A pril 14, 2004
AR^¿(r\ENTERTAINMENT
T he C lackamas P rint • 9
Frusciante's new album
marks leaps and bounds
Hilliary Ferguson
T he C lackamas P rint
INTERNET PHOTO
jimmy ‘The Tulip’ Tudeski (Bruce Willis) confronts Oz Oseransky (Matthew Perry) after
0z inadvertently runs over one of Jimmy’s many pet chickens in ‘The Whole Ten Yards.’
Matthew Perry carries
‘The Whole Ten Yards’
I
Joel Gaynor
T he C lackamas P rint
■ Despite obvious and numer
ous shortcomings, “The Whole
Ten Yards” succeeds in provid
ing its audience with 90 min
utes of steady entertainment,
■jimmy “The Tulip” Tudeski
(Bruce Willis) has left behind
his days as a professional for
the quiet - life! of playing house
wife in his Mexican beachfront
h||mc. While he’s getting in
touch with his inner Martha
Stewart, his wife Jill (Amanda
Piet) is attempting—but failing
miserably^—to fill his shoes as
the hit person in the family.
Meanwhile, Hungarian rnob
boss Lazio Gogolak (Kevin
Pollak, playing the father of his
deceased “Nine Yards” charac
ter) is .released from prison
anxious to settle a score with
Jimmy. He kidnaps Jimmy’s cx-
wife
Cynthia
(Natasha
Hehstridgc), who is now the
wife
of
Nicholas
“Oz”
Oseransky (Matthew Perry),
the dentist who had helped
Jimmy fake his own death using
dental records. In order to try
to get Cynthia back, Oz runs
straight to Jimmy to employ his
expertise, but in doing so, he
unwittingly leads the recently-
freed mobster and his dull band
of goons directly to the retired
killer.
From there the script is
shoddy. The number of plot
holes is' enough to cause
epileptic fits’ if it Were not for
the presence of Perry, who
saved many scenes with his
physical comedy. Walking into
objects tends to get old, but
even when it seems somewhat
forced, one can’t help1 but be
amused by Perry’s clumsiness.
That inelegance has come to be
expected of Matthew Perry.
Willis plays a solid character
as well, but doesn’t please the
audience in quite the same way
as Perry. That’s no fault to him,
though. He simply cannot make
up for weaknesses in the script.
Perhaps the most pleasant
surprise of the movie is Pollak.
His portrayal of Lazio is some
what of a Libetacc-meets-
Brando mob boss who strug
gles with pronunciation and
seems to enjoy slapping his
goons. He’s obnoxious without
being annoying and, along with
Perry, provides the bulk of the
much-needed laughs.
Several scenes head for dis
aster before being bailed out by
the presence of Perry and/or
Pollak. A few times, though,
the writers’ attempts at comedy
miss the mark horribly.
There is no amusement to
be found in Willis and Perry
waking up together one morn
ing, not remembering the
details of the drunken night
before, with Perry wondering
why his rear hurts. The
instance is not so much in poor
taste as it is just plain not
funny. Luckily, the instances of
blatant tastclcssricss are few
and far between.
Even with the script’s weak
nesses, “The Whole Ten Yards”
is worth seeing. The fragile
script res.ts securely on the
capable shoulders of Perry and
he docs his best to turn an oth
erwise bland and ordinary
Hollywood attempt at comedy
into a funny, light-hearted and
(mostly) worthwhile trip to the
movies.
Since exploding on the
California funk scene in 1988,
John Frusciante has taken a
detour from mother band the
Red Hot Chili Peppers to release
a series of solo albums and his
latest, “Shadows Collide with
People,” is a breath of fresh air
after a history of seemingly
schizophrenic recordings.
Realistically, “Shadows” maltes
Frusciante’s previous albums
sound like randomly sketched
notes in the margin of a note
book. Although Frusciante is
known for his uncommon time
signatures and strange synthe
sized beeps, his latest album is
more musically concise and
upbeat. It seems strange, but
“Shadows” verges on the edge of
pop with Bcatles-csquc riffs that,
at times, sound eerie when lay
ered with Frusciante’s hauntingly
hollow voice.
“Shadows” also conquers a
more
natural
sound
for
Frusciante. His earlier albums fea
tured more rigid electronic beats,
but on this release, Peppers’
drummer Chad Smith lends a
hand in creating a mote ergonom
ic rhythm. No matter what anyone
says, one can feel the difference
between a beat machine and good,
old-fashioned skins.
In addition to Smith’s name on
the album jacket, Peppers’ bassist
l?lca makes an appearance.
Newcomer Josh Klinghoffcr also
sings and plays on many of the
tracks. One may ask, “How, then,
is this not just another Red Hot
Chili Peppers album?” The answer
’is clear after listening to these
recordings.
First, singer Anthony Kiedis
obviously isn’t on the album.
Second, and more important,
Frusciante has his own distinct
sound. There is nothing peppery
about this album. On the contrary,
Frusciante’s influence is obvious
on recent Chili Pepper releases.
This album marks a milestone
for Frusciante. One can hear the
leaps and bounds he’s made since
2001’s “To Record Only Water ft
Ten Days.” “Shadows” is far less
ex
and seems like less of a daydream.
It sounds as if Frusciante is
emerging from a haze and is final
ly finding comfort in his past. He
sings with more confidence; his
harmonies arc stronger and more
consistently powerful.
One irking thing about this
album is fuzzy track seven. It has
no words—and no music for that
matter.
The sounds can be
described at best as the scratching
of vinyl, slowed down to a fright
ening groan and repeated in vari
ous pitches. When one is wide
awake, the sounds arc merely
strange. When one has just woken
up,-however, the sounds seem to
be a horrifying indication that the
apocalypse is imminent, f
This and other bursts of
strangeness should not, however,
' dissuade anyone from buying
this album, simply because it is
difficult in this day and age to
find a musician who is so inher
ently talented.
Indeed, Frusciante is some
thing of a musical genius, combin
ing spine-tingling harmonics with
time signatures that hurt more
than Calculus II. Whereas the
majority of mainstream bands
regurgitate the same three chords
in four-four time, Frusciante goes
above and beyond the call of a
popular musician and creates
something new and interesting.
There is truly nothing like it.
This is an album for free
thinkers. Those looking for some
thing to makcout to shouldn’t
•even bother. Anyone looking for
an album that is musically and
mathematically genius, though,
definitely ought to pick it up. It’s
available at Whorehouse Music for
the
modest
price of
$15.99.
775 Cascade Street * Oregon City, OR 97045
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Students can get the daily special for $4.25
Just bring in your student ID card to get the discount
212 Molalla Ave., Oregon City, OR 97045
(503) 655-7197
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