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Arts & Entertainment Film Review: ‘Spy’ Book Review ‘Twisted: My Dreadlock Chronicles’ by Bert Ashe Bolden / An Agate Imprint Paperback, $15.00 252 pages ISBN: 978-1-932841-96-1 By Kam Williams For The Skanner News “After leading a far too conventional life for nearly 40 years, Bert Ashe began the long, arduous and un- certain process of growing dreadlocks in an attempt to step out of American con- vention. As his hair takes on a life of its own and gets ‘twisted,’ Ashe chronicles the reactions of his family, friends, strangers and col- leagues—and his own frus- tration and bewilderment at his locked hair. “[This book] explores black hair, in all its un- tamed glory, from a man’s point-of-view. With humor and exacting self-reflec- tion, Ashe uses his own experience not only to ex- plain the history of dread- locks, but also to unpack the complicated issues of identity, politics, gender and culture in America.” -- Excerpted from the book jacket B ert Ashe was com- ing of age in the Seventies around the same time dreadlocks first became popular in the U.S. However, it wasn’t until about a quarter-centu- ry later, in March of 1998, that he finally decided to give the Rastafarian hair- style a go. But, by then, Bert was a happily-married family man raising a couple of impressionable young kids. Furthermore, his wife, Val- erie, hailed from a military family, so she was under- standably a little worried when he started “letting it grow out.” “Does it have to look so scruffy?” she inquired, contemplating the mush- rooming of an unkempt, matted mess atop her hub- by’s head. Bert also had to be con- cerned with how the new ‘do would be received by his neighbors and col- leagues. After all, not only did he reside in suburban Virginia but he was also a straitlaced professor of English at the Universi- ty of Richmond. Thus, he wondered whether his sporting dreadlocks might be misread by some as a counter-cultural statement, despite his otherwise or- thodox appearance. Bert’s intriguing experi- ment in coiffures is the sub- ject of the very entertaining Twisted: My Dreadlock Chronicles. Written in a delightful, stream-of-con- sciousness style reminis- cent of the Beat Era of the 1950s, this surreal opus is essentially an introspective memoir rife with intimate reflections, offbeat asides (ala a Letterman-inspired Top 10 List), plus personal anecdotes in which you re- ally get to know a lot about the author’s eclectic back- ground which ranged from pee wee football to indie movies to mosh pit punk music. Oh yeah, and dreadlocks, too! Melissa McCarthy Stars as CIA Analyst-Turned- Spy in Fish-Out-of-Water Comedy A kitchen fight erupts in the movie ‘Spy’ with McCarthy and Nargis Fakhri By Kam Williams For The Skanner News F or the past three years, Susan Cooper (Me- lissa McCarthy) has been stuck sitting behind a desk as an analyst at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. In that capacity, she’s been providing tech- nical support from afar to Bradley Fine (Jude Law), a veteran spy who has suc- cessfully handled a series of dangerous missions over the course of a decorated career. Serving as his eyes and ears via hidden cameras and lis- tening devices, the 40 year- old spinster’s been quite content to live vicariously through her dashing col- league, especially given the big crush she has on him. Everything changes the day he’s murdered while at- tempting to secure a suitcase bomb about to fall into the wrong hands. Susan subse- quently pressures her reluc- tant boss (Allison Janney) to be allowed to replace her late partner in the search for the assassin as well as the rogue nuclear device. Elaine is understandably reluctant, since this would be the plump pencil push- er’s very first field assign- ment. Nonetheless, she It has its moments, yet one tires of the tendency to rely on Melissa to generate laughs by way of her trademark trash-talk grudgingly gives Susan a new identity (“Carol Jen- kins”), before issuing strict orders about keeping a low profile and about observing but never confronting any of the bad guys she encounters overseas. Needless to say, the rules of engagement are out the window just as soon as Su- san’s plane lands in Paris. Monday, June15, 2013 at 7pm Ellyn Bye Studio at the Armory 128 NW Eleventh Avenue PRESENTED BY She blows her matronly tourist cover by coming to the assistance of a fellow agent (Jason Statham) un- aware that he’s in imminent peril. Between the loose- lipped loudmouth’s need for attention and her appetite whetted for more action, there’s little hope of getting the subtle surveillance genie back in the bottle. Thus unfolds Spy, the lat- est collaboration between Melissa McCarthy and writer/director Paul Feig. This film pales in compar- ison to either Bridesmaids (2011) or The Heat (2013), perhaps because, here, Me- lissa has been asked to car- ry the comedy load alone. In Bridesmaids, she shared those duties with a talented ensemble; in The Heat, her pairing with Sandra Bullock worked to perfection. By contrast, this picture definitely has its moments, yet one tires of the tenden- cy to rely on Melissa to generate laughs by way of her trademark trash-talk. Those vulgar comments were funny when delivered as unexpected asides in Bridesmaids. Now, they sort of fall flat when exposed as the only material a one-trick pony might have to offer. A Melissa McCarthy ve- hicle recommended for fans with a big appetite for her crude, expletive-laced brand of humor. HH Good Rated R for sexuality, brief nudity, violence and perva- sive profanity In cooperation with In English, French, Italian and German with subtitles 120 minutes 20th Century Fox Page 8 June 10, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner
