At the movies
^ C xwrtwv photo
The steller hereos of Mel Brooks’ "Spatehalls" include (lefl to right) lohn Candy as Barf the
Mawg: Torene Yarnell as Dot main* (voice provided by loan Kivers); Daphne Zuniga as
Princess Vespa; and Hill Pullman as hem-for hire Tone Star.
'Spaceballs' uses familiar jokes
Mel brooks has always used
the shotgun <nituo.it h to com
edy: spray enough shots at your
target and something is bound
to find the mark. The measure
of his success is whether or not
the hits outnuinlier the misses
Review by
Aaron Knox
In his latest r eIe a * e.
"Spaceballs." they do not. His
targets are simply a little too
distant to l>e offer tive. The film
is largely a parody of "Star
Wars." which was released
mom than 10 years ago. and the
gags have all been done before
by filmmakers, either by acci
dent or design, in countless
ripoffs of the original.
Brooks went out of his way to
include passing shots at a few
other pictures in the science
fiction genre (most notably
"Star Trek" and "Alien") in an
attempt to minimize the fact the
“Star Wars" material is
hopelessly dated. But the efforts
have all the earmarks of post
production salvage work in (ho
editing room, and that is un
characteristic of Brooks' better
efforts
Other problems witli this
movie are further examples of
lunl timing. Brooks gives a lot of
screen time to a female C.'tPQ
(called Dot Matrix) played with
the voice of loan Rivers Now. I
have never been a Rivers fan,
hut the precipitous decline in
her popularity recently must
have had Brooks reaching for
the Tunis and crossing his
fingers.
Another problem with this
movie, which is a problem with
all Brooks movies it seems, is
his preoccupation with black
stereotypes. It was disturbing to
note the audience laughed at
the jokes involving familiar
black typecasting, while those
involving jewish caricatures
did not.
In light of the fact that Brooks
is himself (ewish. one can't at
tach any malicious intent to it. I
would have to place the blame
for this reaction squarely with
the audience, but the inclusion
of both racist cliches perpetuate
images Inconsistent with a con
temporary and enlightened
social reality.
The editing, to which i earlier
referred, is disappointing and
even amateurish al times.
In spite of all that is wrong
with it. this is a difficult movie
not to recommend Kick
Morunis and John Candy are
well cast in their respective
roles. Brooks has his moments
(the best of which involves the
common last name of the
members of the Spaceball
crew), and there is a lot of ge
nuinely funny stuff here. both
in the form of throwaway one
liners ami quick sight gags.
I him Deloise makes a cameo
as Pizza the lint That is clever,
but it has been seen nearly in its
entirety on TV previews. Other
performances, including that of
George YVyner as Colonel San
dun, are small but effective,
The entire sci-fi genre has
become such an institutional
part of our culture that it lends
itself naturally to satire, and
Hrtmks is at his best when he
lays it on thick. Running gags
Turn to 'Spat eballs,' Page 8
'Eastwick' contains
divine performances
Divine powers simmer and
erupi in "The Witches of
Kastwick," a film now playing
at Eugene's National Theatre
Based on a novel of the same
name by |ohn Updike, the film
depicts how the supernatural
powers of three women blossom
when the devil comes to town.
Review by
|a< kie Barry
The story line of the film
deviates significantly from that
of the novel, but the movie ver
sion is an improvement on Up
dike's theme, which depicts the
women as vengeful and self
serving. with no devil to in
fluence them at all. The film, on
the other hand, includes only
men of dubious character: a
philandering school principal,
a spineless newspaper
publisher and the devil.
jack Nicholson gives a
definitive performance as the
devil, embodied in Darryl Van
Horne. One comes to expect a
g oo d show base d o n
Nicholson's previous work, but
his uncouth behavior and dum
py exterior reach new heights in
this role
The witches (('her as Alexan
dra. Susan Sarandon as lane,
and Michelle l*feiffer as Sukie)
don’t fare as well, leaning a lit
tle too much toward the
beautiful but stupid variety.
Their performances are ade
quate. however, with Sarandon
attaining excellence most often.
Veronica Cartwright em
bodies Van Horne's antithesis
as Felicia Gabriel. Cartwright's
performance as a goody-two
shoes possessed by her
awareness of Van Home's true
colors shines above the other
women.
The screenplay, by Michael
Cristofer. blends supernatural
qualities with real life counter
parts. removing the tale from
the horror genre and placing it
firmly, through his characters,
as a study of human nature and
behavior.
The witches typify strong,
female characters fighting the
natural desire to have a man in
their lives. But when they get
together and all think the same
thoughts, their influence proves
strong enough to start a
downpour, heave the bowels of
the earth, and bring the devil to
town.
Van Horne, despite his unat
tractive demeanor, knows how
to pique a variety of women's
interests toward self-serving
ends. He pinpoints Alexandra's
frustration and tells her a
woman is like a hose with the
futility of the world pouring
through her. He tells |ane the
burning of midwives as witches
is just another example of male
dominated society exploiting
women. He tells them both,
"Let it out. 1 can take it. I want
it."
The physical appearance of
the film contributes heavily to
its success. The locations used
in the New England town as
autumn leaves swirl around the
gabled roof tops, the long
legged sensual beauty of the
witches — one blond, one
auburn, the other ebony haired,
and the furnishings of Van
Horne's mansion replete with
elaborate ancient furnishings
and a wall covered ceiling to
floor with television monitors
make the appearance of the film
a rich, visual feast.
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