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Ententi No'iv By Peggi M Staff Wr Members of the audience of treated to a sharp performance o the USC Cultural Series has pres< The interweaving of comedy a of Thomas "Fats" Waller is a f bination of performers. Within members of the cast delivers hi such as "Honeysuckle Rose" ar Now." There is no star of thh performers' talent gives "Am' animation, and color. MICHELE MCCAIN became bumped and shook her way t Adjora Faith McMillan added al one could hope for. The dancing delight, especially in "The Vipei favorites. Each performer's dominant si to the show. Clent Bowers for th for the show, also established 1 version of "Your Feet's Too Big Nealy roused the audience into s "Fat and Greasy." For the most part, the show w occasionally interspersed love pany's "Black and Blue" was a olaced before the finale. Anotl was McCain and Mary Davis' "1 the cast had not won everyom finished the job. Melvii By David Baker Film Critic Reviewing Jonathan Demme's "Melvin and Howard" nrpssnts a problem not usually associated with the writing of this column. If I say I was profoundly disappointed by the film, people might stay away from it and that's the last thing I want to have happen. But diasppointed I was. The picture was named Best Picture of 1980 by the National Society of Film Critics and has received several other accolades, most all of which are undeserved. "Melvin and Howard" is a nice "little" movie, faintly reminiscent of such sleepers as "Breaking Away" and Demme's own "Uiuzen s Banc!, ' dui ma is all it is. It's hardly the be-all and end-all of moviemaking and anyone going to the theater expecting some sort of religious experience from it is bound to be shattered. THE CLEVER, but misconceived screenplay by Bo Goldman deals with perennial loser Melvin Dummar (Paul LeMat), his alleged meeting with Howard Hugos and Mo mo vio ' 'Meivin and Ho w< ainmer lisb* orrow K?r ''Ain't Misbehavin'" were f one of the best productions in ted. nd dance into the fine music >erfect vehicle for this comthe show each of the five is rendition of "Fats" songs id "Keepin' Out of Mischief 3 show. The union of these t Misbehavin"' its variety, i a key to comedy as she hroughout the show; wtyle 11 the enthusiasm and energ> xjv:U r% :^ ui miuuii waig i\eaiy was a r's Drag," one of the crowd's tyle added a distinct element e most part the straight mar himself as a comic with his In his next number, he anc ringing and clapping along tc CIS upucdl dMU UVCIJf, W1U1 dl i song. However, the com poignant piece strategically ler piece worthy of mentioi Find Out What They Like." I j over already, this nunibei W ? n,nG Howard Hughes (Jasor Robards), and the sub sequent discovery of a wil naming Dummar as a $154 million heir to the Hughe estate. The movie begins, nor mally enough, whei Dummar finds the ireezmi Hughes alone in the deserl He picks the old man up gives him a coat and a lift t Las Vegas. But instead c telescoping the time betwee their meeting to the time c Hughes' death, Goldma concentrates on wha happens to Dummar in th interim. The discovery of th will and the ensuing leg] battles are treated almost a an afterthought. The only thing gained t centering on this part < Melvin's life is that we'i given a chance to meet h a : TIL_ t iwu wives, iiic niai, u^iw. (Mary Steenburgen), almost as big a loser f Melvin, whom she ten porarily abandons for career as a go-go dancer. After a divorce, remarriage, a second chi and a winning appearan< on a television game sho\ Lynda divorces Melvin f< good and he then marri< fi - tvin Dummar, a loser, < ard." ehavi f < _ mi 11 ii i jmIPS t iBWBBM 1 vJ# i ^HH|g gjg > ^ ff-W i THE ONLY PROBLEM with t - system. The voices had a tinn; r nrnhlflme in unHprctnririiricr thp \ i quality of sound worked againsl f the production much. r The talent in this show did n< musicians, the set design, and tl ward i 5 5 V r rt/a i/<* ili (VIary oivaiivuijjktu fstay* ,* >y who has a short career as a Bonnie (Pamela Reed), who is institutes a change of la Hughes, "Melvin and js Howard" is a bit of a cheat. IS n- The performances, a though, are wonderful, especially Steenburgen's. She alone is responsible for a the movie's two funniest Id scenes: Lynda winning :e $10,000 on the game show v, and Lynda quitting her ar dancing job, taking off her es skimpy costume and J^jjl -1* so-star in Jonathan Damna's 9 0 j nint lif j&M he show concerned the sound th y sound which caused some el vords of a few numbers. This sii the singers, but did not mar bi 3t stop with the singers. The fii le lighting assisted in making er drab nl S -1 ?9 S |&8 '-HE;:1 IHHv^:v' :J : : :': x . 1 lefvin Dammar's first wife ) go-go dancer. walking out of the club stark naked. j Aside from my feelings about the thrust of Goldman's screenplay being misguided, the main reason why I can't join the critical concensus on "Melvin and Howard" is that I dislike Demme's style of direction. HIS QUIVERING, hand/tn*viA?*a oU/\fp molrA ma liciu Lcaiucia ouuio uiaivv mv, dizzy, while the sweeping movements and selected overexposures he uses seem to me out of place in anything but a war movie, a genre he has yet to tackle. But "Melvin and Howard" | is sufficiently off-beat to morif itc fuiirid conn unH tlio I? ?V MVIIIg kJVVII MIIV4 VI IV work of the actors only reinforces that fact. So the word from here is "go," even though I'm sure that m anyone who does so will have completely forgotten that he did a month from now. ^ mere s simpiy noining in P this movie to stick to one's memory for more than a few f hours after having seen it. But the feelings it induces ^ are good while they last and that's more than can be said for most of Hollywood's latest offerings. r;..is.... - hissl HK3H1 t \ mBKBNSBbbBBBUI is a stylish, crisp performance. ements helped set an appropria milar to that of a nightclub. "Ain't Misbehavin"' was one o ans have had a chance to see f *st class music, dance and corned itertainment. C ouyuuu buy a st By Jim Poin Staff Wri The nice young man in the bli an Aqua-Fresh smiie and introc Brand X. today's house spe< sits on a shelf surrounded by i Your eyes are dazzled by the 2 table, cassette deck, ana noor s Have you been taken by a : jockey? Is Brand X the system ACCORDING TO an em Distributors, you have been tal system you need. "Nation-wide, ninety-perceni il i 1 11 ft* i ? .1 menarasen, nesaiu. Paul Whitten, general mar agrees. "Big chain stores and disc mass-marketed products sold nothing about the product," he: THERE ARE MANY pro! buying stereo equipment. Har< just one of the many and perha Be wary of anyone pushing a pa he's been told to get that syj names are important but not ponents. An excellent piece of under a relatively obscure nar advisors, not hard-sell magicia amount of money you want \ equipment you need. How mucl Once these decisions have be parison shopping to familiarize Whitten firmly believes in cor we encourage people to sno to appreciate a good system," h "People have the idea if th they're going to pay more. This better equipment usually does cheaper equipment. A specialty lot of trouble," he added. SPEAKERS ARE perhaps th nurrhatp nppnrHino tn Whittpn f*" O "Speakers are the most cri You're better off having less speakers," he said. Most dealers suggest listenin than electronic music when try They generally agree that elec indicator. Electronic music is i? ,.r u UCI let 111 ctlllilUlll Ul U1MUI IIUII, II clear sound. Vocalists' recc compare speakers, according t< "Very few people hear good a but everyone hears the hui recommend such vocalists as Taylor. These recordings alio1 sound of the speakers," he said j WHITTKN SAYS if the speak then the reproduction of the in also. He warns against spea speakers with a booming bass. ' .' ... . how The combination of these te mood for the show, one f the finest shows Columor awhile. The mixture of ly was a welcome source of jant to ereo? dexter ter \ ie Spandex suit flashes you iuces you to Brand X. cial in stereo components, in array of flashing lights, shiny black receiver, turnpeakers. smooth talking sales floor you really need? ployee of Hi-Fi Sound ten, and Brand X is not the t of the salespeople are on lager of Upstairs Audio, :ount houses are offering by salespeople who know said. )lems encountered when d-selling floor jockeys are ps the most easily avoided, rticular brand. Ten to one, item off the shelf. Brand essential in stereo comequipment can be bought ne. Salespeople should be ns. Decide for yourself the :o spend and the type of h does music mean to you? sen made, do some comyourself with the market, nparison shopping. j p around so they can learn e said. lj ey go to a specialty shop I > is generally not true. The I n't cost anymore than the | v shoo can save somponp a I e most important part of a tical part of the system, er electronics and better g to acoustic music rather ing out a pair of speakers, tronic music is not a good usually produced with a lerefore not allowing for a trdings are excellent to sWhitten. I icoustic music all the time, nan voice everyday. We Neil Diamond and James w you to pick up the true ;er reproduces vocals well, struments should be good, kers that sound boxy, or see Stereo, page 9