October 29,1997
8
Campus Extras
A Life Less Ordinary is less ordinary
TORY HOKE
F«atuwEd(oi
A Life Less Ordinary is what Ex
cess Baggage was supposed to be: a
psychotic roraanuc comedy about an
UDwillLog kidoapper and a take-cbarge
kidnappee. I suppose all Excess Bag
gage Deeded was divioe inierveotioa;
A L^e Less Ordinary has it in spades.
My God, this movie is fuoay.
You’ve seeo the silly premises be
fore, like a take-charge kidoappee,
matchmaking angels, aod self-cleaD-
ing clothes aod self-styling hair, but
director Danny Boyle’s takes on these
conceits, however fresli, are just ac
cessories to the innovative, genuinely
ftianyconflictatthebearlofthisQiovie:
Hollywood fantasy versus staric real-
ity.
Every laugh (smd there are plenty)
conies either a normal cbaracier’s
reaction to a ridiculous situation or a
ridiculous character’s reaction to a
normal situation. When Ewan
McGregor’s Robert stonns the office
of the man who laid him off, you
wonder where security is until six or
seven security guards dogpilehim from
behind. When Robert and Cameron
Diaz’s Cehne fmally have their first
kiss, its all very sunoy and romantic
until they separate and you see a string
of saliva connecting their moutbs too
obvious 10 be accidental.
The best feature of this movie is
that for every Hollywood stereotype
there’sacharacierplayedagainsltype;
for (he clichds of the evil ooiporate
Movie Review
daddy, Diaz’s poor liiile rich girl, and
McGregor’s blue-coUar loser, there are
the intelligent, friendly bill hermits,
(be tiny, ultravioleol angel O'ReiUy
(Holly Hunter, bounding from accent
to accent), and her burly, subdued fel
low angel J ackson (Delroy Liado). The
film keeps you guessing whether its
going to stabilize or explode until the
end. when—and I’m going to give
away the ending here—it doesn’t.
All my favorite actors are here,
from Hunter and McGregor to Dan
Hedaya (Clueless, Firsi Wives’ Club)
as Gabriel, Chief of Angels, and the
whole cast is ideal. McGregor is the
best I’ve ever seen him, Diaz is appio-
priately SDOtty but winning, aod Hunter
is intense and Liodo is ineffectual as be
and Hunter each play the role you
expect the other to have. Tony
Shalhoub (Big Nighi, and, curse bis
agent. Men In Black), best known as
Tony from the TV series Wings, has a
brief but gut-bustingly funny part as
the guy who gives Robert his romao-
tic wake-up call.
There seem to be scads of ioside
Jokes io this flick. Delroy Liodo's
briefly buuetfly-bandagednose hear
kens to Get Shorty co-star Dennis
Farina’s. Holly Hunter’s wounded ami
aod lingering rain scene hearken to
those ofThe Piano. Ewan McGregor’s
recuperation on the couch after a leg
injury and his shallow grave beailcen
to, of course. Shallow Grave, and Diaz
advises him so carefully to look to bis
“dark side” that you know she’s talk
ing about his role as Ben Kenobi in the
coming Star Wars prequel. The io-
jokes aren’t the feature players in A
UfeLessOrdinary,i)\i[{b6y belpmake
the movie ao unpredictable ocean of
funny that pleases aod pleases and
pleases.
Graduates! Your
Announcements Are Available.
JOSTEXS
COLLEGE CftAOUATjON ACCESSOftiES*'*
THE LAST TIME to order personalized graduation announcements prior to
December graduation will be Monday, November 3 from 10-4 and Tuesday,
NovembCT 4 from 10-6 at Cate Center. Prior to ibis you may order by
calling Jostens toll-free North Carolina Regiwtal Office at: 888-433-0559.
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CATE CENTER
\Traditlons Room''
2nd floor
^^|*^(near comput
Tuesdays
11:30-12:30
Questions?
Call Jo Ann Thomas
MCA WINGS Representsrtiye
Saddle up to El Rodeo
BftOOXtBANSOH
Hola! Bienvenido a El rodeo! El
Rodeo, a popular Mexican resiauraot
00 Hillsborough Street, serves adequate
food with fast, friendly service and
offers alTordable prices. On a four-star
scale, El Rodeo re
ceives an average
two aod a half stars.
For Meredith
students, the restau
rant iscooveoieotly
located withio driv-
iog distance. Across the street from
NC State, it offers Meredith girls the
chaoce to meet oew people (aka meo)
during the meal. This location is defi
nitely a plus!
The waiters, who are fun guys,
chat easily with their customers and
briog out the food within miuutes.Tbey
returo frequently to check on their
customers and seem to enjoy serving
them.
So if El Rodeo’s location aod ser
vice are great, then what is the prob
lem? The answer—the food. I was
disappointed. I visited El Rodeo with
lOof my friends, and almost everyone
complained about something. I enjoyed
my Spanish rice, and I sampled some
other dishes. I
tried the cheese
eochilada, and 1
liked it. How
ever, my com tor
tilla was ex
tremely soggy
and bland, and the fried ice cream,
nomially my main purpose for eating
at a Mexican restaurant, was not up to
standards.
Don’tget me wrong—I’m notpro-
Douociog El Rodeo a bad place to eat.
It has a festive atmosphere, and the
prices are very affordable, especially
for college students. I j ust know what
to order on my next uip.
Restaurant
Review
Learn about self-protection
At 1 - 4 pm on Saturday, November 1, Meredith is sponsoring
a SafeSkills Workshop for up to 30 students. Please reserve your
space in the workshop as soon as possible by calling the Dean of
Students Office at S29-8521.
Why should I sign up? The training provides accurate
information about assault and instruction in the use of effective
physical self-protection strategies and techniques in a safe
environment.
The program is a part of Rape Awareness Week. The
SafeSkills Workshop is funded by the Creative Ideas Fund of
Meredith College. Questions? Call Sharon Cannon at 829>$521.