R E V I E W
A FINE MESS
Ted Oanson (right)
--* u-1 - M_-r-i
WO rrOWIf MoOut!
pisy lKtckicki down
on their luck m A Fn*
Mtm. i zany comedy
rapeed by a dune
Laurel and Hardy
(tort
Laurel and Hardy would he pleased
The humbling silliness of the his
toric comic duo is the inspiration
for director Blake Edwards' new
film. A Fine Mess, starring Ted Danson
and Howie Mandel as two equally bum
bling ne'er do wells
laurel and Hardy would seem to be a
natural for the director who, with IVter
Sellers, created the modern master of
bumble. Inspector Clouseau, in the /’ink
Panther films Indeed, "They were
Blake’s favorite comedy team,” com
mented co star Mandel
Although loosely based on a classic
short by the comic legends, A Fine Mess,
“Is more of an homage, ' said Mandel. “It
was originally calk'd The Music Hux.
which was ihc- famous laurel and Hardy
short with them trying 10 gel a piano up a
flight of stairs Bui this movie is a com
pletely original story. It's very physical
comedy, wacky, with chases I guess it
has a little piece of every one of their
movies in that sense "
"I play Dennis Kiwell, a roller skating
hamburger stand waiter who's been
working his wh<>lc life to save up for his
own fast food restaurant Ted Danson
plays his buddy, a movie extra whose
dream is to become a big star This st< iry is
about the fine mess" he (Danson) gets
us into when he sees something he's not
supposed to see "
Joist Carpenter tuns his weed sentdsMes to Cisnaiown at Btg Trouble m LMe Ctwit Kurt Russel (second
from nght) stars as an adventurer wtto heipt a (hand (Dennis Dunn, second from left) find fas kidnapped wife
BIG TROUBLE
IN LITTLE CHINA
Welcome u> dinner in China
town in John Carpenter's /Mg
Trouble In I. title China Alter
you finish the tea and the dim
sum. how ahout a stroll through the tin
derworid, with such exotic attractions as
the Kixun of the Upside Down llell' the
Honorable Hall ol the Internal Judge'"
V«hj II know you're in big trouble when
you iMimp into Jack burton (Kurt Kussell)
and his pig hauling truck, the birk Chop
Express Jack Is helping his friend Wang
Chi (Dennis Dun) recover his lost green
eyed brute kidnapped by Lo ban (James
Hong) and his fiendish thugs
Allied by Grade law, a sensuous attor
iicy played by Kim Cattral, and Egg Shen
(Victor Wong), a clairvoyant bus ilrlver.
Jack and Wang enter an imaginary under
world ruled by lo Pan Ai cording to leg
end, lo Pan is a cold blooded spirit im
prisoned in hell by the Eirst Emperor of
China, who can only regain his virility by
coupling with that one In a million
green eyed woman
Pretty kinky, huh'1' H«g Trouble starts off
as an action adventure comedy, shifts
into high gear as hi/arre circumstances
mount and winds up as a kung fu mon
ster ghost story Whew!
"It's an ensemble piece, and It's very
complex," says Carpenter, who Is famous
for his low budget, gripping thrillers like
llallou een and Christine
However, /Mg 'Trouble is a million
production, filmed mostly In I os Angeles
with a great deal of special effects from
fiery explosives to an H foot human skull
which emits eerily colored smoke
bui stripped of its haunting facade, the
basu premise of /Mg Trouble is still good
guys versus trad guys This ancient trail!
lion of story telling goes back to the
days of Ulysses and Shakespeare," Car
pettier says And, though it may sound
simplistic, Car|X‘ittcr believes that's the
key to every one of his films sheer fun
intertwined with subtle messages.
Albert /Voig
W4 Rodney 0»ng*rtt*td (Ml) finafly gel tome re
spact? Maybe m hit new him, Back to School,
where he pieyt • businessman who goet beck to
BACK TO SCHOOl
Hi
§iH movie 's hard, says Hud
MB iley Iiangerhcld, Ins long
UM dolelul face looking mure
■Bl sorrowful than ever
“When you're telling jokes to a camera,
you don't get much of a response. Know
what f mean?" It's not much solace to a
man who's used to making millions laugh
that the cameraman and the boom o|>era
tor are trying to keep from falling down
with laughter while filming Hat It to
Si hoot, Dangerheld s latest movie
"They're laughing because they
weren't expecting that," says director
Alan Metier Rodney makes up material
all the time I leave at the end of the day,
exhausted from shooting lie goes home
to jMilish jokes and continue to work
In Hath to School, Oangerfield |>lays a
sell made millionaire who signs on as a
freshman at college in order to help his
shy son through a Ixtdtlmc It's a comedy
ol errors with Dangcrlield triumphing in
spite of himself amid the usual comple
tnent ol rapid lire one liners
Joan (wtHMiman
(Summer Him 1‘rcilew continues on
next /xrge) ►