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Ameri< By David Baker Gamecock FMm Critic Look through the theatre section of any large city newspaper. Chances are good that a hefty percetage of the movies playing will be R or X rated. Sex sells. It always has and probably always will. BUT IF YOU look at those advertisements a second time, you'll realize that all of them exnloit onlv ( J women's bodies. There hasn't been a major film dealing with the exploitation of a man since Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard thirty years ago. And since the exploitation of the William Holden character wasn't of a distinctly sexual nature, Paul Schrader's American Gigolo can be regarded as the first film to explore the 1 PW^fl! iffliB Klw ,#. . MdHH K .3MBBTO- |n^ ii. J&aku z ? i 13B5 v}. ' JgB^r'vc'rJ^p77 An intimate momer Sha Na r By Ed Herd Gamecock Staff Writer There are many groups whose st often as the year, but this is certair with Sha Na Na. During their many they have refused to conform to the c music and have continued to offer tl Hock n' Roll. At the Coliseum Tue screaming crowd demanded this a responded with a stunning night of mi THE OPENING GROUP, Sam and at best a mediocre performance, quickly forgotten the moment that 5 the stage. . During the first half of their pe BK^pagi^8^B|^^#^^^^pT'' {j > Rum Members of Sha Na Na perfori at the Coliseum. :an Gig inner workings of a male prostitute. Of course, Schrader's gigolo is no run-of-the-mill hustler. Julian Kay (Richard Gere) is supremely handsome, well-mannered and polite, but he also speaks, he says, five or six languages, and he arrives for his $1,000 tricks driving a black Mercedes convertible and wearing clothes by Giorgio Armani. AND THE TRICKS which aren't arranged by Juilan's madam, he plcksup in only the best of places: Chasen's, Ma Maison and the Polo Lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Indeed, the finery of Julian's <m\. ^ m "'in 3 m mP - i . ,..v ttin 'American Gigolo' Va brings songs played we . . with very few tl yle changes as ticipation. Song: V not he Cfse Goes My Bab . years together Hote,.. Jvere ^ Hanging naes 01 was only a sign ne same sound . Bowser provoke sday night, the with his foolish ? nd Sha Na Na excellent stage s isic. One of the th Dave, provided "Monster Mash but they were Frankenstein an Sha Na Na took 0f the Silvery production took rformance, the where Sha Na N of excellent cho like "Chantilly "Summertime" top forty today. THE LAST / famous "Dane* participation cai as three local n with feeling JgJEEBfi and their fans, H( the show, Sha ] olo' sat surroundings alone is enough t make the more materialisti among us (myself included) war to see American Gigolo severa times. But Schrader has been shrew* enough to realize that not everyon is interested in watching a paradi of designer clothes or a travelogu* of famous Hollywood watering holes. For that matter, there aren' a great many who'll pay $3.50 t< watch a gigolo at work. With those facts in mind, Schrader, who wrote as well as directed the film, placed Julian in two very sticky situations, both of which make-for good dramatics: 1) He's falling in love with the wife of a legislator (Lauren Hutton), and 2) he's being framed for the brutal murder of a former (and very kinky) trick. WITH SEX FLAYING sucn a vital part in the scenario, Schrader also realized that the film was going to need a good bit of nudity to hold on to the people who came only to see such, but that the nudity could not be crudely done, for it would then be out of place and would probably alienate more viewers than it would titillate. Thus, flashes of skin are sprinkled throughout the film, hut none of the shots are of a sleazy nature. Few are even erotic, as Schrader discreetly cuts away oeiore a great deal of sexual tension has time to build up. His treatment of sex in such an elegant manner may very well lead to a wave of glossily-produced softcore films to take the place of those smarmy exploitation pictures that one usually finds playing at driveins. ; back gc re done in a purely musical manner leatrics and minimal audience par? such as "Yakketv Yak " "Therp ' "Splish Splash," and "Heartbreak ;eived with typical cheers, but this of things to come. It was not until ;d the audience to become involved mtics that the band exploded with an how. iree major productions played, the Medley," included an appearance by J r-v I 1 1- -r " - u jlti <tv;uict ctnu a soio 01 ny me L.ignt Moon" sung by Igor. The second . the audience to New York City, a had their beginnings. With the help reography, this medley made songs Lace," "RCin Around Sue," and come alive as if they were still on the iNI> MOST enjoyable set was the b Contest" medley. The crowds' me to a climax during this production women got the chalice to become 1 dance with Donny, Denny and ner of the contest, a 1969 graduate of High School, won an embarassing ather heavyset Lenny. i Na Na's music is melodic, the lost of their songs seems to be the plied by the drummer, Jocko, and the Chico. The rhythmic beat found in "Teen Angel" and "Stand By Me" lol a mot' rv >ui Mi?iiv/o|iiicic in wniuii uenny snu most of their response from the ee. Although most of the people inype of response were young, older in bobby socks, pony tails and letter heir tact and weight advantage to of various items that Sha Na Na's out during the concert. fOMENT of introduction to the final ident that Sha Na Na's fans could be stinct groups: the screaming high per who idolized the ten-piece band, ged adult who came to the concert to o the golden days of Rock 'n' Koll. es and a rush of people onstage after Na Na certainly provided an enhat does indeed take you back to the by socks and grease. For Sha Na Na >ck 'n' Roll is here to stay. 11 9 0 film (he previously directed Blu< c Collar and Hardcore, as well ai it writing the screenplays for Tax il Driver and Obsession, and in sucl a brief career,, his stylisti< d precision is quite shocking. e e THE COLOR SCHEME of Gigolo e continually changes from one rich 1 hue to another, but Schrader keeps t them intertwined by his use of light > passing through, of all things, Venetian blinds (one such shot makes up the film's poster and ad campaign). The only real problems in the film are concentrated near the end. Just as in all of Schrader's works, he gets so wraoDed ud in telling the story well that he Richard Gere and Lau Aden agt iQ ' , >v^B The infamou idience 2 doesn't give himself enough time s to get his characters out of their i respective predicaments with l much believability. Hardcore was 3 destroyed by its shot-in-the-dark ending, but Gigofo's denouement is not so unbelievable, as several of the plot's angles and many of Julian's convictions point to it well in advance. What's disorienting is that the ending seems to have been telescoped down from an hour's running time to about 15 minutes. But since the rest of the film is so faultlessly executed, I'm not going to take issue with the quickie ending. Honestlv. I can't rwoll o v , - ? wuii ? A lilt I wherein every technical aspect fit so well together and so well with See ijfgofo page 9 mBBBBk jflflHBf yon Hutton on screen ? of rock Jr ** I^BHt if ' hHgon/ W ' ^p^^pllpSSp; | s 'Bowser' ". -. ' . *, '*/ . '*. *, \ - .*, ,-t%t it l4 <V * 'i 4 * *> <. v '# ?. > & / r ' <''*' ?.I4