DmOmnibusThursday, February 16, 19899
Dangerous
By RICHARD SMITH
Staff Writer
When it comes to sexual
intrigue, the Marquise de Merteuil
and the Vicomte de vaimont are
undisputed experts, and as ex
lovers they have a certain mutual
respect for each other's cunning
and guile. They know how to play
the game, and find the decadence
of 18th century pre-Revolution
France the most accommodating
of arenas in which to perform.
That is, until they decide to play
the game together ...
On paper Stephen Frears might
seem an odd choice to direct
Dangerous Liaisons, the film
basecj on Christopher Hampton's
highly acclaimed Broadway play.
Frears, the director of such singu
lar and controversial works as "My
Beautiful Laundrette," "Prick Up
Your Ears" and "Sammy and Rosie
Get Laid," may have proved himself
to be well-versed in matters of sex
and gratuity, but his previous films
were primarily political in nature,
displaying a fascination for the
turbulent social changes occurring
in Britain's "60s and Thatcherite
"80S.
However, "Dangerous Liaisons,"
costume drama though it may
appear, is as contemporary a film
as any of the others. Betrayal, or
cruelty "it has a nobler ring to
it" is not, as we all know, an
exclusively 18th century pheno
menon, and "Dangerous Liaisons"
quickly reveals itself not to be a
mere saga of seductions but a full
blooded, no-holds-barred explora
tion into the sexual psyche, its
high theatricality, sometimes bor
dering on farce, belies a bitter,
angry heart Frears is not only
suitable for this, he's downright
perfect, and translates Hampton's
deliriously clever script to the
screen with every scratch, bite
and sting intact.
The story is at once absorbing:
Merteuil (Glenn Close) wants to
exact revenge on a lover who has
There's something funny
By PAUL STEWART
Staff Writer
"Something familiar. Something
peculiar. Something for everyone.
A comedy tonight."
Charlie Goodnight's Comedy
Zone in Chapel Hill's Omni Europa
Hotel was host to a trio of stand
up comics Saturday night whose
acts ranged from slightly humor
ous to downright funny, but never
boring.
Master of ceremonies Bernie
Lubbers was the first comedian.
Throughout his two short acts,
Lubbers was never really able to
establish a good rapport with the
audience. His act dragged at times,
even though some of his material
was funny and even clean, which
says a lot in today's comedy
circuit.
North Carolina native Sarah
Helms, who can be described as a
Liaisons' delightfully
left her to marry a young virgin,
Cecile, and so she asks her ex-lover
vaimont (John Malkovich) if he
would perform the necessary
spoiling, vaimont declines on the
grounds that it would be too easy
("She'd be on her back before I
even gave her the flowers," he
says), and that in any case he is
currently engaged in his most
prestigious conquest to date, the
seduction of a married woman
renowned for her virtue, Madame
de Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer).
Merteuil is more intrigued by
Valmonts self-set task than disap
pointed in his unavailability, and
promises him a night of love if he
succeeds in his plans and can
provide written proof of his
conquest
Merteuil, however, still manages
to plant the virginal Cecile in the
path of Valmonts insatiable appe-.
tite for seduction, and her young
beauty provides a pleasurable
prelude ("a clearing of the throat")
to Valmonts triumphant winning
of the previously untouchable
Tourvel. His victory, however, does
not bring the promised reward,
only unexpected complications: he
begins to fall in love, a situation
that the malevolent Merteuil
cannot accept. It transpires that
she and Vaimont are playing the
same game but by a slightly
different set of rules. Thus the
treachery and deception escalate
until, masks stripped, emotions
erupt with unprecedented feroc
ity and tragic results for all.
Its an understatement to say
that the actors thrive on this
material. With the exception of
Pfeiffer, they were selected for
their experience in theater, since
Frears felt them to be more ably
suited to the rich language of
Hampton's script
Glenn Close gives the perfor
mance of her career. It's her
second successive role as villainess,
though the conniving Merteuil is
simply in a different league than
redneck Roseanne Barr, was up
second. She trudged through a
good amount of sex and my-husband-was-a-this-and-that
jokes
to the point where she was almost
predictable. Funny, but predicta
ble. When she spoke of the trials
and tribulations of womanhood,
women in the audience laughed
and nodded their heads in agree
ment. The third comedian was impres
sionist Bill Secra, who has been
performing since he was 1 5.
"it's all I know," said Secra.
In 1975, Secra said he was in a
Louisville bar, watching a man
named Texas Todd perform rope
tricks, when he stepped on the
stage for the first time. The crowd
loved him and he was hired on the
spot with Texas Todd cursing him
out and walking away.
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. . i v.
Glenn Close (as the scheming Marquise de Mertuii) and John Malkovich (as the aristocratic rogue
the Vicomte de Vaimont) star as ex-lovers playing a deadly game of sexual intrigue in Stephen
Frears' film "Dangerous Liaisons."
we-all-know-who. Close's eerie
control reveals an unsettling intel
ligence in Merteuil's manipulations:
"Women are obliged to be more
skillful than men. (Men) can des
troy us with a few well-chosen
words " Merteuil has made
deceit her lifelong pleasure, and its
a game she plays to win. Her rage
in failure is as heart-stopping a
scene as one is ever likely to see.
Malkovich has exactly the right
air of mischief. He convinces us
that his indiscretions are his only
possible source of interest, the
only way for him to be conducting
himself, a feeling echoed by Cecile
when she confesses her loss of
innocence to Merteuil ("He has a
way of putting things"). But
Vaimont is ensnared by his own
sport, an event that Malkovich
going on at
Since then he has appeared at
clubs across the country, such as
the improv in Los Angeles and
Dangerfield's in New York, and has
worked with many comedians
including Rodney Dangerfield
himself.
Coming off a bad show in Rocky
Mount ("it was my worst crowd"),
Secra gave his secret to a success
ful show.
"You have to grab them in the
first minute," Secra said.
And though it was not a bear
hug, Secra successfully grabbed
the audience that night.
Opening with an Edith and
Archie Bunker impression, Secra
had the crowd rolling with laugh
ter. He then lapsed into an impres
sion of Uncle Charlie from the TV
program, "My Three Sons."
A problem with impressions
links sex and intrigue
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portrays almost in delirium.
And Pfeiffer has never been so
impressive. ValmonTs destruction
of her quiet, honorable beauty is
nothing short of brutal She is
petrified by him and it is terrifying
to watch.
The three leads are impeccably
supported by Swoozie Kurtz as
Ceciie's mother and Keanu Reeves
as Ceciie's well-meaning suitor.
Particularly of note are the per
formances of Mildred Natwick,
Valmonts wonderfully wise aunt,
and the 18-year-old Uma Thurman
as the enlightened Cedla
in the hands of Frears. "Danger
ous Liaisons" is a devastating social
commentary, its theme not only
timeless but searingly relevant.
Despite the glorious backdrop of
the French chateaux and James
the Omni Europa Hotel
that Secra says he discovered
early is finding material that hasnt
been well-covered by other com
ics. -
For instance, we have all heard
Tattoo (from Fantasy island) and
John Wayne impressions many
times. However. Secras Wayne
impression was in the context of
a drug deal between Wayne,
Jimmy Stewart. Mr. Rogers and
Slim Pickens and was hilarious
(imagine Jimmy Stewart smoking
a joint).
He continued these impressions,
covering about 50 characters in a
30-minute period. Notable
moments were his Jack Nicholson
impression, his George Schultz as
Droopy Dog and his Don Rickles in
Ethiopia.
As with Lubbers, Secra's rapport
with the audience was weak.
However, his problem stemmed
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Acheson's magnificent costumes,
Frears is not the sort to stand back
and gawp, but shoots straight to
the heart of it. The camera never
leaves this tight, complex world of
infidelities. Frears explores the
subject to its very depths, luring
us in with clever, comedic twists
until we can only stare at the
consequences of such all
consuming decadence. Its easy to
see a blueprint for revolution in
all of this. In this sense, the film
is as apocalyptic as any Frears has
made, and all the more accomp
lished for utilizing Philippe Rous
selot's superb cinematography.
"Dangerous Liaisons" delights,
shocks and ultimately disturbs. If
the Academy has guts (and it's
going to need them), the film
should stand tall on Oscar night.
from audience requests. Secra
asked the audience for requests
and they responded with many.
Secra waited for the requests that
he knew how to do; there was no
improvisation in his act.
Secra closed the show with an
act he referred to as The Answer
Baby. This consisted of a baby doll
sitting on his lap with a cigarette
in its hand answering questions
from the audience. Though he was
able to pull it off, it was weak. He
reverted to many vulgar jokes and
ignored the audience when he was
unable to give a quick response.
I once heard a movie critic
comment that the worst crime a
movie can commit is boring the
audience The same can be said of
comedians. Even though their acts
sometimes lagged, Lubbers, Helms
and Secra could never be found
guilty of that.
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