Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / June 19, 1986, edition 1 / Page 6
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6The Tar Heel Thursday, June 19, 1986 'Desert Hearts9 is typical fflm By JILL GERBER Co-editor It's human nature to be fascinated with the unknown and to placate one's curiousity by exploring alien territory. In the same light, the heterosexual members of our society, no matter how much they will deny it, are intrigued by homosexuality as an "alternative" lifestyle. If not for this natural characteristic of mankind, director and producer Donna Deitch's film "Desert Hearts" would have been ignored at the box office, unheralded by prominent critics, undistributed by the Samuel Goldwyn Co., and received with the general apathy usually afforded to low budget love stories with obliga torily happy endings. The only factor that sets the film apart from its mediocre predecessors is that the couple figuratively riding off into the sunset is not a man and a woman, but two women. Deitch, by adding a substitute element to a widely used formula, has made the effect completely different. Virtually every member of the general movie going public has seen a plot in which two markedly diverse characters fall in love and culminate their relation ship with a long sex scene, but rarely j L I Fresh Homemade, Hand-tossed Pizza 100 real cheese toppings! Quality subs made your way FREE Delivery Catering to your specific tastes Timberlyne Village 968-8157 Weaver Dairy Rd. 0 raQ U2 --rrJi ! i ' i HAIRLINES- 108 Henderson St. 968-4327 967-1621 ONE WEEK ONLY June 19-June 26 $10.00 Haircuts For MEN ONLY Walk-In or Gall has anyone seen lesbians in the same scenario on celluloid. The film, based on the Jane Rule novel "Desert of the Heart," unfolds with 35-year-old Columbia Univer sity professor Vivian Bell (Canadian actress Helen Shaver) traveling to Reno, Nev., for a quick divorce. While wincing at tactless comments made by her insenstitive lawyer during the divorce process, Vivian stays on a rustic ranch headed by Frances Parker, an equally rustic, emotionally unstable mother played by Audra Lindley of "Mrs. Roper" fame. Vivian ingratiates herself with Frances and her eager-to-please son, Walter (Alex McArthur), but her deepest friendship develops with Frances' adopted daughter Cay Riwers (Patricia Charbonneau), a free-spirited, convertible-driving change-maker at a local casino. Cay makes , Vivian forget her 12-year marriage and convinces her to trade her well-tailored conservative outfits for a Western shirt and jeans. As Vivian and Cay's relationship deepens, Frances becomes increas ingly jealous and reproachful of them. It seems odd that a mother, especially a surrogate one, would be Steverino's brings you the best of both worlds! " i ! n l, Hi I with Annette for Appointment so possessive of her offspring. When the women leave an engagement party together arid return to the ranch the following day, Frances casts them oui, but it seems as if her motivation is not repulsion by their actions as she tries to portray it lut jealously over Cay's new-found interest. Deitch leaves many elements in the film unexplained, ignoring back ground information that would enhance the story line. For example, Walter and Vivian meet briefly at the beginning of the movie, and then no more is seen of their friendship. A few frames later, they're holding hands and almost skipping across the WEEK'S E TODAY - QThe UNC Summer Chorus will X present its final concert at 8 p.m. in Person Hall. FRIDAY A Richard Burnett, a folk and f "rock 'n roll musician, will play at Ninth Street Bakery. Prizzi's Honor will be shown at the Union at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Paul Taylor Dance Company will perform at Duke Universiity for the. American Dance Festival at 8 p.m. SATURDAY " Dan Michaels plays progres ArfXsive acoustic guitar and folk at the Ninth Street Bakery. Elegant dinners from Cities visited by Europe s most glamorous train 20 price The Orient Express is at 201 E. Main St., Carrboro, minutes from Chapel Hill. Reservations: 96 7-89 J 3. . TAKE A RIDE on us. Get a Free Chapel Hill Transit Bus Pass good for the 1986 Fall and 87 Spring Semesters if you're one of the next twenty to lease an apartment at The Villages. This offer is good for a limited time only so come visit The Villages today! - LJ L on atypical smbject ranch like the best of friends; the viewer has received no hint of when this closeness developed. However, the scene is memorable because it offers the best line in the movie. Walter, when walking hand-in-hand with a sophisticated older woman 15 years his senior, says in the middle of conservation, "Care for a Chiclet?" Many critics have blasted "Desert Hearts" for failing to accurately recreate its 1959 setting, and the criticism is valid. In one scene, Vivian wears a silky-looking blouse and loose pants that are extremely con temporary; even the frosty shade of lipstick she wears is very modern. However, the attitudes portrayed in Awareness Art Ensemble plays reggae at the ArtSchool in Carrboro at 9:30 p.m. Karen Hawkesworth will perform Actress, a one-woman play at the ArtSchool in Carrboro at 2 p.m. Paul Taylor Dance Company will perform at Duke's Page Auditorium for the American Dance Festival at 8 p.m. SUNDAY Cynthia McCrae and Rudy ArfTyson will perform at the ArtSchool in Carrboro' for the Sunday Jazz Series from 7 p.m.to 10 p.m. MONDAY 23 Monday Night Live!, the area's local "talent showcase" premi- Summer Specials Brine this notice. Sunday through Thursday, until Tune and eet two entrees for the of one on three-course dinners B.T. Properties Smith Level Road Carrboro, NC 27510 929-1141 This offer hot good with any other special -The Villages the movie are even more unbelievable than the wardrobe travesties. Cay is very open about her homosexuality; everyone she knows is aware of it. Lesbianism is not widely accepted in the Os and therefore, it's ludicrous to show it as being accepted 30 years in the past. If "Desert Hearts" is supposed to be the landmark film about lesbian relationships that will revolutionalize all conceptions of them and set a precedent for future films on the subject, it's not. But being a postive film, maybe it'll put gays in a more positive public light. It may not sweep the Academies next year, but it generates enough interest to warrant a viewing. ers its season of talent shows at 8 p.m. at the ArtSchool. WEDNESDAY ? Lynch Puppeteer Family Show 3 is presented by the Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department in the Rose Garden Amphitheater at 7 p.m. MOVIES Plaza 1: Raw Deal 3: 10, 5:20, 7:30, 9:45 p.m. Plaza 2: Cobra 3:15, 5:15, 7:10, 9:10 p.m. Plaza 3: Top Gun 3, 5:10, 7:20, 9:35 p.m. Ram 1: Day Off 7:05., 9: 10 p.m. Ram 2: Back To School 7, 9 p.m. Ram 3: Manhattan Project 7, 9:15 p.m. Varsity: Ran 2, 5, 8 p.m. Varsity: Desert Hearts 2:10, 4:10, 7:20,9:20 p.m. Carolina blue: Space Camp 2, 4:45, 7,9:30 p.m. Carolina white: Poltergeist II 1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15,9:15 p.m. Compiled by arts editor Chris Shearer. Pecpla PVje8 helps prevent defects THE YOGA PLACE 452 W. Franklin St. 967-9686 1986 Summer Schedule May27-June27 July 8-August 7 Tun. I2M beginning KM. 6.-O0 beginning tM intermediate 7: JO intermediate 7.-.I0 beginning Thurs. 6.-00 intermediate 7:M beginning oatimioa irglslraftaa. for fun, flexibility, strength, endurance, concentration, relaxation, joy! if'' "
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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June 19, 1986, edition 1
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