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8 DTH OmnibusThursday, March 9, 1989 Movie Reviews 'Lean On By ANDREW LAWLER Staff Writer it's 1987 and Eastside High School in Paterson, NJ. is a caul dron of violence. Drug deals are conducted openly and teachers are beaten and molested in scenes more reminiscent of a gang movie than of a school. Two-thirds of the students cannot pass the state's minimum basic skills test. into this chaos strides "Crazy" Joe Clark. Acting more like the new sheriff in town than the newly appointed principal he is. Clark and about 20 security guards take quick steps to bring the school under control. Discovering the worst offenders in the school, he expels all 300 of them. He enforces an almost military discipline, alie nating teachers, unions and par ents along the way. When an expelled student, who is a drug dealer, is let in by another student, Clark locks all the doors with chains. Some outraged parents demand that Clark be fired, citing ARTIST ALBUM 1. Elvis Costello Spike 2. Proclaimers Sunshine on Leith 3. The Connells Tiui and Games 4. XTC Oranges and Lemons 5. Indigo Girls Indigo Girls 6. Full Fathom Five Four A&l. 7. Miracle Legion Me and Mr. Roy 8. Love Tractor Themes from Venus 9. De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising 10. Wonderstuff Eight Legged Groove Machine 11. Hugo Largo Mettle 12. Lyle Lovett And His Large Band 13. Christmas Ultra Prophets of the Psykick Revolution 14. Buck Pets . Buck Pets 15. Sneetches Sometimes That's All We Have 16. Various Artists Pay it All Back, VoL 2 17. Black Sun Ensemble Lambert Pass 18. Tommy Keene . Based on Happy Times 19. Guadalcanaal Diary Flip Flop 20. Throwing Muses Hunk Papa 1 n vA f fir 1: 4 Pyewacket Restaurant &Bar Free Fouttd ads in the DTH Me' examines Clark, today's his criminal methods of education. Yet Clark begins to make a difference. Such is the fact-based story of "Lean On Me," directed by John Avildsen: a powerful and often moving account of one. man's efforts to turn a school around. The film 6 inspirational (as one would expect from a film by the director of "Rocky" and "The Karate Kid"). Yet it gratifyingly rises above the simplistic (unlike "Rocky" and "The Karate Kid"). The film asks tough questions: how far can or must we go to educate our children? Can we justify a prison atmosphere in our schools? The questions are as controversial as Clark himself. The film, to its credit, doesnt try to come up with a simple answer to such questions. Rather, it shows us what can work in such a situa tion, and leaves it to us to decide if it was appropriate. The problems affecting this school do not disappear in a rose- Fresh Pastu LASAGNE VERDI . LINGUINE VENEZIA CANESTRELLI CON FETTUCINE Grilled Seafood and Vegetarian Specialties WEST FRANKLIN STREET THE COURTYARD CHAPEL HILL 929-029" colored haze when Clark appears as the school's savior. Students still face the problems of drugs and poverty. Even the goal Clark seeks is disturbing to get high school students to pass a tesc skills test that proves only minimum liter acy in math and reading. This is the very least we would expect from a high school. Yet it is an important and necessary first step, and a significant achievement. Morgan Freeman portrays Clark in a performance that should, but probably won't, earn him an Academy Award nomination. Free man resists the impulse to make Clark a misunderstoood saint, instead, he shows us a man whose personality is as radical as his methods. Clark is a tyrant, a zealot who allows no disagreement with his ideas no matter how arbitrary or unreasonable they may seem. This is a man who publicly humil iates the same people that are trying to help him. Freeman brings a complicated man to life in all his complexity, presenting us with the whole man, not just the public hero (or villain). All of the other performances are as good. Robert Guillaume Stay Awoke: Today's musicians perform yesterday's Disney tunes By BRYAN BURNS Staff Writer Stay Awake is a compilation album of various artists perform ing songs from classic Walt Disney movies. The album is produced by Hal Winner, who has made a name for himself by specializing in tribute albums like this. Stay Awakefeatures songs that are not only from the greatest animated features, but are now performed in an incredible diversity of styles. Ill admit, some of the songs on the album are what you think of when someone says Disney. For example, "Little April Showers," from Bambi r is a round of happy voices, woodwinds and harps that conjure the image of cute forest animals playing in the spring rain. On the other hand, some of the classic tunes are twisted almost beyond recognition. "Heigh Ho," the dwarves' jolly work song, is given an eerie sound by the back ground of mining noises and the gravelly voice of Tom waits. To emphasize the diversity of music styles, Willner has arranged the pieces into an eclectic order. For example, the third medley on the album, "Three Inches is Such a Wretched Height," is a combina tion of latin swing and opera. "Castle in Spain" is performed by Buster Poindexter and the Ban shees of Blue, followed by Sleeping Beauty "1 wonder" by Yma Sumac -' accompanied by a full orchestra , surprises in his portrayal of Dr. Napier, Clark's friend and boss. Cuillaume is convincing as the man who has to deal with the whirl wind created by Clark's actions. His performance is much more under stated and simple than what we are used to seeing him in. He provides an excellent foil to Clark's explosive martinet as he alter nately shields Clark and berates him. Beverly Todd is similarly good as the vice principal. It is her charac ter who most often has to face the brunt of bad feeling, not just Clark's but the teachers' also. Her growing frustration and eventual verbal explosion are well meas ured and believable.. It is she who asks the questions that need to be asked about Clark's methods. Is it right to step on others if your goal is good? She allows Clark to recognize some of his faults and grow a little. The other performances are notable. The legion of young black and Hispanic actors in the film acquit themselves extremely well. Particularly good performances are the characters Kinesha and Samms. Kinesha is a bright girl who Poindexter's villanous voice and lyrics of a decadent, criminal life contrast sharply with the hopeful phrases of Sumac's aria, yet the two cuts fit nicely into the medley. "Castle in Spain" is full of Spanish trumpet riffs and has a full brass sound,- it's arranged by the Uptown Horns, who travel fre quently with bands and have appeared on "Late Night with David Letterman." Many songs on the album are just given- a modern pop-rock touch and an exciting perfor mance by current groups, and these are surely the most fun. For example, "I wanna Be Like You," sung by King Lou the chimp in Jungle Book, is a soulful mix by Los Lobos. It features their expected guitar and percussion, with the voice of Cesar Rosas and a lead baritone sax. "Whistle While You Work" is also given a pop beat by NRBQ. The gentle voice of Terry Adams leads this song, with a touch of whistling (although it's not quite the same as Snow White's). The Replacements also give a new sound to "Cruella DeVilie," a song dedicated to the evil villainess of 101 Dalmatians. This group gives the song a rock funk edge and it sounds as if it were recorded at a wild party. There are also songs on Stay Awake that get another type of . Adaptation, -For - example- Trh ; . Wishing ".from..5ow.tLis: society seems to typify all the problems of the ghetto. Her mother looks barely older than she is, her father is non-existent. Yet with Clark's inspiration, she perseveres. The actress succeeds in making the tragedy of poverty a human tragedy, one that is immediate but surmountable. She never asks for your pity, just for some help. Samms is one of the 300 trou blemakers who were expelled. He begs to be let back in and Clark grudgingly allows him back. Clark's efforts to reform the school are mirrored in his efforts to reform Samms. Whenever Samms errs, Clark is there to bawl him out and urge him to better his efforts. Clark's failures and successes with Samms symbolize his attempts to put pride and discipline back in Eastside. "Lean on Me" is a touching, often hilarious movie. It manages to inspire without turning insipid. It addresses important problems in our society and shows they can be attacked with success, if ded ication and commitment are there. But the film never neglects to question whether the methods sometimes needed to arrive there are justifiable. turned into a jazz ballad per formed by Betty Carter. And "Blue Shadows on the Trail," from Mel ody Time is given a modern coun try feel. The song that best fits the classic Disney feeling is "When You Wish Upon a Star," sung by Ringo Starr with trumpet soloist Herb Alpert Another laid-oack tune is by one of UNC's most talked-about alumni, James Taylor, who sings "Second Star from the Right," from Peter Pan AH of these tunes add up to a true representation of the Disney animated films. Although not from a movie, Willner realized that this album would not be complete without the "Mickey Mouse March," performed by Aaron Neville. But there are a few other songs that should also have been included. There are no songs from Lady and the Tramp and the best Disney song of all, "The Bare (Bear) Neccesities," was left out. Aside from these slight omis sions, the album is great. With so many styles of music, everyone is sure to find something they like. And although it isnt a record you can throw on at a party and let it play, there are some rockin' tunes. "Stay Awake" is a true diversity of music, artists and moyies which add up to the Disney feeling. SO ;even if whirls frozen, ihjs mvjesand mtsictemvv-:-
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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March 9, 1989, edition 1
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