apri 21. 2000
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•
nr
is spent detailing the effect of Vilanch s gay
identity on his work, and that any other openly
gay performers, except Nathan Lane, are glar
ingly absent from the film. Also annoying is
ith his curly blond mop of hair, brightly
the
fact that almost no one is ever identified
colored glasses, portly physique and catty
on-screen. Even a jaded veteran Hollywood
jokes, Bruce Vilanch is a living, breath
writer like myself (no, not really jaded) kept
ing, talking Muppet. Best known to television
asking “W ho’s that?” when some lesser star
audiences as the outrageous gay guy on Holly-
came on to laud Vilanch s talents.
uood Squares— a sort of contemporary Paul
Overall, G et Bruce! is an amusing look at a
Lynde— Vilanch is better known behind the
very untraditional humorist. Bruce Vilanch
scenes in Tinseltown as the man who makes
shows
humor and heart in his work and keeps
the funniest comedians even funnier. When
his own distinct voice even as he helps other
they need a joke Hollywood insiders shout,
comedians
develop their personas. Maybe this
“Get Bruce!”
live-action Muppet can really be considered a
That’s also the title of a newly released
puppeteer?
— Andy Mangels
video documentary chronicling the career and
quips of Vilanch. Get Bruce! takes viewers on a
A legría
whirlwind backstage tour to examine how a
Frank Langella
nice Jewish boy went from performing on the
stage in college to writing for the Chicago Tri
he phantasmagorical phenomenon that is
bune to his current role as muse to the stars.
Cirque du Soleil is coming to Portland on
Although his credits include such memo
May 11, hut if you can’t wait until then,
rable jobs as head writer for The Brady Bunch
the troupes first feature film, Alegría, is now
Variety Hour and The Donny & Marie Show
out on video. Unlike Saltimbanco— the show
(agonizingly awful clips are included), Vilanch’s
that’s coming our way and has been featured on
work on the Academy Awards, the Emmy
PBS— this film combines a narrative love story
Awards and the Tonys is given more footage.
with the on- and offstage action of the circus.
Extensive interviews with Whoopi Gold
This is not your father’s
berg, Billy Crystal, Robin
Williams and Bette Midler
circus, with elephants and 30
show how necessary Vilanch
clowns oozing out of a kiddie
the writer is to each per
car. And this movie is not for
formers stage presence. In the
young kids. Its a very dark
video, we get to see Goldberg
story with many disturbing
and Vilanch take a critical
scenes of child slavery and
drubbing for the ill-fated 1993
abuse. T he surreal film con
Ted Danson blackface tribute
trasts a bleak urban world of
at a Friar’s Club roast; hear
enforced labor, where captive
the lyrics and jokes that censors wouldn’t let
urchins sell flowers on the streets of a depress
Crystal use on the Oscar telecasts; and watch
ing metropolis, with the wildly colorful and
Robin Williams repeatedly talk about his
exotic illusory world of the circus.
penis.. .again. We also get to hear how and
As in every circus story ever told, someone
why Vilanch turned down a job with diva Bar
will he inspired to run away and join up. In this
bra Streisand and watch the man himself at
case it’s Franc, a mysterious street person who
work doing standup for a host of AIDS bene
already wears a clown’s whiteface, though he
fits.
insists it’s really stardust. His sidekick is Momo,
My complaints about the film are
a young boy desperate to escape his night
that not enough time
marish life. So desperate that he tries to join
Franc in committing suicide. They are both
saved by the beautiful star of the circus,
Giulietta. A classic romance ensues, with
all the obstacles to he overcome.
Though the word alegría does mean
joy, and the film does eventually arrive at
an upbeat resolution, it’s a very dark jour
ney to get there. Clowns in full costume
keep wandering through the scenes
emoting like a latter-day Greek chorus.
Frank Langella is superb as the ring
master, father of Giulietta and father
figure to the entire circus troupe. The
complex father-daughter relationship
is explored with more sensitivity and
depth than might be expected from
this type of film.
The ringmaster also instructs his
players in the philosophy of perfor
mance: “We do the show for the
people in the dark. They need us.
You know life is very tough, life is
very hard, its very cruel.... You
have a certain responsibility to
the people in the dark. For two
hours every night you’re not
allowed to let life in."
— O riana Green
G et B ruce !
Bruce Vilanch
nosAv EÀYII
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Films trip
dust Out reviews
two films just
released on video
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■ A ndy M angels is a long
time Portland entertainment
writer with three books and
hundreds o f com ic books and
magazine articles to his credit.
Yt/u can write to him at
AM angelsSW @aol. com.