DTH Omnibus Page 9
Thursday November 30, 1989
II INI 1 m A
Three great comics; one screwed -
Harlem Nights
Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor,
Redd Foxx, Arsenio Hall
directed by Eddie Murphy
Ram Triple
967-8284
O 12
While the funny man with
the penchant for vulgar
ity has called Harlem Nights
"a film by Eddie Murphy in associa
tion with Eddie Murphy Productions,"
this piece of drivel was sponsored by
Paramount Pictures. The studio is
probably glad that their involvement
in the project gets minimal public
ity. The actor's name appears five
times in the credits, showing that
this film may be more of an ego-trip
than the sharp comedy of which
Murphy is capable.
Murphy directed, wrote and starred
in this tale of gangsters and ritzy after-hours
clubs in the 1930s. Murphy
and Richard Pryor are the owners of
Club Sugar Ray's, rival club to gangster-run
Pitty Pat Club.
Faithful sequel makes
Back to the
Future, Part II
Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd,
Thomas F. Wilson, Lea Thompson
directed by Robert Zemeckis
Carolina Blue and White
942-3061
GOO 12
Okay, I'll admit it! Back in
1985, when I was but a mere
15 and plagued by the weird
ness of my youth, 1 knew without a
doubt time travel was possible after
seeing Back to the Future for the sixth
time. So with the release of the se
quel, I couldn't help but give it two
thumbs up a month before I even
saw it.
Fortunately, the talents of Steven
Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis have
teamed up again to keep the dream
alive as well as the duo of Dr. Emmett
Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and
Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) time
traveling. Picking up where the first
film left off, Marty has to go into the
future November 12, 2015, to be
exact to keep his son, Martin
McFly Jr.,. from committing a crime..
However, this is only the beginning
of a 90-minute adventure that takes
you -through time and, well, sort of
back.
While in the future, Marty of the
past experiences a totally different
world where cars fly, hover boards
have replaced skateboards, and movie
Davis Turner
17 1
The film gave Murphy a chance
to work with two of his biggest influ
ences, Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor,
but it is embarrassing that he could
not come up with a better storyline
to showcase their skills. With three
veterans of the comedy business, there
is no lack of talent in Nights; rather,
there is a lack of storyline for the
comedians to hitch a ride on. The
veteran chuckle-grabbers are left with
their thumbs waving in the wind. It
is a plain, boring waste of proven
talent.
The film never captures a good
comedysting blend, although Nights
generates a few minor laughs and
interesting plot twists. Quick and
Sugar Ray sting the bad cops and the
evil gangster who closes down the
club, but it's still weak stuff. Redd
Foxx adds a few needed laughs as he
plays Billy "Snake Eyes" Wilson, a
near-blind, dice-rolling, stubbom-old-goat-of-a-man
who refuses to wear
his spectacles. At times it is almost
Donnie Beck
f ,17
5 y
theaters come to life. As Dr. Brown
warned in the first film, Marty must
avoid contact with anyone to avoid
the consequences that could result.
All goes basically as planned until
Biff (yes, the same one who tortured
Marty's father in the original, but 30
years older) gets his hands on the
time machine. From this point on
Back to the Future, Part II is a whirl
wind of adventure with a very unex
pected ending.
Without a doubt, Michael J. Fox
is the star of this picture. This may
seem obvious, but some explanation
makes it clear: Not only does Fox
play himself at 18, but he also plays
himself as his 18-year old son, as the
48-year old Marty and, yes, his teen
age daughter, in the future. Fox is
excellent with his timing and his in
nocent face gives his character lim
itless sincerity.
Christopher Lloyd also gives an
excellent performance as the eccen
tric and flustered Dr. Emmett Brown.
Possibly Lloyd's greatest asset is his
hair. With his naturally lanky phy
sique, Lloyd does an excellent job of
convincing the audience that he
doesn't know whether he's coming
or going.
Director and writer Robert Ze
meckis should be commended for the
excellent direction and the interest
ing concepts in Back to the Future,
Part 11. Zemeckis uses scenes from
v -x nv wk
like Sanford and Son Meet the Sting.
"Snake Eyes" constantly bickers with
Vera "the fat bitch" Walker in
lambasting reminiscent of the San
ford and Son days of pointless squab
bling. But despite the complications,
there are no novelty curves thrown
into this film. Plot twists are great
brain-teasers if they make the viewer
think, but these are far too predict
able to provide much entertainment.
If a small bladder is a problem, don't
worry about rushing off to the toilet
for fear of missing an important bit
of storyline.
Nights is no exception to Murphy's
rule of excessive profanity and silly
name-calling, which is probably why
the flick was given an R rating. The
R certainly wasn't for blood and guts,
although there is a great deal of vio
lence. The abundance of the killing
is "clean" stuff, without all the gore
and graphic nastiness. A child buries
a bullet between the eyes of an irate
gambler within the first five min
utes, an omen of the carnage to come.
Heads are blown off, toes are shot
off, lovers are blown to bits while
still in the sack (right after congratu
latory exchanges for excellent love-
sure time
the first film to show how time over
laps when Marty and Dr. Brown have
to go back to 1955, where they were
in the first film. Especially effective
are the scenes that echo the first film:
Instead of the skateboard chase of
Part One, Marty is pursued by the
bad guys on hoverboards. Not only is
the plot of the original movie being
constantly recalled, but the time trav
elers actually have to go back into
the first film to sort out the mess
they've just gotten themselves into.
Another plus is the film's subtle
handling of how the average town of
the future will look. It's not a com
pletely foreign concept at all. Cars
fly, but they still look like cars and
not the stereotyped aerodynamic
vessel of the future.
Finally, Back to the Future, Part 11
is a sequel that badgers its predeces
sor in a unique way. The original
cast and crew are back, but they're
not just cashing in on a tried-and-true
concept. Back to the Future, Part
II is a mind-bogglingly clever con
tinuation of the time-traveling ad
venture. The second sequel, set for
release in the summer of 1990, is
anxiously expected.
What The
Ratings Mean
O miserable
OO mediocre
OOO enjoyable
OOOO quite good
OOOOO unmissable
making). A hysterically sobbing
Arsenio Hall adds a funny twist to
the banal gunplay as he and his
bumbling accomplices fail to gun
down Murphy with their machine
guns.
Murphy, 28, has never lost money
on a film; hence the studio execu
tives have given him "Money" as a
proper and fitting nickname. Of
course, nicknames can change fast,
given a performance like this.
Murphy's role lacks the hearty belly
laughs that he's been known for in
the past. The punch is just not there
in Harlem Nights. The film will not
be remembered as a classic, but it is
doubtful that Murphy meant for it to
be.
The set is complete with cars and
costumes of the era. The houses are
elegantly over-decorated, all the way
down to the statues. Does this show
that Murphy had a great deal of
money to blow on the production, or
is it meant to exemplify the wealth
involved with the gangster types and
the success of the club? Whatever
the case, scenery is no competent
replacement for a decent story.
Maybe Murphy should let some
one else brainstorm the movie ideas,
travel is still
Back to the bank
Back to the Future, Part II skated into the box-office record
books in its debut, collecting $43 million during the five-day Thanks
giving holiday weekend, according to figures released Monday.
The time-travel adventure sequel to the 1985 blockbuster set single
day admission records on Wednesday and Thursday, with grosses in
excess of $7.2 million each day.
Universal Pictures called it the biggest opening in movie history,
but the box-office figures cited by the studio represented receipts
from the long, five-day holiday weekend beginning Wednesday.
Traditionally, the weekend box office is calculated on a Friday
through Sunday basis. By that standard, Back to the Future; Part II
failed to surpass the all-time three-day record, set earlier this year
by Batman with $42.7 million.
Back to the Future, Part II collected $27.8 million from Friday
through Sunday, according to Entertainment Data Inc. and Exhib
itor Relations Co., making it the biggest Thanksgiving-time release
ever, topping the three-day mark of $20 million set by Rocky TV in
1985. Associated Press
Prancer (G) 7; 15 q 9:50
Back to the Future Part II (PG)
7:30 9:45
up flick
M( (fx A
Iff I
7 m
Redd Foxx
so he can have roles where his char
acter has a chance to develop. He
has shown he excels in acting in past
films, but with Nights he has shown
us that he does not in writing and di
recting. It was his first attempt, and
he did try, but what a miserable re
sult. a blast