-emu
Del^^Sod^Bar
Meet
a friend
for
coffee
in the
FISHBOWL!
cultural forum presents
is
Seattle
Mime
Theatre
Tuesday, January 26
8 p.m.
EMU Ballroom
Tickets available dt the EMU Main Desk
$350 UO Students $450 General Public
$2.00 children 15 and under
Free workshop in the EMU Dad's Room from
230-430 p.m. on Tuesday, January 26.
read
RE
Magic
from page 1B
the people on the screen, but also in
the audience, because the event on
the screen is real and we care about
its outcome. Furthermore, this scene
is not gratuitous, nor is it included just
for its possible sensationalism The
filmmakers use it to make a point
about Ferrell and Torn's relationship,
and it winds up as an excellent meta
phor for the entire film.
A word of warning might be in order
here for the squeamish The film does
show a certain amount of farm
violence A calf is castrated, a pig is
shot, bled, and the bristles are
scraped from his hide, and a dead
cow is skinned. But in contrast, the
film contains no violence between
human beings, nobody gets shot,
stabbed, killed, or even punched out
It's certainly refreshing to see a
modem drama which does not rely on
those techniques
“Heartland" is loaded with memor
able visual moments which will linger
long after the film is over: a beautiful
horse galloping off on a spring day to
graze, which is recalled during a later
shot of the same horse being turned
loose during the winter because there
isn’t enough hay to feed him; the vast
open stretches of land (the film was
shot entirely on location in Montana)
which contrasts sharply with the
closed-in intensity of the human story
going on; and the awesome beauty
and cold of the first snowfall, to name
but a few
“Heartland" exudes a warmth and
muted beauty mixed with a brand of
truth which is almost never seen in a
Hollywood movie I would even
recommend seeing it twice
The second time I saw “Heartland”
was here in Eugene It was raining
when I stepped into the theatre, but
when I came out, I was confronted by
the unexpected thrill of seeing ever
ything covered by a fine blanket of
snow Maybe this film does contain
magic by robert webb
I
Ragtime
Jamas Cagney, Howard Rollins
Mayflower Theater
Americans are always trying to im
prove things, like toothpaste and deter
gents. But why do screenwriters try to
improve history? History was the one
thing that I was counting on being the
same tomorrow when I open the morning
paper
A recent attempt at trying to improve
on what’s already happened is screenw
riter Michael Weller's adaption of the
best-selling novel of turn-of-the-century
America, "Ragtime".
Blending historical fact with fiction into
a film isn't as simple for a screenwriter
as, let's say, blending scotch and soda
into a cocktail — but "Ragtime" should
be sent back to the bar because some
historical ingredients are missing
The film opens in the midst of the
hustle and bustle of America in 1906:
new-fangled automobiles frightening
horses in the street, socialites drinking
up their newly acquired wealth in cham
pagne glasses, and always in the back
ground is the fast, even time of ragtime
music
Somehow. New York's impoverished
immigrants were edited out somewhere
along the line That is, except for the
Cinderella story of a poor sidewalk ped
dler of silhouettes who turns his talent
into the career of a successful silent
movie director Not something that hap
pened to the majority of immigrants in
the Land of Opportunity in the early
1900s
But if you can remember that you're
watching a movie and not a newsreel,
%
Ragtime: complex. •. but catchy
■Ragtime" is somewhat like its music:
syncopated, but enjoyable
Unfortunately, unless the movie-goer
has had the benefit of reading the novel
beforehand, or studied United States
history of the early 20th century, "Rag
time" includes too many story threads to
weave into an easily-understandable
yam
There's the story of a millionaire who’s
murdered in the ballroom of Madison
Square Garden, the discovery of a little
black baby in a garden of a respected
white family, and, most developed, the
story of Coalhouse Walker, a ragtime
piano player who finally becomes suc
cessful enough to own a Model T Ford
Bigoted fire chief Willie Conklin (Kenneth
McMillan) victimizes the glib, well
dressed Walker, and he and his band
vandalize the Ford
After Walker tries every legal means to
gain retribution, he organizes his own
band to firebomb a series of firehouses
with the demand that Conklin be turned
over to them The battle finally leads
them to occupy the famous J.P Morgan
Library, threatening to blow it up if
Conklin is not given over to them
There are as many transitions in
"Ragtime", perhaps, as there were in
America at the turn of the century. Al
though the movie packs a powerful
emotional punch that makes up for some
of the story's complexity, it's hard to tell
who the players are if you don't have a
scorecard This is one time when you
should read the book before you see the
movie by gabriel boehmer
I
mi in mu
M
Screwed-up
screwball
Modem Problems
Chevy Chase
West 11th Cinemas
There’s a class of Hollywood films
called "screwball comedies,” happy
go-lucky affairs where things get
really crazy and everyone has a good
time. Kind of like Friday nights in a
freshman dorm.
"Modern Problems" is a screwball
comedy a bad screwball comedy.
Oh, it’s crazy all right, but it just isn't
very funny.
Chevy Chase is an air traffic con
troller whose girlfriend (Patti D Ar
banville) walks out on him because of
his uncontrollable jealousy. After be
ing doused with radioactive waste, he
develops telekinetic powers, and uses
them to get his girlfriend back, and get
back at all his enemies.
"Modern Problems" is a real radioac
tive waste. There are only two rela
tively cute scenes: one in which
Chase gives a romantic rival a bloody
nose rivaling Old Faithful, and a
bedroom scene in which Chase uses
his telekinetic powers on his girl
friend. Unfortunately, everything else
is either dumb, predictable, or totally
ridiculous. There’s nothing in
“Modern Problems" that a group of
stoned high school students couldn't
come up with in an hour or two.
Ken Shapiro, who directed and co
wrote the film, and Tom Sherohman
and Arthur Sellers, who make their
screenwriting debut with this film,
should go back for a long session at
the drawing board. Chase should be
forced back to late-night television, or
maybe into a sequel to “Foul Play ”
Movies like "Modern Problems" are a
waste of his talents.
Sometimes I wonder what future
generations will watch as "classic
screwball comedies ” I don't know,
but you can be sure "Modern Prob
lems" won't be one of them.
by matt meyer
NOT
HIRING
JOBS ARE TIGHT.
EXCEPT AT THE PEACE CORPS.
Let’s face it. This isn’t the best time to be finishing school and heading for the
job market, unless you're heading to the Peace Corps. We have plenty of jobs
for qualified applicants with degrees in architecture to education.
While helping others broaden their horizons, you’ll broaden your own. You'll
learn new things about your world and yourself.
You’ll also make an investment for your future. In the Peace Corps you’ll
bring home on-the-job experience. Experience that will pay dividends in
future endeavors.
But, the time to act is now. Understandly the jobs are going fast. Contact the
Peace Corps today at 686-3235, or visit the Peace Corps office in room 246
Susan Campbell Hall on the U of O campus.
INVEST IN YOUR FUTURE BY GIVING ONE TO OTHERS...
WITH THE PEACE CORPS.
Page 2 Section B
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Portland
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