The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 08, 1974, Page Page 9, Image 9
A Review
'Uptown
Is Down!
By Terry Dugas
Gamecock Staff Writer
"Uptown Saturday Night
contains diamonds of comed
embedded in a field of crap. Th
problem is largely in the dire(
ting and acting of Sidney Poitie
'Boy Frie
By Terry I)ugas
Gamecock Staff Writer
For the fifth consecutive year
the University of South Carolin
Theatre has presented a musica
at Myrtle Beach during th
summer. In the past, Th
University Theatre has played i
safe withsuchwell established
musicals as "Annie Get You
Gun," "Oklahoma," an
"Showboat." This year
however, the Theatre decided t
go with a less well known thougl
critically acclaimed play, "Th
Boy Friend."
It is from this choice that th
problems besetting th
production stem. The plot i
simple, as befits a romanti
comedy. Polly Browne is a ric
young lady at Mne. Dubonnet':
Finishing School. Because sh
will. inherit a fortune from he
father, he has kept her awa3
from "philandering boys."
Consequently, she is the only gir
who does not have a boy friend ti
take her to the costume ball.
Enter Tony, a messenger boy
who is, in reality, the son of Lor<
Brockhurst. He and Polly fall it
LEATII
ludkets, ep
begs,
Also chss sets
weE bei
PAINTUNG L
ZUNI T
SILYVE:
~ Thev
which is as strained as my
metaphor. His directing is
consistently bad. He cannot
carry over his comic mood from
one sketch to another, so what
emerges is a series of very funny
episodes connected by a dull
story.
In the best comedy films, like
"Mash," a consistent level of
humor is maintained throughout
the film. It is not necessary for
the audience to laugh con- I
tinouously, but it helps if they
chuckle occasionally.
Poitier simply strings together t
very funny scenes of other people
with his own tepid comic talents.
He is completely outclassed by
his co-star, Bill Cosby. Cosby has 1
one of the finest senses of comic
timing in the business. In his
y scenes, the laughs follow one
e another in quick succession. On
the other hand, Poitier often
r forgets that the audience is going
rid' Needs
a
e
t
r
Christine Ranck and IIarold Stoci
s steps in a scene from the Sandy Wilso
I love and throughout the play are I
seperated through misun- I
derstanding and confusion.
r The first problem in the play is
that just about everyone has an
accent, either French or British.
I This makes the dialogue
uniformly difficult to understand.
In order to be understood, the i
actors and actresses strain their
I voices beyoind their normal i
range. The effect is irritating at I
med we hveutory
d froam Mexime
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to laugh and, consequently, runs
his comic lines and scenes intc
the preceeding one, thus
lessening the effect.
The basic premise is good.
F'actory worker Poitier and cat
:river buddy Cosby spend a night
3n the town at a super swank
gambling club, Madame
Zenobia's. While there, they are
robbed by four hooded theves
who steal, among other things, a
lottery ticket from Poitier worth
650,000. The remainder of the
ilm shows their search for he
hieves and the ticket.
It is in this search that the
;econd major failing of the film
)ccurs. Help is sought from a
iumber of people; Richard Prior,
Roscoe Lee Brown, Flip Wilson,
[larry Belafonte.andothers. With
such a star-studded cast, one
would expect a continuous series
Af agonizingly funny scenes, but,
)ecause of Poitier's slow-paced
Friends
ton execute tricky heel and toe
n musical "The Boy Friend."
)est. The second problem is that
he singing voices of the players
re, by far, the weakest part of
he show. In her opening song,
'The Boy Friend," Polly, played
)y Christine Ranck, is out
)rojected by both the orchestra
md the chorus. Her voice is lost
n the crowd.
The high point of the First Act
s a duet by Bobby, played by
tobert Ray, and Maisie, played
>y La Rue Alton. Bobby enters
peaking in an American accent
hat is a blessed*relief from the
oppressive accents of the main
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962 Harden SI er%s Irom irer
direction and episodic script,
what happens is that each comic
tries to out do the other.
Richard Prior is painfully bad
as Sharp Eye Washington, a
private detective whom Poitier
hires. Prior is overly frantic in
his acting and appears ridiculous
when contrasted with Cosby's
portrait of coolness.
Flip Wilson is largely wasted as
The Reverend, pastor of Poitier's
church" Poitier insists on using
clos .s of Wilson thus
destroying the effectiveness of
his hillarious body movements.
Wilson does shine, however, in
his sermon on the perils of "loose
lips."
Harry Belafonte shares with
Cosby the honor of being the
saving grace of the film. His
smooth imitation of Brando's
"Godfather" is a perfect contrast
to the frantic gangland struggle
that goes on around him con
cerning the ticket.
Throughout the film, Bill Cosby
August Ja
By Chuck
Gamecock St,
The August Jam Pop Festival
Charlotte Motor Speedway this Sa
was in doubt ten days because of a
Council to halt it by court injunct
The August Jam is to be the only
year. This festival is a direct offshc
Jam held last April in Southern (
Because festivals now appear to 1
August Jam will be the first major
Atlanta Pop Festival held in July
Sponsored by Big WAYS radio s
Productions Inc., and Beach Club Bi
rate entertainment. The Allman
Palmer; Eagles; Marshall Tucke
Daredevils will be featured. Other
Oak Arkansas; Grinder Switch
mediocre bands.
Tickets for the event are $12.00 ii
Advance tickets can be picked up at
The gates will open at 5:00 p.m. 1
will be 10:00a.m. Saturday. Wolfm.
W'th suci a bonanza of talent a
planning to attend, I became distres
be cancelled. After some phone <
determine the truth about the fest
The people in most metropolitan a
festival. Most of them fear that a fE
and that it will endanger the local re
Some residents say that it will cau
pillaged, and overrun "
Only one incident was needed to s
would cancel the event; and that ini
Russell outdoor concert at Memor
At that concert, a so-called "long
killed an old and well-respected sc
From this account all hell broke
honchos of Calarrus County imm(
getting an injunction to stop the A
The injunction claimed that from
would attend the "Jam" and that
extraordinary burden on county h
Stan Kaplan, president of Chari
promoting and co-sponsoring the ev
saying, "We'll be damn lucky to gel
has hurt ticket sales."
Kaplan also said no more than 11,
initially predicted a crowd of 70,0(
At a district court hearing held las
*the main issue centered on whethe
when concerned with private prop
The injunction sought to proti
nuisance." However, the hearing ri
the injunction only covered concer
concern events held on private p
With regard to security, Kaplan
security force of 500 off duty police
handle the crowds.
Kaplan also said "the police are
are to keep order on private propert
He added that he was paying thi
Lake, and Palmer $100,000 each t
Phil Frazier, head of ticket sales
he will continue to sell advance tick<
Presently, he has sold 600 of his
Frazier says he can get more if nece
is cancelled, he will refund the ticke
If you can go to the Jam, do soI
major one around here for years.
fnrthcoming review.
rescues scenes from mediocrity
fostered by Poitier's lack of
comic talent. Cosby's first ap
pearance on the screen, driving a
cab, invokes howls of laughter
from the audience. His fight
sequence with Little Seymour
and Big Percey is the comic high
point of the film.
In a film that has so many
comic actors trying to out clown
each other, Cosby's zesty but
restrained acting is most ef
fective. When Cosby is not
featured, the film and the
audience sit and wait for
something to happen.
Despite Poitiers' bland acting
and soberly paced direction, the
film reaches several high points
of comedy, largely due to
Belafonte and Cosby. It is funny
at best, and dull at worst, but we,ll
worth the cost of admission. The
film is good, Cosby is excellent
and in the hands of a comic
director like Richard Lester, it
could have been brilliant ,
n Still On
Cromer
iff Writer
is still scheduled to go on at the
turday. The future of the concert
n attempt, by the Calarrus County
ion.
major pop festival in the South this
ot of the very successful California
.alifornia.
>e sound financial investments, the
pop festival in this area since the
1970.
tation of Charlotte, Kaleidoscope
oking Inc., the Jam will offer first
Brothers', Emerson, Lake, and
r Band; and the Ozark Mountain
bands that will appear are Black
Foghat, and several other similar
i advance and $15.00 at the gate.
Taylor Street Pharmacy.
Friday, and the first performance
in Jack will be the MC.
t one event and since I had been
sed to hear that the festival was to
:alls and research, I was able to
ival.
reas are against any type of music
!stival crowd cannot be controlled
sident's safety. *
se their property "to be damaged,
et off a series of legal hassles that
:ident came on July 20 at the Leon
ial Stadium.
haired freak" allegedl;" shot and
!curity guard.
loose. The businessmen and head
diately sought and succeeded in
ugust Jam.
100,000 to 250,000 rock music fans
"the concert goers would put an
salth and security departments."
)tte radio station WAYS which is
ent, disputes the crowd predictions
50,000 to 70,000. All this legal talk
000 tickets have been sold. He had
10 to 110,000.
;t Wednesday to decide the matter,
er or not the injunction was legal
erty.
act the county from a "public
led against the county saying that
ts held on public land and did not
roperty.
said that he had hired an extra
amen and a medical staff of 26 to
not there to arrest anyone. They
y: the Speedway).
e AlIman Brothers and Emerson,
o perform at the festival.
at Taylor Street Pharmacy, says
ats for the Jam until the 9th.
1,000 allotted tickets. However,
ssary. If by some chance the Jam
t holders' money.
ecause there may not be another
f you can't make it, then read nour