Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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i\ f r M Btfl W \ 1 \ MMnllSI T. Reed, Pleshette and Deluise Deluise's 'Hot Stuff is genuinely funny By David Baker uomecocK mm Untie Based on actual police cases, Dom DeLuise's Hot Stuff is a cops-androbbers comedy with some delightfully original twists As the film opens, it seems that Miami is being overrun by crooks, but the city's police department can't get the evidence needed to convict more tham a small percentage of them. To erase this problem, four officers (DeLuise, Suzanne Fleshette, Jerry Heed and Luis Avalos) set themselves up in a phoney fencing operation and record every illicit purchase on video tape. After enough evidence has been collected to convict more than 170 thioimc Hnl llicn 'inrl I I : ~ l? .. ?1 I v>iivfvo, ivv-uuiov. diivi vwiiijaiu^v uiviicciiiwi uici.'iiiiiiii<ii?>iuct mariK-you party where they intend to arrest them. In the middle of the festivities, however, Maf ia men arrive and crook*, and cops must join forces to oust the unwanted crime barons. DeLuise directs the action in much the same manner as his mentor, Mel Brooks, might have done. This is to say if there's a pratfall to be taken or an insult to be spoken, DeLuise is going to make good use of it This fact, coupled with the genuinely humorous material (written byMichael Kane and Donald E. Westlake) and the refreshingly fine acting of the entire cast, makes Hot Stuff very funny stuff. The film's only major problem is its poor production values. The best example of its techincal shoddiness comes in the scene wherein DeLuise and Heed are trying to dispose of a bombthey've mistakenly assumed 4. _ L _ I r - ? iu ue a uox 01 cigars. Reed eventually tosses the mechanism out the back door, where it accidentally lands in the front seat of his 1979 Trans-Am. Just before the explosion, the camera cuts to a different angle of the car. During the split-second between the two shots, however, the auto mysterioulsy turns into a pre-1977 model Trans-Am that isn't even the same shade of blue as the one Heed has been driving throughout the film's first half. It's hard to overlook such extreme cheapness, especially when nothing much is done to cover it up. Maybe if Hot Stuff becomes a hit, DeLuise will be given an adequate budget for his next project. If the man can make a movip thi<; funnv nn a chnoctt M i;l-? - * ,7 M Uiivvoii X V* III\t IU OCC W 1 Id L lie could do with money to burn. hkf*> mm >:K j ^ 1 ^ m, JB ^ ~ BL I > ESBBB&sSSfpX&EB^H nHflHe Ritter, Busby and Scheel Dumb 'Americathon' J J f i * is aejinneiy trash Bv David Baker Gamecock Film Critic Neil Israel's Americathon is the sleaziest piece of cinematic trash to disgrace the nation's theatre screens in a long, long time. Set in 1998, the futuristic satire stars John Ritter as Chet Roosevelt, the newly-elected President of the United States, and Harvey Korman as Monty Rushmore, America's favorite television personality. The gist of the story concerns Roosevelt's dilemma of having to pay off the $400 billion national debt in 30 days. The idea he ultimately comes *? i?i,i - *. ^ ... up wiui is IU nuiu a leieinon, wun Kusnmore as its host. Unfortunately, Israel never capitalizes on anv of the onmir mvsiihiiit ioc cnnh o etnpu ^ - ? rwWM.M..?v?vO il M QWI J holds. Americathon was created by the same people responsible for 1976's Tunnelvision, including Israel, producer Joe Roth and coscripter Michael Mislove, but it isn't even as funny as that misfired bomb. The movie panders solely to anti-establishment, pot-headed tAnnnrfnrc on/4 in ca /Jai n rf 1 - 1 *'1 iwiagtio, cii.u ??? ov uv?.i(s aucnuics ciiinuM everyone eise. l ne turns script serves only as the string that holds together a seemingly endless array of the most insulting jokes I've ever heard. Americathon's other major flaw is that 11 tries very hard to look like a television show, even though television serves as the target of much of us saure. i ne eireci 01 sucn increciioie piomng is that the film seems to be attempting to disgrace itself, which is the only thing it ever succeeds in doing. f f A A f .a./vMn4 ftV%/\irt/k iU!,. ? * - * ii /\ mencainon ij>ii i uic muvii: i v<- uhj, year, 11 s certainly first runner-up. Let the T-Shirt Factory get things off your mind and on your chest. We print shirts for groups, clubs, organizations, and businesses as well as individuals 1 EXPRESS YOURSELF WITH A T-SHIRT FROM I THE T-SHIRT FACTORY. I I AMM bie. vellow housp! I Coming back to school means a vicih fho M^fiBGnNSSra^/'^iiKl I yellow house on Devine. Formerly Z. Whitten, ;:;' ?-- I Round Robin rnntinup<; n marvelous blend of traditional and designer. | Sporty or elegant, classic or the latest in women's wear, Round Robin ^ S dresses you beautifully. I Julie wears an | ^bmHSBS^H pii?? t l*nt11 nu*. y iui iicnccK, | ' ' ii woman's shop. ^ p i\ i\ in\ ml>ix Q KViaiNI on Devine ' ~ ? - _ ^ _r\0 ttKT-/hirt*~ FACTORy 808 HARDEN STREET COLUMBIA. SC 29205 j 803 254-4807 ffly " ''InB