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a&Jffitertainment
First Wives Club
PETER MORSCHECK
staff writer
"Honey, you're forty-five. If I give you
one more face-lift, you 'll be able to blink
your lips."
Thus we are introduced to Elise, Goldie
Hawn's image-obsessed former "skin-flick"
star, in the First Wives' Club. It is the story
of three middle-aged women who reunite
at the funeral for a college friend who com
mitted suicide when her husband left her for
a younger woman.
They compare notes and discover that
each of their respective husbands has left
them for a younger woman as well. To
gether they decide to form the First Wives'
Club, a secret group dedicated to exacting
monetary revenge on their former husbands.
What ensues is a hilarious romp played to
the hilt by leads Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn,
and Diane Keaton.
More than merely a dream of embittered
women everywhere, who crave respect from
their current husbands if not retribution from
their ex's, this film highlights a pervasive
problem in society today: that this, by and
The Guilfordian
Professor's poetry 'holds its ground'
EMILY DINGES
staff writer
"A revival needs no tent, no footwashing
crowd... She can only watch stock-still in her
river dress, the circles widening like years."
So writes Becky Gould Gibson in her poem
"Flying in the River," the poem she considers
to be the best of her newly published chap
book, Holding Ground. This poem was in
spired by a story related to Gibson by her great
uncle—a story of watching her great-grand
mother enter the river with her dress on and
watching it spread all around her, while the
milk that had been put into the spring to cool
off for dinner had begun to float away.
"I was relating imagery natural world,
sacred life, and the strength of my great-grand
mother who was raising us alone when her
husband died at age 39," she explained. This
poem combines stories from Gibson's life
growing up on a farm in South Carolina with
symbolism from prehistoric Goddess societ
ies.
Guilford broadens arts horizons
AMY NEWSOME
staff writer
" I felt like I was jumping off a cliff." These
were the words of Guilford's art curator, Terry
Hammond, as she described the new Robert
Broderson exhibition.
To understand her statement, you must first
understand a little about the exhibit. Over the
summer the art gallery was given a gift of five
new Broderson paintings, increasing our to
tal to twelve. It was then that Terry realized it
was the best time to put on a Broderson ex
hibit.
As Hammond herself stated: "Broderson's
work can be tough and challenging for some;
however a fuller understanding of it comes
j Movie Reviews j
large, is still a MAN'S world. Better for
men and women alike to see what a
"woman scorned" might do in a fun and
far-fetched comedy than to discover the
painful truth in real life. In spite of this
movie having redeeming social relevance
(something Last Man Standing lacked), it
is still highly entertaining and well-worth
seeing.
Solid support is provided by Stockard
Channing, Maggie Smith, Bronson
Pinchot, Elizabeth Berkeley (Yes, she ac
tually could find work post-Showgirls!!)
and the husbands. Better still are cameo
appearances by noted feminist-leader
Gloria Steinum, former New York City
mayor Ed Koch, Heather Locklear, direc
tor Rob Reiner, and Ivana Trump (as her
self!).
This is one of the better comedies to be
released this year, hearkening back to the
Jane Fonda/Lily Tomlin/Doliy Parton clas
sic 9to sof fifteen years ago. Go see it!
4 stars out of 5.
features
Like the rest of the collection, it is a
poem steeped in imagery which is both fresh
and eternal. Images which resonate through
out the collection include symbols of agrarian
life, the cyclical nature of life and death, and
worship of the female body and fertility. The
stories were related to her mostly by her great
uncle, and she has gathered the lore of the
Goddess societies from doing research and
spending time in Crete and Greece.
Gibson described her family to be very ar
tistic, and claims that she was taught early on
the importance of the "artistic endeavor." "All
of us found our own artistic niche," she con
tinued, recalling how she knew she wanted to
be a writer at the age of nine. Her life growing
up on a farm is one that she remembers as very
connected with the eternal rituals which date
back to the neolithic age.
"Our connection to the natural world was
strong and not sentimental, more authentic than
now [when people live] separately from na
ture," Gibson expressed.
Part of a trilogy entitled Body of the God
when an open mind and a willingness to spend
time looking are a part of the experience."
With this in mind Hammond realized that
she didn't want people to look at the signs
beside the paintings but at the actual paint
ings themselves.
It was then that she came up with an idea.
For the first few weeks of the exhibit the works
of art were to be shown without any labels or
informative text about them. Then every few
weeks throughout the semester, additional in
formation would be added.
Although Hammond went out on a limb
with this exhibition, the response has been
very positive.
I isa Young of the art department has noth
Hugh Grant must be doing something
right: he still has a career. Since Paul
Reubens (Pee Wee Herman) got busted he
hasn't been able to get more than a few
cameos, and Pee Wee was laid to rest.
In the new thriller Extreme Measures,
he proves to his American critics that he is
worth of a second chance.
Grant plays a British neurologist in a
busy New York emergency room. His life
turned upside-down when anudeman with
unheard of symptoms comes into his care
and then suddenly dies. The cause of death
was never determined and when Grant tries
to investigate finds that the body has dis
appeared.
Somebody doesn't want Grant asking
questions. The eager beaver just can't let
this freak of nature lay to rest. Conse
quently, pharmaceutical cocaine was
planted in his apartment, destroying his cre
dulity. This is where Grant really takes it
upon himself to find out what is going on.
October 4,1996
dess, the chapbook is preceded by a collection
of poems inspired by her experiences from
Crete and Greece, and is followed by a section
of eclectic pieces about women's experiences.
In the last section, Gibson includes revisions
of myths told from a woman's point of view.
In addition, she has another book due in the
Spring entitled First Life, which includes po
ems from 1986 to the present.
Gibson began teaching full-time at Guilford
in 1988, having graduated from Converse Col
lege and received her Ph.D. in English from
UNC Chapel Hill. "I am disturbed by students
who are concerned about jargon, and about
writing what the teacher wants to hear." She
finds it very important to connect literature and
writing assignments to the student's personal
life, and considers the lack of personal con
nection to the material to be a fruitless en
deavor. She will be going to London next year
with the Guilford study-abroad program.
Gibson will be reading from Holding
Ground on October 9 in the Gallery at 7:00,
and her book can be bought in the college book
store now.
ing but praise for the new exhibit. "I think its
a great idea," she said. "It forces you to expe
rience art without the crutch of labels."
Junior Adam Gregor would agree with this.
He has been a follower of the exhibit since it
started and is curious to see where it is going.
"I find this new method of display really cool.
Usually when I go to an exhibit, there are signs
and descriptions everywhere, this really gives
me a chance to use my imagination and de
cide for myself what the paintings mean," he
enthused.
Hammond need not have worried about
jumping off a cliff. The Broderson exhibit
has thus far proved to be a great success.
Extreme Measures
DAMIAN DEBELLO
staff writer
In his quest he runs across a world-re
nowned neurologist played by Gene Hack
man.
To say anything more about the plot
would give it away.
This film, while thrilling and entertain
ing, brings up serious moral questions. In
the beginning of the film grant has to make
a decision. A junkie and a cop come into
the emergency roam together. They were
in a shoot-out and both recived wounds.
There is onlyone hospital room available,
so only one of the two will get the treat
ment he needs. The junkie is far more likely
to live and Grant has to decide in front of
an array of bystanders who will get the
room, he chooses the cop.
Grant has redeemed himself, and much
more importantly showed that he isn't as
much of a wuss as one would expect, in
what I would condier a four-star film. This
movie has something for everyone.