QN CCREEN
Ragtime
starring James Caymi Hr cut IkninJ
\lar\ Steenburyen written h\ Michael
Weller Jrom the noiel In F I lk>c
toruu directed h\ Milas Forman
Ragtime is dizzy kitsch anti lots of
fun It's also a colossal twoand-a
half-hour-long take Nim even a con
struction crane could suspend the
necessart disbelief One well
intentioned miscalculation follows the
next until there s so much wrong it’s
hard to keep it all straight
How can we give ourselves over to a
him whose sets and locations lixik like
sets and locations, and whose cos
tumes ltx>k like costumes? The\ have
been carefully chosen, but like the rest
of the film, with the exception of some
performances, thev exist onlv as con
cepts. In short nothing looks lived in
Compare the Lower hast Side se
quence m Rayttme with a similar re
construction in Godfather II and the
difference becomes obvious In the lat
ter we are there and in the other well,
we’re not
EJL Doctorow's novel was .1 master
fully satisfying entertainment A liantl
fill of figures from the early years of
the 20th century (some famous, some
fictional) were made to represent cer
tain political, social and aesthetic
forces struggling to Ik- lx>rn, e g black
rights, women's lib and motion pic
tures. As the narrative hopscotches!
from character to character their paths
(and concerns) constantly crisscrossed
The pacing was brisk, the prose style
uncluttered A leisurely epoch was
limned in quick sketches It was like
watching some secretly shot movie of
bygone lives — both public and pri
vate Just enough descriptive detail was
provided for us. the readers, to till in
the rest This may Ik- why the book us
more immediate than the Milos For
man him Not only has all the work
been done for us up there on the
screen — it also hasn't been done nyin
Not onlv production design, but script
and direction are at fault
Most importantly, the store ls lop
sided The climax ot aggrieved blacks
occupying New York's J.P Morgan Li
brarx is drawn out wax tixi long (pis
sibh to allow James (ugtiev as Police
Commissioner enough screen lime to
justify his star billing) The other
characters are thus deprived ol impor
tant scenes thal would make mans ol
the actions more comprehensible
The acting is fine — Mars Steen
hurgen Robert Jos Uriel Douril,
Mauds Patinken and (agues art great
to watch So is lovely Iilizaheth
McGovern. She's as natural here as she
was m ()rciltuiry /'eop/e It's a deft and
charming jierformance lull ol humor
the only problem is that it's in the
wrong movie It has as much to do
with lhtX) as Deborah Harrs has to do
with Scott Joplin This contemporars
viewpoint is buili into the film and is
its second most serious tlaw It comes
out in dialogue mannerisms and
motivations (or lack ol same) In llXX)
blacks may have called each other
brother, voung ladies may have been
upfront about sex and money
middle class white Inns may hase In
come disillusioned with their hypocrit
leal dads anil joined black terrorist
groups It's |M>ssible but the burden is
on Runtime to make us liehese u li
doesn't
A‘aytimi- should have been a T\
mini series witii aii ihe nim.li needed
explanations the movie lacks, or k
should have been draslii alls rethought
tor the screen It s a shame Hie him n
high spirited and, lor the lirsi pari,
very entoyablc in spite ot its errors Vet
alter wo hours there have Ix-en too
mans manipulations and it finally col
lapses under them
Kichartl Hlackhum
Who?* Life Is It Anyway?
Hu!Hint Ihvylnss. Int’ii faavwt
left's <nut' unit hihti untten hy Hrum
(.lari' i hi ymahl hiisr ihmli’il by
Inhii tUutharn
The choice ol Drevtuv. to star as a
sculptor parals/cd In an auto acci
dent is a mixed blessing he is so si
tal, so irrepressibly alive tltai lie ris
ets our attention and Mjueeze.s even
laugh and tear tlut can lx- st|uer/ed
Hui this sets energy aimosi (but |tisi
almost l negates the hojxdessnev ol
hts condition n i> difficult to lielieve
ttun someone so intelligent and |>et
ceptive would want to end Ins lilt
-r*r
lust a feu mure days full of dread exams atul last minute plans alxjut llou t<
Get Home Clxapiy — and then. at last, tlx? biy winter relief of The Holidays
llxtnksyii my turkey, pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce Christmas turkey f maybe
a Ixtrru a{)[)te pie and //resent-. Auld Ititiy Syne atul tlx Rose hotel atul potato
chips atul beer Small wonder tlxtt tlx- eartl) seems to mot e m early /anuary it’s
lust our annual national jxjst Ixtliday belch
Hut enough of these culinary slaiennys We re Ixre to write about movies and
another distinctly American tradttion tlx- sudden appearance of dozens of
bhxkbuster films every December, at which time the film studios hofx- to change
their year-etul ink from red to black and maybe influence an Oscar nomination
or two
Here tljert is a rundown of those movies tlxtt will light up screens across tlx
country trelease dates vary wildly from region to region) tins holiday season And
don ’t forget moi le tlxaters are full of /jopcom, cokes Jujubes Milk Duds
DimC stars Warren Beam as American journalist John Reed, Ix-st known
KeJJo
RAGTIME,
•for his eyewitness assessment of the Russian Revolution in Ins 1919
book Ten lJays tlxtt SIxxjk the World. Diane Keaton plavs the love interest author
Louise Fletcher, and Jack Nicholson is playwright Eugene O'Neill The whole
thing took five tears and an estimated Jib million to complete more than the
Russian Revolution itself
the long-delayed film version of I L Doctor!>w s bestsel
ler, brings us tliat innovative mix of fictional and real
characters, played bv James Cagney Mars Steenburgen, Brad Dourit, Norman
Mailer (reportedly excellent; and Howard K Rollins as Coal house Walker
TtI)C stars Timothy Hutton as an upright do-right cadet ai an eastern mill
1/\1 Otars academy, George C Scott is the head man, and conflict aliounds
MODERN PROBLEMS. 5E Zz TZLZZ
controller who develops telekinetic powers Bui does he develop acting talent'
\ 11 'T/^T TT)ADC from the Thomas Berger novel, pits quiet subur
1 x|Xal.VjnLL/V^J\t3j banites John Belushi and Kathryn Walker against
tfie New Couple
mg hull)
weird and wacky Dan Aykroyd and Cathy Moriarty (from Ray
WHOSE LIFE IS IT ANYWAY?,:;
play for the past lew years This version stars Richard Dreyfuxs as a sculptor who
loses the use of his arms and legs after an auto accident Hts decision to end Ins
life meets with strong resistance from doctor John Cassavetes, and with emotion
ally charged sympathy from doctor Carol Lahti In spite of the grim subject,
Drevfuss is funny, engaging, and compelling (see review this issue)
PENNIES FROM HEAVEN. ZZZZZZ
months, ever since MOM teased the press with clips and set visits back in the
spring Steve Martin departs from hts jerky comedian persona and plays a 1930s
song .salesman who dreams of living out tin sweet songs he sell as an esvajx
Irom his harsh Depression reality Though married, lie tall m lose with hard
luck lieautv Bernadette Peters Christopher Walken iwho won an Academy Award
tor his supporting role in The Deer Hunter) plays a dancing pimp who know a
good thing Peters when he sees het The sets are lahuioics an old fashioned
bank turns into a Bushy Berkeles dance scene while Martin and Peters are watch
mg the movie Tollou the Tleet. they imagine themselves doing the same In i s
Pace the Musk and Dance number ai;d sure enough we see Steve and Her
nadette in the same Astaire and Rogers costumes, on tin same set doing tin
same dance
BUDDY, BUDDY:
ts the American remake ol a line Prciich
y e ca av a comedy (originally translated as A I‘am m
the Ass), with Jack Lemmon and Walter Mattliau in place ol Jacques Brel and lain
Ventura It s about a hit man, Mattliau. hired to assassinate a government witness,
but lies constantlv interrupted by tin- suicidal bozo in tin next hotel room
(Lemmon) Its directed In Billy Wilder who's lieen away too long
11,m Neynoids1 111 Minna vi<<
Ol l/lXVIY I O LT JL/jLsjl JJLI iXa. detective investigating a series ol
1 all girl murders Mtxlel Rachel Ward in her lirst screen role is a call girl and
were promised that S faulty \ Machine wallows in every possible seedy element
T R|V,‘ us Jane Ponda as the chairman ol the board ol a
IVV/laiaV/ V IJIY large cor)Miration, and Kris Krixtollerson (wearing a
suit, but not a lieard) as the head ol a tailing New York bank It s billed as a
thriller/love story
shows how three generations inlet
aci emotionally one summer, and it
stars Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn as Jane Fonda s parent , It open m
two theaters in December, countrywide in late January
LS J" m,r'caUe lliriUei in which the ghost ol a
YJ11V./OX Ol V/l\l murdered woman returns to haunt (and wte.ik
revenge upon) the four pillars ol the community who did het in Stats Fred
Astaire, Patricia Neal the late Melvyn Douglas Craig Wasson (as Douglas son),
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr and Alice Krige as a mysterious beauty
Sl ,rS Kaulman and Bernadette Peter, as
llLarirVl JUlil J1 O roUtis who yearn to be free And so they wandet
oil and have many adventures
LYV ID I7RTFNTK IS screenwriter S|eve < break my. Away
1- N-/XJX\ X XVLLlil JvO Eyewitness) Tesich's autobiographical liaik at
lour close friends, the Sixties and last Chicago, with Craig Wasson, Jodi Thelen,
Jim Metzler, and Michael Huddleston
ON GOLDEN POND
I'iea.se remove hats, how heads, and /fonder the, lass t/jere is no Clint liastwood
movie this Ixfltduy season There has always been a holiday last wood Is this the
end oj the world we've Iteen hearinn sit much about lately
Judith Sims
simply Ikh .iuv he < ;im i move Ins arms
and le^s
Ami that Is tin- story lie wants to
dir Inn tin- diKtor in charge ((aLssa
vetes) reluses to atretic to this wish.
Instead threatening to have lirevtu.ss
committed to a home where he'll In
kept alive loi vears Drevluvs is not
easily defeated. hut the him is not
simpls then roiilroiitaiion li deals
with lirevtu.ss eilert on the lives of
another doctor, Lahli. who is drawn to
him emotionallv a reggat lied orderly
arid a [iretty young nurse among
others
On the surtare, a him about a
paralyzed man who wants to die is not
exact Is i heertul hnlidas tare lint u is a
KihmI movie not an ex|n-nsise one not
a garish one lust good H makes us
think and led laugh ami cry, and
there's not much more we ran ask in
this or am other season
JutUth 'tints
Absence of Malice
sItimtw I'tntl Svwnum tttul Stilh / It’Ll
trnllfii /n A urt l ttrdli'i tllYi ’ilrti h\
Inrriii I‘tilIt tit
'WKJ i icalls dr In l neetl tin a 'll
fl (using uupid ntovii at rout |our
nahsiii ethics or lark thereof Sails
Held |x>rtrass a Miami rejxmer who
prints a false stors (leaked to her in a
m>.si <|iiestionahle manner) claiming
dial businessman Newman is under
mvesiigahon In a strike lone in the
ihsap|>earamc ol a local longshore
men s union leader Newman is inno
cent naturalls and pr<x reds to set (In
record straight In die process he- and
I leld liasc a lew go-rounds, and almost
everyone gets his or her conic
uppano in (hi- end Vtell. line ex
ce|X that U all Iramed in pretentious
pre-.n I is muddled blather altoul the
public's riglu to know and revealing
oi not resealing sources and using the
press lo ads.mei one s own ambitions,
hi.ill hi.ill \h\4’H(r of Mulin' in.in
to .Kid tucl uml ,i wet blanket (o
tlit llaming topu <>l journalistic etlms
Parts ol (lit film lie [list IikiIisIi
Nrwnuii, hurt asks lield 'IXiiii you
know mt vet' Meaning how could
slit think I mi i a hood when (lievve
I>ern going Meade tor two night.'' in .i
row Much worse are the scenes at the
news|*i|K-i where lield has to In re
minded In the pallet's attorney to get
a quote Iroin Newman (when Newman
does ill answer his phone she doesn i
lx idler to tall again Ciive me a break)
l ield shows no c|ualnis .iIkiui printing
stories Ilased on the most tenuous
or oil the record sources, then turns
around and prints the name and alxir
(ton date ol a timid source who re
sponds to the public shame with
suicide
lint the \Xorst lane of the Vear
Award goes to wrilei laiedlke lor the
lollowiug exchange l ield in reply to
Newman s comment that she wears no
wedding ring, therefore must lie
single You evet hear ol lilieratioti''
Newman Yeah, but they it all ugh
Nothing rings true ’lilts was obvi
oiisly intended as a serious look at the
sometimes shoddy practices reporters
use to get their stories lull the mien
lion dealt a mere glancing blow to the
execution l.uedtke, according It) the
prtxluciion notes, has been a journalist
lor more than twenty years, at the
Miami Herald and the Detroit I'tee
Press [’here is very little evidence ol
that experience on the screen
Judltb Sims