4 DTHOmnibusThursday, April 13;' 1 989
Television
CBS show designs
breed of Southern
CyCILLYSTOCKAED
Staff writer
in the past, television was not
kind to Southerners, in shows like
"The Dukes of Hazzard," Sou
therners were portrayed as ignor
ant, illiterate and uncivilized. The
men were either too gentlemanly
or too ignorant Also, the women
were forced to fit the sexy Daisy
Duke or the Southern belle Scar
lett OUara stereotype . . . until
now.
The CBS comedy "Designing
Women" has changed television
comedy for the better. "Designing
Women" wants to do more than
make us laugh. It wants to change
our attitudes.
Based in an Atlanta decorating
agency called Sugarbaker's. which
Is run by four women, "Designing
women" challenges the stereo
type of Southern stupidity.
Although the women do speak
with heavy Georgia accents, they
are funny, compassionate, socially
aware and successful. For once,
people south of the Mason-Dixon
Line are being appreciated by
national television. "Designing
women" has tackled tough Issues
like AIDS, racism, the rights of
women and workers, political
mudsiinglng and the elderly. But
the key to the program's success
is its ability to throw these ideas
in the viewers faces with light
hearted style.
The characters are some of the
most original to come on the tube
in a long time. They are all fresh,
enjoyable and modern; each lady
shows her own special kind of
talent. Their charm is "belle"
enough to appeal to the South,
yet even a person in Rochester or
Minneapolis can appreciate the wit
of the writing and the range of
the characters. But its more than
script that makes a show; its the
cast, too.
Julia Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter) is
the head honcho of Sugarbaker's,
the interior design firm which
bears her name. She is the wise
one who will tell no lies to her
friends or enemies. Julia is compas
sionate yet strong, loyal yet
hhi. j iw j mm
wt V
I
J
2
4
Pyewacket, Restaurant & Bar
unpredictable, and has a temper
that can flare up like a grease fire.
She blasts ignorance and arro
gance with long-winded speeches
that cut her opponents down
lower than Ceraldo Rivera's ethics.
Those who cross Julia soon find
out what a voice of reason she
is. One of her prime targets is often
her own sister, Suzanne.
Suzanne Sugarbaker (Delta
Burke) is a typical Southern belle.
Suzanne's heroine is Scarlett
OUara, and her hobby is marrying
old, rich men who die and leave
her their money. Julia's extremely
self-centered sister is virtually
unaware of the world around her;
she has been known to aim her
Mercedes at picketers outside
Sugarbaker's and to keep a pet pig
named NoeL Her favorite topic of
conversation is her record of
beauty pageant awards, a subject
that Julia belittles with snappy,
sarcastic frequency. Suzanne is the
most ridiculous, laughable and
materialistic of these women,- she
is also the one who fits the
traditional southern mold. We
laugh at Suzanne's outrageous
ness, but what's good about the
show is that we're laughing at the
silly notions we take for granted.
Charlene Frazier Uean Smart) is
a sweet, slightly alrheaded, loving
secretary at Julia's firm She is
dedicated to Elvis, cares about
everybody and loves to tell stories
about her childhood. Charlene may
appear stupid, but she is surpris
ingly insightful and perceptive. She
most recently became the only
married "designing woman" in a
ceremony full of mishaps. And at
her wedding, she tossed her bou
quet to Mary Jo.
Mary Jo Shiveiey (Annie Potts)
is another Sugarbaker employee;
her distinction Is that of being a
divorced mother of two. Mary Jo,
put simply, Is cute. She is motherly
and patient even with Suzanne,
l&ry Jo Is, like Julia, a voice of
reason, yet she has a softness that
her employer rarely shows. She is
often frazzled by the people she
has to work with, but when this
Fresh Pasta
LASAGNE VERDI
LINGUINE VENEZIA
CAN ESTRELLI CON FETTUCINE
drilled Seafood and
Vegetarian Specialties
WEST FRANKLIN STREET
THE COURTYARD CHAPEL HILL
929-0297
better
women
character gets mad, its like watch
ing a puppy barking with ail its
might Mary Jo is the ideal wife
and mother, yet she doesnt seem
to get all the good things she
deserves.
All four ladles think the world
of Anthony (Meshach Taylor), a
black ex-con who often refers to
his "unfortunate incarceration."
Anthony has found happiness by
working for Julia and has a real
head on his shoulders, as do ail of
the characters (except maybe
Suzanne). His presence is also a
testimony of racial relations, and
his starting over after prison is
somewhat inspirational to others
like him.
Each person has his or her special
place in making "Designing
Women" a memorable show. The
lines are so brilliantly funny
because they make us laugh at
ourselves and at the images weVe
created and accepted. Check out
"Designing women," airing right
after "Murphy Brown" Monday
nights on CBS. Not only is it a nice
study break, its a nice life break.
Baseball movie in own league
By LAVLER
Staff Writer.
"Major League" is an
extremely entertaining, often
hilarious movie about baseball.
Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen and
Corbin Bemsen star in this comedy
about a hapless Cleveland Indians
team. The team Is in a 34-year
slump, and fans think little better
of the Indians than we do of UNC
parking.
The old owner dies, leaving the
team to his ex-showgirl wife. She
wants to move the team from
Cleveland to Miami (who can blame
her?). However, the only way she
can accomplish that is by making
the team so bad that attendance
fails below 800,000 for the season.
With this in mind, she hires a
team of has-been and wanna-be
misfits, veterans believed to be
past their prime and untested
rookies. They'll be so bad this year,
she reasons, that no one will come
to see them. Then she can move
the team, fire them all and get a
'rear team
Amazingly, the team begins to
come together and win some
games. The owner retaliates by
making them travel by bus to road
games, cutting off the hot water
and leaving the broken machines
unfixed. The team finally teams of
her plans and realizes it can do but
one thing. "Win the whole f Ing
thing!"
The performances in this film
are quite good, led off by Academy
award-nominee Tom Berenger as
veteran catcher Jake Taylor. Tay
General College
Cy A2T2W LA171X3
Staff writer
Among the excitement last
week on General College ...
Jason and Courtney found sanc
tuary as Rex and D&i in Mark's
grandmother's inn. Mary Cath
erine discovered Sarah bound
and gagged in Joseph's apart
ment. Damon pressured Violet
to accept his offer but was
spumed by Sheneice and Amy.
Mary Catherine urged Sarah
to go to the police but Sarah
refused, stating she wants to
put It ail behind her. Sure.
Nurse-of-all-trades Rabino
wicz informed Kyle that an
operation may help him walk
again. Overjoyed Kyle busses
Meg. The kiss turned passionate
Back in South Carolina, our
favorite fugitives hear from
Mark at dinner that the police
are still searching for them.
Later, Jason and Courtney
begin to get it on after Jason
lip synchs "ABC" (don't try this
at home, folks - he's a trained
professional) but are intemip
tus by Mark, who barges in to
tell them hell be back in a
couple of days. The mood
broken, the frustrated fugitives
go to their respective bed and
couch.
Liz takes Anne home from a
concert after Anne complains
lor, previously starring in a tequila
filled haze In the Mexican League,
realizes that, because of his age
and knees, this is his last chance
to play pro baseball He is deter
mined to make the most of it in
the process he becomes a kind of
team leader.
Berenger is terrific as Taylor. He
is no stranger to either comedy
("The Big Chill") or drama ("Platoon"
and "Betrayal") and treads the fine
line between them very well. He
manages to imbue the baseball
veteran both with humor and a
touching vulnerability. Particularly
effective is a scene where
Berenger, apparently alone In the
stadium, fantasizes about hitting
a game winning home run, bring
ing a kind of innocence to this
drinking, wenching character.
Charlie Sheen plays Rick "Wild
Thing' Vaugn, late of the California
Penal League. He is quite good as
the punkish pitcher with little
control, whose only chance is pro
baseball. Sheen provides a good
contrast to the other straighter
team members.
Sheen has definitely matured as
an actor since his earlier films
("Platoon," "Wall Street") and is
much more focused as an actor.
His unbelievable facial expressions
and youthful angst are replaced
with a brooding (but not sullen)
presence of some power. Sheen
proves that although his work
lately has been In dramatic roles,
he has not tost his comic touch
(seen in "Ferris Bueller").
The film possesses many excel-,
ot a migra ns. Anne's migraines
began shortly after Trevor was
shot.
Trip and Prisciila get back
together because Prisciila
wants to know Trip's secret
aboutAlex.
Alex flees Lenoir, not because
of the food, but because Uz had
hailed her as "Raven Kelly.' Sloan
van zant (a zoe wanna-be) asks
Uz what's up. Liz tells her that
Alex looks exactly like a curly
red-haired girl she knew at
Ltcole Grande in Switzerland.
Does anyone remember Alex's
multiple personality problems?
Brendan and Simone end
their sordid affair. Simone tells
Brendan about her past and
how she plans to find her
children from long ago.
Ken Is overjoyed to learn that
Damon has offered Violet a job
as waitress at the Double D.
Little does he know shell be
seeing more beds than tables.
Vi agrees to turn tricks for
Damon if he promises to tell no
one, but Gabrieila overhears.
Carmen tells Michael that
Kyle wanted to break up with
her. Michael is a bit disturbed
by this claim
Will Kyle walk again? Will
Jason and Courtney ever get
time alone? Whats up with Alex
and just who is Raven Kelly? Can
Violet keep Ken in the dark?
Stay tuned for next week's
episode of General College.
lent supporting performances as
well. Rene Russo is excellent as
Berengets ex-love. Corbin Bemsen
is effective as well as the money
mad shortstop who doesnt want
to get dirty, although the perfor
mance is quite similar to his "LA
Law" character, Excellent perfor
mances are also turned in by the
manager, the voodoo haunted
player, and by the actor playing
Willie May Hays.
The film is excellent because of
its reality. The dialogue sounds like
It came right from the dugout or
bar or wherever. Furthermore,
unlike the recent baseball flick "Bull
Durham," the characters seem
eminently real. They could be
people we know, and because of
this the characters and story are
much more sympathetic and
interesting.
The direction is quite good as
well. The director, who also wrote
the script, creates believable,
humorous and often Inspiring
baseball scenes. His gift for real
dialogue carries over into his
ability to create realistic situa
tions. He manges to carry off a
scene in which Charlie Sheen
enters the Stadium with (appar
ently) the entire crowd singing
"Wild Thing." This is one of the best
scenes in a very good movie.
As much as I depise the term,
this is a feel good' movie. How
ever, it studiously avoids the
cliches so common to feel good
movies. When we leave, we find
we share the players' justifiable joy
and pride in their accomplishment.