LO
The Battalion
esday • February 24, 1998
CRITIQUE
T hree definitions given
for the word “palmetto”
include (1) nickname
for a southern state; (2) a
small fan-leafed palm tree;
(3) a fat bug found in Florida.
Oddly enough, all of these
definitions can be applied to
the film by the same name.
Palmetto focuses on the
topsy-turvy life of its main
character Harry Barber
(Woody Harrelson), a news
paper reporter.
The film opens with Barber being released
from prison after a two-year stay behind bars. As
he walks down a dirt road, Barber is tom between
heading out to Miami or returning to Palmetto, the
sleepy seaside Florida village that always brings
trouble even to the most innocent of people.
On the road, Barber sees Palmetto District At
torney John Renick (Tom Wright) in one car and his
old girlfriend Nina (Gina Gershon) in another car.
Without haste, Nina gets out of her car and
lures Barber back to Palmetto as if there had not
been a two-year gap since she had last seen him.
Before long, Barber befriends the mysterious
Rhea Malroux (Elisabeth Shue) who makes him
with an offer he cannot refuse: $50,000 to pretend
to kidnap her stepdaughter.
Although this may seem like a lot of trouble to
be getting into right after being released from jail,
Barber is thrown another twist in his already
skewed life — the district attorney wants him to
act as press liaison for the kidnapping case in
which he is directly involved.
But as dead bodies unexpectedly pop up, hid
den identities make their true faces known and
past situations come back to haunt him, Barber
finds himself in a whirlwind of criminal activity.
The cast of Palmetto — Harrelson, Shue,
Gershon and Michael Rapaport — is one thing
that may attract people to see the film; the act-
Woooy Harrelson plays Harry Barber in the new film Palmetto.
ing is another aspect that will keep audience
members in their seats. But it is the plot of the
film that is sure to have people feeling satis
fied they paid to see the film.
Harrelson has come a long way from his
pop-culture character in films such as White
Men Can’t Jump and Indecent Proposal. Fol
lowing in the success of The People vs. Larry
Flint and Welcome to Sarajevo, Harrelson
proves a worthy actor in the film.
Gershon and Shue, both extremely seductive
and polar opposites in the film, help bring back
the good and bad female depictions in film
from days of the old silver screen.
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Carolyn
into The Dixie
By Rhonda Reinhart
Staff writer
Carolyn Wonderland
and The Imperial Monkeys
Bursting With Flavor
Justice Records
Critique: A
C arolyn Wonderland and
The Imperial Monkeys’ lat-
I est album is bursting with
more than flavor. Wonderland’s
gruff vocals and sassy songwrit
ing make Bursting With Flavor a
spicy mix of rock, blues, country
and soul. Add salt and lime, and
you’ve got an instant party.
Regardless of the group’s eclec
tic style, it is undoubtedly a rock
‘n’ roll band. The energy emitted
by the heavily accented drum
beats, electric guitar and lyrics
about drinking, drugging and par
tying bring to mind early Rolling
Stones and The Black Crowes.
Although Wonderland and
the Monkeys’ sound is definite
ly rockin’, the heavy rhythm
and blues influence cannot be
ignored. Tracks like “Loose
Ends” and “Stay” sound more
like Motown tunes with a hint
of rock ‘n’ roll.
The reason this Houston quar
tet can pull off the switch from
rock to blues to rock so well lies
in the lungs of Wonderland. The
strength of her voice provides
amazingly soulful sounds on
Bursting With Flavors’12 tracks.
Wonderland has been compared
to Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt and
Melissa Etheridge, but her vocal
style is certainly all her own. She
can go from a screeching falsetto
to full-force growl with no warn
ing and she sounds like she’s hav
ing fun in the process.
The tracks on Bursting With
Flavor resonate with emotion and
make their listeners want to close
their eyes, shake their heads and
stomp their feet. The album com
pletes the musical spectrum with
weepy ballads and raucous,
good-time rock ‘n’ roll antics.
Although Wonderland’s
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From back left, clockwise: Eric Dane, guitar; Leesa Harrington-Squyres, drums;
Carolyn Wonderland, lead vocals; Chris King, bass.
voice is the most striking as
pect of Bursting With Flavor,
the album would not be nearly
as impressive without the tal
ented backup performers.
Guitarist Eric Dane, bass-play
er Chris King and drummer
Leesa Harrington-Squyres bring
to the album a nice blend of mu
sical styles and genres. The group
members work well together and
play off each other fabulously.
Carolyn Wonderland and The
Imperial Monkeys is scheduled
to open for Storyville Friday,
Feb. 27 at the Dixie Theatre.
And if Bursting With Flavor is
any indication of what the
group’s live shows are like, audi
ences are in store for a night of
sweaty, rowdy rock ‘n’ roll from
two talented Texas bands.
jj lislld
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