ BATTALION
oor directing, subplots hurt Up Close & Personal
JlfV I Justice (Robert Redford) as a desk Atwater become more and mo
Aggielife
Page 3
Mov/e Review
. ...............
Up Close & Personal
Starring Michelle Pfeiffer and
Robert Redford
Directed by Jon Avnet
Rated PG-13
^Playing at Hollywood 16
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iichelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford star in Up Close & Personal.
By Amy Uptmor
The Battalion
Up Close & Personal is the touching
story of a small-town wanna-be jour
nalist who makes it all the way to the
position of network anchorwoman,
thanks in no small part to her produc-
er-turned-husband who showed her
the way.
If this movie sounds a bit cheesy, it is.
Based loosely on the book “Golden
Girl” by Alanna Nash, which chroni
cles the life of reporter Jessica Sav-
itch. Up Close & Personal follows the
story of the fictitious journalist Sally,
or “Tally,” Atwater’s (Michelle Pfeif
fer) career in broadcast news.
Atwater, with no experience (she
makes a demo tape with false informa
tion about her reporting experience),
is hired by veteran reporter Warren
Justice (Robert Redford) as a desk
assistant. Atwater is soon given the
chance to be a reporter for the TV
station, with Justice coaching her,
dressing her and cradling her every
step of the way.
Soon enough, she
learns to stand on her
own and is offered a
job at a major-market
station.
The problem is her re
lationship with Justice
has developed into some
thing she doesn’t want to leave behind.
Nevertheless, she takes the offer,
and Justice soon hops like a lovesick
puppy onto the first plane to see her,
and the two eventually marry.
As soon as things seem to calm
down in the two’s lives, Atwater is
faced with the biggest story of her life
and a possible promotion to a net
work reporting position as a result of
her work.
It is at about this point that the
movie begins to suddenly delve into so
many subplots that following the plot
becomes about as complicated as try
ing to keep up with decapitated chick
ens in a henhouse.
Not that this isn’t a nice love and
success story; but the life and times of
Atwater become more and more far
fetched as the subplots increase
through this two hour-long movie.
Both Pfeiffer and Redford put in
outstanding performances in Up Close
& Personal.
"The life and times of Tally Atwater be
come more and more far-fetched as the
subplots increase through this two hour-
long movie."
Pfeiffer is pleasurable to watch as
her character grows from a scared,
young journalist to a woman in control
of her life and career,
The directing, however, leaves a lot
to be desired.
Director Jon Avnet {Fried Green
Tomatoes) is blessed with a fairly
well-written script, ala Joan Didion
and John Gregory Dunne, but does lit
tle to make the story flow.
Nevertheless, I/p Close & Personal
is a touching love story and an inspir
ing chronicle of a reporter’s fantastic
career, despite being a little rough
around the edges.
Unfortunately, there’s not much
more than a cute love/success story to
this movie.
Star power does nothing to help weak plot in Before and After
ersation
Might News Editor-
-f. Editor
orts Editor
Editor
i, Graphics Editor
ncs Editor
lela Benson, Eleanot
Pace, Danielle Pon-
Wiggins
irry, Kristina Bulfin,
James Francis, Libe
Alex Walters; Pace
phanie Christopher,
'JER: Jody Holley
(ter, Rob Clark, Erin
Elaine Mejia, Chris ;
!< Kieran Watson
' Angkriwan, Amy
lory Willis & Evan
JeLuca, Jody Holley,
hn Lemons, Jennifer
I & Chris Yung
, Mandy Cater, Am-
; A&M University in
)f Journalism,
ne: 845-3313; Fax;
endorsement by The
call 845-2696. For
i 01 5 Reed McDon-
ly. Fax: 845-2678.
idem to pick up a sin-
, $40 per school yeaf
or American Express,
riday during the fall
■ summer sessions -
M University,
Id Building, Texas
- Movie Review
* Before and After
Starring Meryl Streep, Liam Neesc
and Edward Furlong
Directed by Rarret Schroeder
„ Rated PG-13
J|WaPSgalPdM0akMall
Si ** 1^2(out of five)
Sf lames Francis
Ihe Battalion
If ever a movie has been force-fed
to its audience, it would be Before
and After.
Edward Furlong portrays Jacob
Ejati, a teen-ager accused of murder
ing: his girlfriend.
Itisthe same old story of small-town,
Iddle America where something goes
wrong and shocks the town.
Suddenly, long-time friends do not
want to be seen with you and finding new
jieople who will stand by you is impossible.
Jacob’s parents, Dr. Carolyn and
Ben Ryan (Meryl Streep and Liam
Neeson), struggle to come to terms
with whether or not their beloved
son has committed such a crime.
Through their trouble with Ja
cob, the film changes direction from
the story of a mysterious murder to
a battle between truth and lies in
the courtroom.
Director Rarret Schroeder’s mind
must have been cloudy when he
thought about keeping the audience
in suspense or revealing just
enough to keep moviegoers interested.
There is no surprise ending because
Jacob tells his parents and the audi
ence the entire story somewhere in
the middle of the movie.
After that, there is no point to con
tinue watching the denouement of the
plot, which is solid but a repeat of
every Sunday-night TV movie.
Streep comes across as her usual
whispy-voiced, weak character who
has to find strength in herself by the
end of the movie.
The audience is not shown enough
of her life as a doctor to be convinced
of her coming home tired.
In the end, Streep should look back
to her performance in The House of
Spirits as a reminder of the acting she
can deliver.
Neeson, whose character is a success
ful welding artist, looks more in tune to
his starring role in Ethan Fromme.
He resembles an old mountain man
with mood swings unfit for such a dra
matic attempt of a film.
Although his performance of a fa
ther trying to do whatever he can to
keep his son out of prison is steady, it
is too static.
To put icing on the cake, Furlong
intends of conveying the emotions of a
remorseful teenager to the audience.
By mouthing only two words in the first
hour of the movie, one can tell Furlong is a
far cry from the embodiment of drama.
Once again, his acting reeks of Ter
minator 2: Judgment Day, with whin
ing and over-dramatic tears.
As a made-for-television movie, maybe
Before and After would find individuals
willing to sit through and endure bad
performances by able actors.
Flat dramatic scenes reaching for emo
tions that were not there is the premise
and the demise of Before and After.
Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson and Edward Furlong star in the drama, Before and After.
Let
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and all visitor parking around the
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Monday through Wednesday, March 4-6. This
includes all of the University Center Garage
visitor parking and part of PA 48. Commuter
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use their parking permits to ride the off-cam
pus shuttle buses during this time at no charge.
Other parking options include PA 63 and PA
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fror
Bausch & Lomb
Daily or Extended Wear, Tinted & Toric (for astigmatism) available
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i 1 O TOTAL COST. .INCLUDES
EYE EXAM, FREE CARE KIT, AND TWO PAIR OF STANDARD
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