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OmnibusThursday, October 13, 19889 Hanks stands up in Tu me nchl By RICHARD SWITH Staff Writer So. what has Tom Hanks been up to to warrant Rolling Stone and Newsweek cover stories In the space of just a few months? The short answer te he's made two excellent films. "Big," the delightful summer hit that proved that there was money in the new and already over-used large-man-in-a-small-boy's-body genre, has just crept over the $100 million mark at the box office. With David Seltzer's "Punchline," Hanks could be on his way to an Oscar nomination. it shouldn't be too much of a surprise, since Hanks has always been a very likeable actor even in his worst, most inconsequential movies ("Volunteers," "The Money Pit" and "Dragnet" are all exam ples). Hanks hasnt so much waded through this tripe as leapt, face smirking, over it. He has been likened to, among others, Jack Lemmon and Jimmy Stewart -the funny guys who make you care. With "Big," it all came together. He revealed hitherto unforeseen depths in his performance. There was no doubt that inside Hanks's body, there was an 11 -year-old Josh Baskin trying to get out The beauty of Hanks in "Punch line" is that his character is not a particularly likeable one. Steven Cold, a failed medical student, is a sloth he is selfish, miserable and supremely lonely. The only thing he has in his life is comedy. And he's darned good at it. All the comics at The Gas Station in Harlem where he performs, and in whose dank, low-light backstage much of the movie is set. know WHVC Top 20 -w- t. Feelies Only Life 2. Fishbone Truth and Soul 3. Billy Bra2 Workers' Playtime 4. Cocfeau Twins Blue Bell Knoll 5. Lloyd Cole Mainstream 6. Tom Waits Bte Time . 7. Siouxsieandfhe Peep Show Banshees S. Uarious Artists TH Things Are Brighter 9. Oream Syndicate Chost Stories 1 0. Jane's Addiction Nothings Shocking i 1 . Let's Active Every Dog Has Its Day 1 2. John Hiatt Slow Turning . 1 3. Red Larry. Yellow Nothing Wrong Larry 1 4. Toots Toots in Memphis 15. A.R.Kane 69 16. Rose of Avalanche in Rock 17 Screaming Tribesman Bones and Flowers VI 8. Ladysmith Black Journey of Dreams Mambazo 19. U2 Rattle and Hum 20; Mission of Burma Forget Mission of Burma that he's going to be the next big thing. Steven wants to be loved, but all he has to achieve this is the ability to make people laugh. But once they are laughing, he turns on them. He resents people who think he is nothing more than funny. "Is that a joke?" asks an uneasy talent scout after one of Steven's tirades. Later, he reveals "Nothing is a joke to me. That's why I do stand-up comedy." Writer-director David Seltzer has created a marvelously com plex character here, and Hanks performance in the role is nothing short of stunning. There are some wonderful set-pieces: Steven per forms at a New York hospital (Hanks is so natural here you suspect ifs ad-lib); he breaks down on stage when a talent scout comes to see him; and he performs a version of "Singing In The Rain" that is simply heart-wrenching (we watch it through a cafe window while he stamps, alone, in the deluge). Steven moves erratically from being abusive, to loving, to desper ate. "Funny Steve is going under," he says. He is so highly-charged, you just dont know what he could do next Sally Reld is Hanks' co-star, and gives a fine performance in a difficult role. As Lilah Krysick. Reld plays a woman who has to realize that she can change her circum stances. She has a talent to make people laugh, and she will do it with Steven's help. It sounds a bit ridiculous on paper, this woman who is a housewife and mother of three by day and a struggling comedienne by night. But Reld delivers. Her battle is a believable Tom Hanks stars one. Steven directs her talent, and unleashes a comic tour de force. "Punchline" is not devoid of problems, sometimes its emphasis is unclear; it is not always sure whose story it wants to tell. Occasionally, when it lifts itself above the individual stories of Steven and Ulah and ventures into what an important role comedy plays in all our lives, it becomes a little self-conscious, a bit preachy. For the most part, though, "Punchline" comes across as an accurate and eye-opening por trayal of real-life stand-up 15972 E. Franklin St. 1 A Private i i i i i " n " Come by and check out our complete remodeling! large bar dance floor two large-screen TVs all ABC permits C Thursday i$. (EGDnJLI 19 year Every Tuesday is FraternitySorority Nite! The Best in Progressive Music 24 oz. Draft only$ 1.00 Special!!! Memberships Only $3.00 wcollege ID thru 101588! r-ii non n-in-i vvv vrtxi yuiui lui ff as a starving stand-up comedian In "Punchline.' comedy. More than 20 professional comics worked on the film.- some as The Gas Station's regulars, some in supporting roles, others as trainers for Hanks and Reld (Hanks actually tested his material in Los Angeles comedy clubs). Seltzer chose the supporting comedians from a variety of styles and gave them a variety of talents: a bizarre singing nun: a Diana Ross imper sonator; a terrible, fat teacher whose history class thinks he's hilarious (but he isnt). It is a very real environment. There is a cameo by director Club for Members & Lr fts till ecbie Kfnas; olds admitted with college ID! 50tf Draft AllNite! Doors Open At 8:00 At - zt TVrrATPrD cutdc . curn atci uciaiu uii j.vai-.j.vxi j-.avijxxxx j oc kjx uvxrxJLio; Paul Mazursky ("Down And Out In Beverly Hills"), and an impressive performance by another director, Mark Rydeil ("On Golden Pond") as Romeo, The Gas Station manager, who's out to make stars of his comics (his "family") so he can rake in a few more bucks. For all the talents that make "Punchline" the cracker that it is, however, it is Hanks' movie. This is undoubtedly his year. He has proved more than ever that he is a man of many talents. His performance in "Punchline" is quite simply unmissable. CHAPEL HILL 929-0101 their Guests uj .u 11 V. .ViV-. v O- a ,. I i t il.nmim mm m t IT l T r t r.l.T. ' ' '.1.T,1.V tV.H !.UJ It f t I
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Oct. 13, 1988, edition 1
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