The Daily Tar Heel Thursday, August 30, 19845
'Woman in Red' is blend
of humor and humanity
It's a tacky poster: Gene Wilder
ogles a gorgeous woman whose dress
billows up around her waist. In
today's pro-flesh, anti-substance
movie market, subtlety doesni sell. .
It's also a misleading poster.
Wilder cheats ticket buyers who only
want to glimpse more (or less) of
those red silk panties, delivering
instead a surprising, warm blend of
humanity and humor, The Woman
in Red.
STEVE MURRAY
Review
Written and directed by and
starring Wilder, the film comes
second-hand from a French script,
but it feels fresh. Unlike previous
vehicles Wilder has appeared in, the
plot doesn't get out of hand, and,
most rewardingly, character isn't
sacrificed for the gag.
As businessman Teddy Pierce,
Wilder plays a bored mid-lifer
transformed by the sight of female
thighs into a kid in a candy shop.
The thighs in question belong to
Charlotte (Kelly Le Brock), and they
transform Teddy into less of a kid
and more of a romantic bull in the
china shop of his own life.
Most of the humor comes through
Teddy's bungling attempts to rendez
vous with his dream woman. Early
on, for instance, he mistakenly
makes a dinner date with office crone
Gilda Radner instead of his goddess.
Stood up, Radner launches a venge
ful campaign against Teddy, .center
ing on his car.
Instead of showing Radner van
dalizing the car scrap by scrap,.
Wilder turns this into an elegant
running joke. Each time the car
appears it sports a new injury, adding
bonus background humor to the
scenes.
This focus on consequence versus
action is thematically central to The
Woman in Red. Teddy wavers
between action and indecision like
a modern-day Hamlet, though the
verb he debates is somewhat stronger
than "to be."
Froni pajji j
Since the investigation is over,
however, University Massage is free to
resume operation.
"We got a temporary restraining
order, but all that does'is bar any illegal
activities from taking place," Thompson
said. The restraining order will remain
in effect until the court reaches a
decision in the case.
Three men and five women were
arrested in mid July following the
investigation.
William Douglas Johnson of Dur
ham owns University Massage. He was
charged with operating a business for
the purposes of prostitution. Parlor
Manager Phillip Morris and Michael
Gerald Dickerson, assistant manager,
both of Durham, were also arrested
under the same charges.
Sandra Jane Brown, 21, also known
as "Starr," of Durham, was charged
with two counts of solicitation for
crimes against nature, one count of
THE Daily Crossword by John H. Hales
ACROSS
I A Guthrie
5 Reduced
gradually
10 Habit
14 Sulien
15 Start of
Dickens title
18 MeivUie story
17 Not working
20 Interpret
21 Lab heaters
22 -France
23 Foundation
24 Brace
25 Gaynor or Leigh
23 Extensive
33 Mt highlight
34 Eagle's
weapons
33 deplume
37 Loaf
40 Power agency:
abbr.
41 Snack fare
42 Mystical sign
43 Vulgar
45 Eatery
48 Letters on a
dreadnought
47 Godot"
49 Stiletto wounds
52 Island: It.
54 Lupino of films
57 1835 song
CO Nobleman
61 Actor Delon
62 Ore concentra
tion 63 Weight system
64 . Biblical king
65 Stream
DOWN
1 Fusses
2 Womanizer
3 LMnstrel
instrument
4 Sp. gold
5 Agreements
6 In agreement
7 Hindu deity
8 Trees
9 Agnus
10 Road construc
tion sign
II Pierre's friend
12 Cross
13 Skeletal part
1984 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
18 Derring-do
19 Provincial
college
23 Wampum unit
24 Fractional part
25 Medicinal plant
28 Satellite of
Uranus
27 Relative
23 Bitter drug
29 Guidryand
others
30 Honest
31 Loma
32 Firebrand
particle
34 Huck's creator
35 Tolstoy's
Karenina
33 Black Sea city
33 Pa. port
44 Effervescent
45 Wagon
47 Child's disease
43 Afr. antelope
43 Editing
direction
50 she blows!"
The secondary characters provide
a background almost hectic enough
to keep Teddy's mind off his elusive
brunette. Nobody in this movie leads
an uncomplicated life.
Teddy's wife, for instance, is
pursued by her daughter's boyfriend,
a squat punk with prismatic hair.
One of Teddy's friends operates
adulterously on a doctor's wife.
Another married friend propositions
anyone fulfilling his basic require
ments: young, endowed, female.
Caught in this web of casual
betrayals and human foibles, it
would seem easy, in fact normal, for
Teddy to consummate his yearning
for Charlotte and think nothing of
it. To his credit, Teddy looks before
leaping into the tangled threads.
This might sound overly moral
istic for a comedy, but the joy of
The Woman in Red is that it isn't
a dull, cautionary tale. Wilder treats
his characters' weaknesses and
embarrassments with a fond, under
standing humor.
A good example of this is Teddy's
friend Joe (Joesph Bologna), the
biggest lech ever to give Gloria
Steinem cause for an ulcer. As
director, Wilder obviously disap
proves of Joe's raunchy behavior,
but he doesn't dole out punishment.
Instead, he points out Joe's better
side, as well. None of the characters
are perfect, but who is?
There are plenty of laughs, pro
vided not only by Wilder and Radner
(who have recently announced their '
engagement), but also by Charles
Grodin as Teddy's friend Buddy,
whose fake blind scene is a comedy
classic.
Judith Ivey as Teddy's wife bears
up well under the pressure of being
the character nearest to moral
perfection. Symbolizing physical
perfection, Kelly Le Brock fills out
a red silk dress along with the best
of them and manages not to come
off as a complete airhead when she
speaks her few lines.
What lifts The Woman in Red
above other sex comedies blistering
the screens these days is its good
natured spirit. In Wilder's post-Willy
Wonka vision, we're all just a bunch
of chocolate bars in a big candy
store. And our wrappers are coming
off.
Massage
solicitation for prostitution and one
count of possession of drug
paraphernalia.
Janie Louise Teele, 20, also known
as "June," of Hillsborough, was charged
with one count of solicitation for crimes
against nature and one count of solic
itation for prostitution.
Diana Lane Fortinberry, 27, also
known as "Zelda," of Durham, was
charged with one count of solicitation
for crimes against nature and one count
of solicitation for prostitution.
Patricia Hair Massey, 23, of Raleigh,
was charged with solicitation for crimes
against nature and solicitation for
prostitution.
Charged with one count of solicita
tion for prostitution was Martha Anne
Whitt, 31, also known as "Britt," of
Durham.
Despite several attempts by the DTH
to interview operators and employees
of the parlor, University Massage
refused to comment on the arrests.
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Potpourri
Dy SHARON SHERIDAN
Assistant Features Editor
Attention bookworms: Chapel Hill
offers several secondhand and specialty
bookstores for your perusal.
The Foundation Bookstore at 136 E.
Rosemary St. specializes in science
fiction, and fantasy. "It's kind of an
exclusive shop," owner Larry Shapiro
said.
The bookstore carries new and used
books and comics. Some comic books
are collector's items, Shapiro said. And,
because of his interest, Shapiro offers
books on magic and the occult.
There are Dr. Who books featuring
the cult television figure and Isaac
Asimov stories, tarot cards, horror tales
and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Star Trek fans will appreciate the fuzzy
Tribbles on the shelves.
The Foundation Bookstore is open
daily, 12-6 p.m.
The Community Bookstore at 409 W.
Rosemary St. sells books and sidelines,
including anything from natural foods
to incense to woks to yoga pants.
The store carries "things that people
have trouble finding elsewhere," Davis
said.
"We try to find stuff that's natural,"
he added. This means food without
additives or preservatives and clothing
made of natural fibers, such as cotton.
There are calendars, greeting cards,
tarot cards, maps and window trans
parencies. The natural foods section
includes whole wheat pretzels with
sesame seeds, herbs and Soho drinks.
Nearby are herbal shampoos and
Auroshikha essential oils.
And there are books. Their topics
include Eastern religion, mushrooms,
gardening and yoga. One finds The
Science and Fine Arts of Fasting by
Herbert M. Shelton,77ie Taste of
Country Cooking by Edna Lewis, The
Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund
Freud zndHow to Enjoy Your life In
Spite of It All by Ken Keyes Jr.
The Community Bookstore is open
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except
Sunday in the summer. Winter hours
are from 1 1 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
"Fine New and Used Books Bought
and Sold," reads the sign outside
Bookends, located in The Courtyard on
East Franklin Street. Inside the shelves
are stuffed with hard and soft cover
books.
In the reference section one can
purchase the II th edition (1910) of the
Work
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If you're in Science or Engineering, chances are
your classes include Calculus, Physics, or Chemistry.
Engineering Statics, or Dynamics. You're running up
against some tough calculations, with statistics prob
lems, hyperbolics, and logs. The HP-11C calculator r
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For
of bookstores
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The Community Bookstore on Rosemary Street sells books and sidelines
Encyclopaedia Britannica for $65 or
Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd
College Edition (1978) for $6.50.
The fiction shelves overflow with a
varied selection, from Tristram Shandy
by Laurence Sterne and Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy to Evening in Byzan
tium by Irwin Shaw and Walden Two
by B.F. Skinner.
Other sections include history, clas
sics, nature, exercise and nutrition.
"We try to keep the quality pretty
good," owner Linda Saaremaa said. In
buying used books, she said, "I select
what I want, and I don't buy textbooks.
"It's a good area for it because of
the- school and people constantly
moving in and out, and they always find
out they have too many books," she
said.
Saaremaa's customers include "a lot
of students, a lot of townspeople
generally just people who like to read
a lot and can't afford the price of new
books these days."
--- i? r s . - I
Stadeints! Work m
VVIOI 1QL
'000
Take a good look at
the location of the dealer nearest
Y f n
It is smarter to go to the library of
a used bookstore for books, she said.
Also, one can find out-of-print books
at a secondhand bookstore, she said.
Saaremaa said she enjoys her
business.
"You never know what comes in next,
that's why it's so much fun," she said.
Bookends is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Monday through Thursday and Satur
day and 1 1 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday.
Keith and Martin Used and Rare
Book Shop at 310 W. Franklin St. has
something for everyone, from bargain
hunters to rare-edition collectors.
"That little gem up there is $1,100,"
said proprietor Bill Loeser, pointing to
a book on a shelf above his head. "IVe
got one thing that's (worth) over $2,000.
"The whole basis of .the thing is
supply and demand," he said. "People
have to want it. Now, there 're some
things that historically people want.
First editions are the most obvious."
TUT
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available
DTH Nancy London
Dust jackets can make literature
more valuable.
"People who are interested in liter
ature want the book to look as much
like it did when it appeared," Loeser
explained. "They will pay a great
premium to have it look like it looked
in 1944 (when it was new)."
Some books are valuable because
they are out of print.
"Some of them are out of print for
reasons that are inscrutable for everyb
ody but publishers," Loeser added.
Not all the old publications sell for
thousands of "dollars. A 1901 "Harper's
Weekly" may be $3, an 1864 edition
for $10.
The shop has a mystery room, shelves
of Southern Literature, philosophy,
religion, sociology and occult sections,
a history room and a roomful of nature,
hunting and fishing, gardening and art.
Keith and Martin is open 1 1 a.m. to
6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
v j