Films
9 to S
Starring Jane Fonda
Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton
Directed by Colin Higgins
National Theater, Downtown
Mall
Anyone who’s ever held a
nine-to-five job, with its dull
routine accompanied by an oc
casional spicy scandal, will be
disappointed if they expect a
“statement” from 9 to 5. But all
you nine-to-fivers looking for a
little break in the routine (off at
five, dinner at six, show at
seven) may find it a funny time
out before another day of up,
out, and on the job
9 to 5 is a good movie, but it
only tugs at the problems work
ing secretaries (mostly women)
face. That’s okay with me. I’d
been led to expect more — a
“real look" at office oppression
— but I wasn't disappointed with
what I got: A fairly good story,
and some excellent comedy
delivered the right way at the
right time.
Lily Tomlin plays Violet New
stead, a bright, competent ex
ecutive secretary who is con
sistently overlooked at promo
tion time in favor of her dull,
imcompetent male counter
parts. Judy Bernly (Jane Fonda)
has just reentered the working
world after getting dumped by
her husband, in favor of — who
else — his secretary. Dolly Par
ton, in her first film role as Do
ralee Rhoades, the boss’ per
sonal secretary, is voluptuous,
sweet-natured, and a victim of
the rumors that assume she’s
having an affair with the boss
One night the three find
themselves together and spin
wild fantasies of revenge to
even the score with the boss
(played with plenty of male
chauvinist pig sexism by Dab
ney Coleman). In the fantasy
Popeye
Starring Robin Williams
and Shelley Duvall
Directed by Robert Altman
Springfield Cinema
In Popeye, director Robert
Altman, writer-cartoonist Jules
Feiffer, and cinematographer
Guiseppe Rotunno have gone
to elaborate lengths to bring a
cartoon to real life.
It’s a novel idea. The opening
scenes introduce the shanty
town of Sweet Haven, a kind of
cozy collection of shambles full
of people whose expressions
are exaggerated and whose ac
tions produce sounds like bo
ing!
Keeping an open mind, one
hopes that Altman’s Popeye is
not as dumb as it seems. But it
is, and the movie quickly loses
its appeal after some initial
charm.
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sequence, induced by some
good pot, Violet’s particular
form of revenge is the sweetest
evil, and one of the funnier
moments in the film. Eventually,
the trio gets the opportunity to
kidnap the boss and make some
changes in office procedures,
and herein lies the essence of
the story.
The problem here is a depen
dency by director Colin Higgins
to rely on slapstick to get a
laugh. He uses too many gim
micks, such as the fantasy
sequence, to move his plot. The
idea is good, but the cartoonish
method makes the story hokey
and amateur.
Violet’s “mistake” with
Coleman’s coffee, upon which
the whole story hinges, is so
implausible that the film loses
any credibility as a serious look
at working women. Don't pay
much attention to the story —
concentrate on Tomlin, Fonda,
and Parton, who manage to give
good performances despite
Higgins' reliance on junky film
tricks.
Parton has a natural screen
presence, and a fine touch in
delivering the right line at the
right moment. Doralee Rhoades
is really Dolly Parton behind a
desk. But Parton is so delightful
that it doesn’t matter: She may
not be an actress, but she’s a
fine comedienne. There’s a
sweetness about her that
somehow doesn’t turn to sap
Tomlin is an established
comedy veteran, and here, as in
many of her stage characters,
she’s the sharp edge. She’s at
her best when she spits out a bit
of venom to her boss, the other
secretaries, and her duller
partners. Violet is the brain
behind the scam. A cool opera
tor, her years of playing office
politics have finally paid off.
Fonda, not a bad comedienne
Popeye does have its good
points — especially on the phy
sical level. The few fight scenes
are fun to watch, because, like
in Superman, the comic book
impossibilities are believable:
people shaped like wheels roll
down stairs, crunch their bodies
up, drill through solid wood, and
fly through the air with the
greatest ease
Robin Williams’ appearance
as the sailor man with hairy,
bulging forearms, squinted eye,
and corncob pipe, bears little
resemblance to his television
role as Mork from Ork. It’s hard
to picture anyone but Williams
in the title role of Popeye — his
muttered witticisms full of
catchy grammatical flaws (for
example: “house of ill
repukes’') come off in true Wil
liams’ ad-lib humor.
Both he and Shelley Duvall
(Olive Oyl) are remarkably faith
Dolly Parton portrays the boss' secretary in 9 to 5 now playing at the National Theater
herself in the right part, has the
flimsiest role. In 9 fo 5 we’re
supposed to believe she’s not
terribly bright or practical, and
that’s tough to take. There’s too
much intelligence showing for
anyone to believe that she’s
ever been inept at anything. It’s
tough to be dumb; she shouldn’t
even try.
All three have the courtesy
not to upstage the others, so the
acting is nicely balanced. Each
has a distinct style, both in
character and screen presence,
but the effort at a nice mix sue
ceeds It’s obvious they had a
good time making this film, and
it shows, which makes it a lot
more fun to watch (and easier to
ignore the shortcomings).
There is some light social cri
ticism of office working condi
tions After kidnapping the
boss, the trio institutes flexible
hours, child care and office
decorating, and of course,
higher pay. Commendable, but
not terribly serious. There's a lot
more to alleviating job oppres
sion than putting plants on the
desks and yanking out the time
clock.
But if there’s more to being a
good secretary than taking fast
shorthand and pouring a good
cup of coffee, these three have
it. They not only type and file,
they’re devious. A good boss
should recognize a shrewd
brain, even if it’s encased in
platinum blonde hair. Their kid
napping scheme, combined
with blackmail and a little extor
tion, is stunning because its so
easy. As they say, it's all in a
day’s work.
By Sally Oljar
ful to their penned predeces
sors. it's a credit to their acting
abilities that they could pull off
their roles so well. And Altman’s
grandson as Swee'pea steals
scenes from both of them.
But the context seems wrong.
These are cartoon characters in
a real-life world. There is a clash
of realities. Altman’s Popeye
doesn’t work as a cartoon, and it
doesn’t work as a live action
comedy.
There are a few musical
numbers, intentionally
uninspired: Olive Oyl can’t sing
or dance. But the songs gener
ally don’t add much to the story,
so it doesn't work as a musical
either.
The plot elements are basic:
boy meets girl; boy likes girl; boy
fights big, bad, bully boyfriend
of girl. Conflicts are black and
white, good and bad. “Wrong is
wrong even when it helps yeh,”
Popeye says out of the corner of
his mouth. Fighting the villain
ous Bluto, Popeye says matter
of-factly that he will win
because good always does.
Altman's films are often frag
mented. Popeye isn’t as dis
jointed as Nashville, but, par
adoxically, it's less coherent.
Popeye is episodic. One thing
follows another, often to
predictable conclusions, with
out a sense of natural progres
sion.
The last scene is almost anti
climactic, as Popeye and his
allies pursue Bluto across the
waves to an island to rescue
Olive and Swee’pea One hesi
tates to call it a chase scene
because it’s slow, boring, and
predictable.
Despite this critical
conflagration, Popeye is gener
ally a fun show with some inter
esting elements. Potentially
possessing the right stuff, the
film tries nard. But it doesn't
quite make it.
By Richard Laliberte
Here we go again! Yet another foggy — edging toward smoggy — day in
Eugene, Oregon, home of the University of Oregon and the Oregon Daily
Emerald what more could you want in a city? Well, welcome back — yeah, I
know, it's been a week since school started, but, well, we haven't communicated in
over a month. Time to catch up: In case you ve forgotten, deadline for calendar and
general entertainment stuff is the Thursday before publication. I realize most people
have a hard time getting their stuff in, but please do try!! Thanks Finally. I'd like to
go through the traditional thank you's, etc. First off. to Sandy for letting me change
days; next to Kirk Knighton, our new beloved copy-editor with a funky, but stylish
zipper on his running suit who is so very patient with bad grammar, and finally, to
Heidi her timing and letting me escape for lunch See you next week! Erzsi
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