The Daily Tar Heel Wednesday, April 24, 19857
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By IVY HILLIARD
Staff Writer
Summer is the most profitable time
for the film industry to release new
films, especially those targeted at the
youth audience on vacation from
school. This summer is no different.
Science fiction, fantasy, adventure or
combinations of all three genres account
for the majority of film releases.
One of the few dramas on the
schedule is Prizzi's Honor. If great
reputations are good predictors of
success, this film, coming June 14, is
a shoe-in. A tale of two hot-blooded
lovers in a cold-blooded business, it
stars Jack Nicholson and Kathleen
Turner and is directed by the legendary
John Huston (The Maltese Falcon, The
African Queen).
Ron Howard, who made waves last
year directing Splash, returns June 21
with the fantasy Cocoon, a film about
residents of a Florida retirement
community and their encounter with
some friendly aliens. Splash alumnus
Tom Hanks will star in the 20th
Century-Fox release The Tall Man
With One Red Shoe. Directed by Stan
Dragoti, this remake of a French
comedy classic about an innocent
bystander placed under government
surveillance without his knowledge also
stars Lori Singer, Carrie Fisher and
Dabney Coleman.
On May 10, Paramount kicks the
summer off with Rustlers Rhapsody,
a western spoof directed by Hugh
Wilson (Police Academy). Paramount 's
Explorers, directed by Gremlins mas
termind Joe Dante, opens July 12, but
little, save that it focuses on an amazing
discovery made by three boys, is known
about the film.
Universal starts the summer early
with the May 3 release of Gotcha!, a
comedy directed by Jeff Kanew
(Revenge of the Nerds). Anthony
Edwards stars as a college champion
of make-believe survival games who
wins a trip to Europe only to become
embroiled in the real-life intrigue of a
spy ring:
Brewster's Millions, opening May 22,
stars Richard Pryor as a poor man who
stands to inherit $300 million. Fellow
funnyman Chevy Chase stars in Fletch
as the offbeat undercover journalist
immortalized in the Gregory McDonald
novel of the same name. Michael Richie
directed this comedy detective story,
which will be released May 31.
On July 12, Universal will re-release
KT.y the ultimate summer movie, but
Steven Spielberg fans looking for
fresher fare may find it in Back to the
Future. This release from Spielberg's
Amblin' Productions is the story of a
student who travels back through time
to the 1950s and changes some" things
he naively believes will make life in the
future better. Robert Zemeckis
(Romancing the Stone) and Ron Cobb
(The Last Starfighter) co-direct.
Disney offshoot Buena Vista Touch
stone Productions has three films set
for summer release. Return to Oz,
opening June 21, has Dorothy travel
back to Oz to rescue her friends from
an evil king, and don't tell Toto, but
this time she takes a pet chicken along.
On July 26, the studio's first fully
animated feature in 12 years, the $25
million The Black Cauldron, will be
released. Then on August 16, Disney
presents My Science Project with first
time director Jonathan Betrul at the
helm. John Stockwell stars as a high
school student whose accidental discov
ery during an illegal visit to a top-secret
Air Force supply dump plunges the
entire school into a new dimension.
Die-hard James Bond fans will get
another fix of agent 007 and of Roger
Moore playing him when A View
to a Kill is released May 24. Grace Jones
and Tanya Roberts also star, along with
Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter,
ecial Savings
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movies t&reet teems off
Tom Hanks will be in 'The Tall Man
The Dead Zone) as a villain trying to
gain control of the world by buying up
all its microchips.
A more adult audience is the target
of The Year of the Dragon, opening
August 23. This gangster tale stars
Mickey Rourke and is directed by
Michael Cimino (77? Deer Hunter,
Heavens Gate).
Orion Pictures aims unabashedly at
the teen audience with its three summer
releases. Secret Admirer, opening June
14, is about a boy whose anonymous
love letter winds up in the wrong hands.
Heavenly Kid, opening July 1 9, js the
I.
John Candy appears in 'Volunteers'
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with One Red Shoe' and 'Volunteers.'
story of a teen-ager who died in the
1950s coming back to help a teen in
the '80s, and Beer, opening August 23,
stars Rip Torn in a satire on Madison
Avenue advertising campaigns.
Clint Eastwood rides again in the
Warner Bros, release Pali Rider,
opening in June. Eastwood also directs
this tale of murderous greed during the
gold rush. The film could be Holly
wood's first successful Western since
Clint's own The Outlaw Josey Wales.
Spielberg's Amblin' Productions will
produce The Goonies in association
with Warner Bros. So far, Spielberg has
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as well as 'Brewster's Millions.'
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only said that the film was not a fantasy,
and no official release date has been
set. Richard Donner (77?? Omen,
Ladytiawke) directs an original screen
play by Chris Columbus (Gremlins).
Warner Bros, also will release Mad
Max III: Beyond Thunder Dome.
Australian star Mel Gibson reprises his
role as the road warrior, and Tina
Turner makes her film debut as his
enemy, Auntie Entity. Directed and co
written once again by George Miller,
Max III is slated for a July release.
Coming July 3 from Embassy Pic
tures is The Emerald Forest. John
Boorman (Excalibur) directs his son
Charley, along with Powers Boothe and
Meg Foster, in this story about a man's
reunion with a son who was kidnaped
10 years ago and has since been raised
by primitive Indians living along the
Amazon River.
In early July, New World Pictures
will open its major release, The Stuff,
directed by Larry Cohen. The film,
which stars Michael Moriarty, Garrett
Morris and Paul Sorvino, is about a
delicious, no-calorie dessert that
becomes a fad before people realize that
it is addictive and, in large doses, lethal.
Lawrence Kasdan, the writer-director
of Body Heat and The Big Chill, goes
Western with the film Silverado,
starring Kevin Kline, Jeff Goldblum,
Rosanna Arquette and Scott Glenn.
The Bride, starring rocker Sting and
Jennifer Beals, puts a new twist in the
Frankenstein story, and Weird Science,
directed by John Hughes (The Break
fast Club), will incorporate the Fran
kenstein riff into a teen sex farce. Taking
a less scientific approach to humor,
Home Box Office Productions will
reunite Splash stars Tom Hanks and
John Candy for Volunteers, a comedy
about the Peace Corps.
As in summers past, some of these
films will enter motion picture annals
as the biggest bombs ever made. A few
may break into the ranks of the top
money-makers of all time. And, with
luck, a handful may shine with the style
and the substance that turn a movie into
a masterpiece.
Mroohs finds niche in
By MARK DAVIS
Staff Writer
Newsweek proclaimed 1984 as "The
Year of the Yuppie," and so far that
seems to hold true for 1985 as well.
Yuppies are taking over this great
country, and there doesn't seem to be
much we can do about it. They've got
their own kind kind ofcar( BMW), their
own hobbies (buying VCRs and playing
Trivial Pursuit), and even their own
beverage (Perrier). It seems like some
one should give them their own movie.
Well, someone did. It's called Lost
in America, and it's quite good. Lost
in America is a very entertaining
assortment of amusing ideas, superb
writing and fine acting. It also rockets
Albert Brooks, Hollywood's quintes
sential Yuppie, from the crowded ranks
of those with potential to the elite group
of entertainers who have realized that
potential.
Lost in America is a one-man effort
if there ever was one. In addition to
being the star. Brooks co-wrote the
script and also donned the director's
hat.
David Howard (Brooks) and his wife,
Linda' (Julie Hagerty), are successful
California Yuppies who truly believe
that money isn't everything it's the
only thing. Eagerly awaiting David's
apparently imminent promotion to
senior vice president of his advertising
firm, the Howards sell their old house
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Special Event: Drawing for a $90 Avanti Teddy Bear
offer UNC Students 10 discount year round on all UNC shirts
JrEigh school pevfoFmefs
shine in West Side Stony9
By DEANNA RUDDOCK
Staff Writer
Director Mark Nielsen said
Chapel Hill High School students
were excited about the opportunity
to do West Side Story. The electricity
and energy displayed by the actors
in Thursday's opening night perfor
mance proved him a man of his
word.
West Side Story a musical about
a love torn apart by gang wars and
prejudice, is a contemporary treat
ment of Shakespeare's Romeo and
Juliet. In one sense, it is well suited
to high school performers because
their ages are so close to those of
the characters in the story, with
whose problems they can empathize.
And whereas most high school casts
wouldn't have the vocal ability to
carry the demanding musical,
Chapel Hill High boasts a group of
extraordinary young singers.
In Thursday's performance, the
actors provided a version of the New
York slum area gangs and their
conflicts that involved intensity as
well as humor. Scott Clarke, who
plays Riff, and Fritz Schroeder, who
plays Bernardo, acquired New York
and Puerto Rican accents to portray
gang leaders convincingly.
In fact, most of the cast was
exceptional. Chip Bailey, who plays
the Romeo-counterpart, Tony,
moved into the spotlight at the very
beginning of his performance. By the
end of his first song, it was easy to
understand why Nielson said he wept
the first time he had heard Bailey.
Bailey's voice poignantly evoked the
mixture of emotions involved in first
love.
Julie Haffaker, who has just
received a Morehead Scholarship to
UNC, also merits special recognition
as the colorful Anita, Maria Juliet's
confidante. Haffaker combined wit,
emotion and talent to produce a
lively contrast to the quiet, timid
Maria.
As Maria, Terry Maroney had
cisieiTia
and prepare to buy a $350,000 dream
home. Their plans are wrecked when
the promotion goes to someone else and
David's resulting anger loses him his
job.
After some choice bits of ranting and
raving, David suddenly has a catharsis
and realizes that his getting fired is a
blessing in disguise. He explains to
Linda that their lives are going nowhere
and asks her to quit her job so they
can drop out of society. She agrees, and
after liquidating all their assets, they buy
a motor home and set out for Anytown,
U.S.A., armed with their trusty
$193,000 nest egg.
The trouble starts when they reach
Las Vegas, and, on a whim, Linda
gambles away all their money, forcing
them to find jobs and get used to a whole
new way of life. The rest of the film
races towards, its inevitable conclusion.
Brooks and Hagerty realizing that while
being rich may not bring instant
happiness, it's better than being poor.
It's been said that Albert Brooks is
the funniest white man in America, and
while fans of Bill Murray, Chevy Chase
or John Candy might take issue with
that. Brooks is definitely in the running.
A large part of his appeal is his lack
ftfo eater
many moments when she, too, could
have captured the spotlight. In the
scene where she first meets Tony, she
displayed a pure tenderness that was
well complimented by the fact that
she was the only one in white. Still,
many of her lines were lost because
her voice was too weak to project
them throughout the audience. Her
talent was evident in the small parts
of her lines that were audible, but
that only served to produce a feeling
that something wonderful was being
missed.
Although some of the dance
movements involved in the musical
were not well choreographed or
executed, the actors enthusiasm
compensated for this fault and
created vivid gang scenes and rum
bles that provided insight , into what
life was like for these street
characters.
The set, which Nelson said he
wanted to be like a third gang
operating on the characters, effec
tively emphasized the undercurrent
of intensity that ran through these
characters existences. The use of
strong colors and blinking traffic
lights served as a reminder even in
the tender moments shared by Tony
and Maria that doom was just
around the corner.
This production of West Side
Story uncovers a gold mine of talent,
both at Chapel Hill High and in the
UNC Marching Band, which pro
vided the musical accompaniment.
The challenge of a difficult musical
has been met admirably. West Side
Story shows promise of more good
things to come at Chapel Hill High.
West Side Story will be performed
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. at
the Chapel Hill High School. Call
967-6657 for ticket information.
Mtest flicfc
of traditional comic leading man
qualities. He's not particularly hand
some, he's not at all sure of himself,
and where Murray and Chase are rarely
at a loss for the right thing to say.
Brooks is rarely at a loss for the wrong
thing to say. The viewer roots for him
but doesn't really know why.
The rest of the cast also is excellent.
Julie Hagerty serves mainly as an
attractive foil for Brooks, but she has
moments where she shows that she can
be a lot more than just the flighty
stewardess from Airplane. There are
several minor characters worthy of
mention, most notably Garry K. Mar
shall, who turns in a memorable
performance as the owner of the casino
where Brooks and Haggerty lose their
money.
Along with Brooks, the other main
attraction in this movie is the script.
Lost in America is a textbook example
of how comic writing can be good
without relying on cliches and tired
situations. One-liners are all over the
place, and some are priceless; for
example, during his brief stint as a
crossing guard. Brooks becomes dis
gusted with the unruly kids and begins
signaling motorists to speed up while
shouting, "Kill the child."
Lost in America is a film that most
people, regardless of age or social class,
should find enjoyable. But especially the
Yuppies. Hey guys, this one's for you.
and gift wear.