The Pendulum
A & E
Thursday September 11, 2003 # Page 17
Coming
Attractions...
Now Playing:
Friday
Once Upon a Time
in Mexico (R)
Antonio Banderas,
Salma Hayek, Willem
Defoe, Johnny Depp
Matchstick Men
(PG-13)
Nicolas Cage, Sam
Rockwell, Alison
Lohman, Bruce
McGille
Cabin Fever (R)
Jordan Ladd, Rider
Strong, James
Debello
Lost in Translation
(R)
Scarlett Johansson,
Bill Murray, Anna
Paris, Giovanni Ribisi
In Concert:
Friday
Cats Cradle - Carrboro
Cosmic Charlie
(Grateful Dead Tribute)
10 p.m. $8 adv $10 door
Wednesday
Ziggy’s * Winston Salem
Stickboy/Penny
Royalty/Sullivan
9 p.m. Free admission
Dickie Roberts’ stars at tlie box office
Blake Hinton
Reporter
It doesn’t take long to figure out
whether you would like “Dickie
Roberts: Former Child Star.” It stars
David Spade, who always plays
himself using the same kind of
humor over and over. Therefore, if
you like Spade then you would like
the movie.
The plot is simple enough,
although extremely contrived.
Spade plays Dickie Roberts who, as
a kid, used to be on a famous TV
show. Once it was cancelled
Roberts, like many of his fellow
child co-stars, faded into oblivion.
At the start of the film Roberts is in
his thirties and working as a valet,
desperate to hit stardom again.
His chance comes when a hot
script lands in his lap. The script,
“Mr. Blake’s Backyard,” will be
made into a movie directed by Rob
Reiner. Roberts convinces his friend
Brendan Fraser to place a call with
Reiner so Roberts can get a meeting.
When the moment of truth
arrives, Roberts is slapped with the
bad news. Reiner doesn’t believe he
can pull it off, because Roberts
missed a real childhood. Without
some kind of serious overhaul, he is
out of luck.
This is where the film really
kicks in with most of the laughs.
Taking Reiner literally, Roberts
hires a family to set him up for a
month and raise him like a child.
Once this happens Roberts is sure
that the role is a shoo-in for him.
This film is funny, albeit not
great, but it does manage enough
laughs for a decent comedy. Spade’s
wisecracks for the most part hit the
mark. Also, Spade does a lot of
physical comedy in this film. The
highlight is definitely when he
learns how to ride a bike and man
ages to crash into a car, a stop sign
and many other things.
The movie is a bit cleverer than
most Spade films. Probably the
most ingenious thing about the
entire script is that it is framed as an
episode on an E! TV show called
“E' True Hollywood Story.” This
adds a nice level to the film that
wouldn’t have been there otherwise.
“Roberts” also manages to throw
in some drama in the form of
domestic troubles. As Roberts is
staying with a family, the marriage
of the two parents is falling apart.
Admittedly, it is not “Ordinary
People,” but it is handled quite well
for this kind of film. This extra layer
is quite helpful as the movie begins
to run out of steam toward the end.
Still, there are other problems.
Since the movie’s prime purpose is
to create jokes, many gaping plot
holes form. For example, if Roberts
is such a wash-up why does he
know Brendan Fraser? Why does
Fraser even talk to him? Although it
was fun to count the many stars who
made cameos. Also, what family
would actually agree to this set-up?
In the end, though, one doesn’t
go to see this film for its brilliant
plot points. It’s funny and Spade
holds himself well. It’s certainly bet
ter than his last outing, “Lost and
Found.”
For a rainy day at the movies,
watching “Dickie’’ is a pretty good
way to spend it.
Contact Blake Hinton at pendu-
lum@elon.edu or 278-7247.
Photo courtesy of Yahoo! Movies
David Spade stars in the comedy “Dickie Roberts: Former Child
Star, ” which debut at No. 1. It earned more than $7 million at
the box office in its opening weekend.
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