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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2002)
40 » January 1ÍL 2002 DIVERSIONS A lix O ls o n b a c k in to w n 0 ^ f c jt Writes 1999 National [■Poetry Slam Champion Ahx RPO lson is coming to town for a free show Jan. 22 in Room 238 of Portland State University’s Smith Memorial Center. If you’re familiar with Olson, you’ll he there. If you’re not, get your ass to the gig because you’ve never seen any thing like this before. Olson isn’t shy about spilling her mind. Before evening’s end, you’ll know how she feels about racism, homophobia and oppression in gen eral. You won’t be confused about her stance on capitalism after you hear “America's on Sale,” and you’ll be amused and amazed at her slam musician style. The poet’s twisting, tumbling, rhyming rhythm demands your attention. A New York native, the 25- year-old Olson has been entertain ing audiences throughout the United States and the world for Alix Olson slams patriarchy, homophobia and racism several years. She has been fea tured at an impressive array of venues and events, including Sym E r o t ic a lly ta s ty phony Space with Pete Seeger and Michael TPlred of the current slew of blockbusters at Moore, the HERE Performing Arts Festival, I chain-store theaters? A deliciously tense the Lambda Literary Conference, the National I homoerotic thriller from French filmmaker Lesbian Summit and the Netherlands’ Interna and author Bernard Rapp awaits you at Clin tional Poetry Festival. ton Street Theater Jan. 25 to 31. A M atter o f Olson’s PSU show is sponsored by the T aste (U ne A ffaire d e Q out), his second full- Women's Resource Center and Queers and length feamre, is a reminder of what great cine Allies. She also is appearing 8:30 p.m. Jan. 24 ma is all about. at the Meow Meow Club. 527 S.E. Pine St. It’s Bernard Giraudeau (Water Drops on Burning an all-ages show: bring $7 to get in. Rocks) portravs Frédéric Delamont, a wealthy — Page Morrison businessman with extraordinarily refined and pre P la y b a ll! cise dining habits. He finds in young luncheon he always active waiter Nicolas (Jean-Pierre Lorit) the attitude and Rose City Soft- palate needed to become his personal “taster.” bail Association This uncommon business relationship (RCSA ) is extra busy quickly becomes personal, as Nicolas learns his this year as the North boss not only wishes him to taste his food but American Gay Amateur Athlet to have exactly the same preferences, feelings ic Alliance World Series is being held Aug. 18 to and desires— for food and otherwise. In a very 25 in Portland. That's exciting news for the sports short time, Nicolas realizes he should bail on group as well as queer businesses, as teams and the obsessive older man but continues to be their supporters will be coming in from all over excited by his unpredictability and enthralled the continent. It’s almost like Pride in August. with the extravagant lifestyle. The World Series week is chock-a-block Homoeroticism abounds in this tightly writ with activities such as the Miss Gay World ten, sadomasochistic game. Even as Frédéric Series Pageant, Portland Spirit River Cruise, a tries to convince Nicolas’ estranged girlfriend Spirit Mountain Casino event, a talent show (why do straight girls keep getting dumped on and, of course, opening and closing cere lately? See: The Fluffer) that he’s “never fancied monies. Participants will get a chance to visit a boys,” he watches and controls Nicolas’ every variety of Portland-area fields and stadiums. move, which is taboo enjoyment to the As you might well imagine, this kind of inter younger man. And, of course, the filmmakers national event takes a heck of a lot of planning, were smart enough to cast very fetching lead work and fund raising. To that end, anv and all ing actors. enthusiastic volunteers are invited to contact the Taste is a quietly disturbing little movie. group to see where help The seeming is needed. This simplicity of includes those of you the matters at who want to play on or hand belies to sponsor a team. the precision One group specifi with which cally recruiting mem the story bers right now is Team unfolds. Rapp Quest, an athletic and employs the exercise program tor extradiegetic people affected by tactic of chronic and life- revealing the challenging illnesses, harrowing including HIV/A1DS. conclusion as It promotes healthy the film’s first Homoeroticism and obsession mark A M atter o f T aste living and eating but scene, which mostly fun, stressing die only requirement is that successfully creates 90 minutes of foreboding. people do the best they can. And every minute counts. T Connelly is stunning as the supportive wife. Director Ron Howard uses clever techniques to help us understand the couple’s suffering. -JR <£> £§> What's popped and what's flopped, in a theater near you. <£> A li You know what it’s like when you return from the video store with the wrong movie? T h a t’s how this boxing biopic made me feel. “W ait a minute, I didn’t rent M alcolm X, The Hurricane and W hen We W ere Kings'." Yet all three of those movies covered similar material much better than director/co-writer Michael Mann ever could. Great per formances are wasted in his narrow yet interminable focus on a life story that has yet to reach its final chapter. —Jim Radosta dud, bottom of the bag <g> only if you’re really hungry <JO) (Q ! good effort, pass the salt mmmm, tasty! <£}<(£><£><$><£> get ^ e big tub o’ com wrote this magical tale of a young woman (Audrey Tautou) whose fanciful imagination leads her to commit random acts of kindness but who forgets to follow her heart along the way. During her adventures the adorable Am élie even turns the head of a butch female admirer. -JR A mélie Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Deli catessen) directed and co- W ho can turn the world on with a smile? <& >{£><& A B eautiful M ind Russell Crowe gives another Oscar-worthy per formance as a brilliant mathematician who over comes schizophrenia to win the Nobel Prize. Ed Harris plays a government official who needs to borrow this tortured cranium to crack Commie codes, and Jennifer T he B usiness of S trangers Stockard Charming and Julia Stiles play, respectively, a middle-aged corporate she-warrior and her mysterious protégé. The two become embroiled in a dubious revenge scheme that opens the door to sparring, solidarity and palpa ble sexual tension between them. Imagine the misanthropy and mistrust of a David Mamet or a Neil LaBute applied to a more directly feminist theme, and you’ll get an idea of what writer/director Patrick Stettner is up to here. — Christopher M cQuain s g i i ^ ^ T H E L ord of the R ings Possibly affected by overhype and ballyhoo, this epic comes off somewhat disappointing. Dialogue is unoriginal, characters are pre dictable, and three hours is half an hour too much. As a simple adventure story, however, it mostly delivers: beautiful, rolling hills, stun ning Middle Earth architecture, big scary half dead guys in black and extraordinarily cute hobbits. O f course, the effects are mesmerizing (best giant octopus ever), and our friend Sir lan McKellen is smashing as the wizard Gan- dolf. If you can get past all the female charac ters (two) as pale, waifish tokens of goodness and romance, it’s worth a matinee. — Lisa Bradshaw T he R oyal T enenbaums Director Wes Anderson (Rushmore) twirls Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Stiller through a lighthearted drama regarding an absentee father’s attempt to reconcile with his offspring, who are spending their adult lives recovering from childhood genius. The actors are given unusual, affection ately written characters to work with. But Anderson’s attention to detail is the real star; his is a style both precise and unpretentious. As an added bonus, Paltrow is allowed a quick lesbian kiss before the credits roll. — CM ' T he S hipping N ews Kevin Spacey seems bored in this screen adaptation of E. A nnie Proulx’s novel, and even good performances from Julianne Moore, Judi D ench (as a proud old lesbian) and C ate Blanchett are wasted in the hands of director Lasse Hallstrom (T h e C ider H ouse R ules). T h e film is so blandly ingratiating as to be forgettable. -C M - Q V anilla S ky Jacob's Ladder meets The Matrix in Cameron Crowe’s startling romantic thriller. Tom Cruise is a wealthy girl magnet (quite a stretch) who finds true love with charming artist Penèlope Cruz only to make a fatal error with his “fuck buddy,” Cameron Diaz, which changes his life in ways he, nor the audience, can quite figure out. Is he dreaming, fantasizing or just plain crazy? Amus ingly, Cruise delivers the familiar “Look, I’m straight, OK?”— onscreen this time. Occasional ly bogged down in sentimentality, but Cruise and Cruz make the sparks fly. — LB
