The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 08, 1981, GAMECOCK THURSDAY, Page Page 6, Image 6
Entertainr
Reynoh
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By DOUG BELL
film Critic
Burt Reynolds as a New
Yorker? It would take an
exceptional script and
director to surmount such
_ 1 1 1! A 1
aosuru casting. Ana
Paternity doesn't have
either.
What Burt's latest pic
ture does have is a
promising premise. A
successful bachelor, 44, is
determined to insure his
immortality by having a
son. Uninterested in
marriage, he hires a
"surrogate mother" to help
him conceive and deliver
the heir. Supposedly a
strict business partnership,
their relationship is at first
hostile, but blooms into
love during the course of
the pregnancy. Ernst
Lubitsch or Preston
sturges might have made a
masterpiece from such a
story. But director David
Steinberg simply lacks the
comic inventiveness and
control needed to make the
wackiness work.
A good portion of
Paternitv is ronoprnpd
with Burt's quest to find the
right girl. Lauren Hutton
and Elizabeth Ashley are
runner-ups, but he finally
chooses Beverly D'Angelo
(Patsy Cline in Coal
Miner's Daughter), who
needs the money to continue
her education. As
part of the contract, Burt
forces the pregnant
jl> Angeio to iouow a strict
diet, schedule, etc., while
he maintains his old
bachelorhood ways.
D'Angelo, finally infuriated
by his behavior,
?11
I Enter a ne
world of i
The atmospl
? the perfect setl
cocktails! And w
offers a variety
will enjoy. Po
! j Discover Jul
H it's the kind of rest:
jzij want to come ba<
gj 1325 Garner Lane <
I 5900 Garner's Ferry 1
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nent
Is T ries
Change
runs out on him. Predictably,
absence causes Burt
to realize his love for her
and they exchange
marriage vows en route to
/lAltitAmr
urc uciivci y iwiii,
THE FILM'S most
distressing problems are
the result of a poor script
(by Charlie Peters). The
dialogue is limp and the
scenes are hopelessly
shapeless. There is a sense
of insecurity about the film
? as if the actors and
Hirwtnr aro awnrp rtf thp
material's shortcomings
and thus respond to it halfheartedly,
perfunctorily.
The jokes range from
tedious (the old drooping
plant gag) to cute (the last
shot), but most of them
sadly fall in the former
category.
The characters are
irksomely depthless. All we
i _ r n i J - ?
Know 01 rt, e y n u i u 5
character is that he is
successful at his job
(manager of Madison
Square Garden) and that
he wants a son. The movie
never offers a hint as to
why he can't sustain a
lasting relationship with
women or why his friends
(Norman Fell, Paul
Dooley) call him a "cold
fish." J
"Paternity" suggests
that Burt Reynolds is at
tempting to shake off his
redneck image by playing
in a smart, fashionable,
expensive-looking comedy.
But compare 4 Paternity"
to such pungent, juicy
trash as 14 White Lightnin' *'
(1973) and it is clear that
Burt is headed in the wrong
direction.
?
laveFun,?]
joy I
i
w wonderful f I
excitement. Jj
iere is different !
linK for your favorite | !
hat food! The menu ! I
that all the familv hi
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pular prices, too. ?
ie's Place soon j j
aurant that makes you , |
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Columbia 798-7455 j
fcf. Columbia 783-4211 |
unch. Dinner, Cocktails I
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By CHRIS]
Bool; (
Mazes and Monsters by E
escapism.
Specifically, it's about e
imagination with the aid of ;
called "Mazes and Monsters.'
Robbie are the players who 1
xz
i IV
By HARVEY MERRETT
and SUSAN CARTWRIGHT
Stiff Writgri
It's time to take your
television sets out of storage
as the 1981-82 season finally
gets underway. After a
month's delay, caused by the
writers' strike, the networks
once again claim to offer
better quality programming.
Well, we don't know about
the quality but because of
the antics of the Moral
Majority ^uoaiuion i?or
Better Television), the
networks are offering less
sex and more violence.
Sexist shows such as
"Soap" and "Charlie's
Angels" have been cancelled
and the networks are relying
on yesterday s stars to till
the void. Returning are
Lome Greene in "Code
Red," Mike Connors in
"Today's FBI," James
Garner in "Bret Maverick"
and Lee Majors in "The Fall
"f ""COM!
I I4K GOLD SA
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FROM
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Ar tin
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At The Jewelry
j i 2909 Piatt Springs Rd., W
"II I Mor? Than Ju?l Ani
y&SBK Educational Canter
TEST PREPARATION
SPECIALISTS SINCE 1936
For Information About Other Center* In
Outside NY State CALL T
am
.offec
HANDAL
:fWc
lona Jaffe is a book about
scape into the realm of
a fantasy role-playing game
" Kate, Jay Jay, Daniel and
moat aanh nirrVit tr? Hn Ktottlo
IIVVV vuvu iu^iiv vu uv h/OWlV
Tidbits
Guy." Also, Kevin Dobson in
"Shannon," Rock Hudson in
"The Devlin Connection'r
and Robert Stack in "Strike
JL* U1 CC .
Although comedy shows
are still in abundance on the
screen, it's obvious that
violent dramas have
returned. Maybe next year
the Coalition can boycott
violence on television.
ON TAP TONIGHT: Aside
from regular programming,
baseball fans can catch the
National League division
playoffs and Loretta Swit
fans won't want to miss
"Cagney & Lacey," a CBS
Special Movie Presentation.
RUMOR ROOM: Gary
Coleman can't be seen on the
set of "Diff'rent Strokes"
because he is not there.
Seems Gary is having a
salary dispute and Tandem
Productions has decided to
proceed without him.
EARRINGS | !
??
FROM M
$|000 I
I Size i |
'Warehouse fi
. Cola. 9 til 6 Mon. Sat. j ;
other Jewelry Store"
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?c. 5, 198! [I
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22JI Devin* Street.
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Mor? Than 85 Major US Cities A Abroad
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tist Novel
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against all manner of creatures. The reward for their trials is
treasure.
But the monsters, the dangers and tb? treasures are all
make-believe. The game is their release for the monsters
that confront them in the real world of college. So far, there is
no problem, but as time goes on the game becomes an obsession
and the caverns near campus become a temptation to
our young adventurers. @
THESE ARE the elements that Jaffe uses to spin her tale of
suspense and romance. This novel should be of particular
interest to college students because it concerns them. Jaffe
paints a fairly realistic picture of college life and of the fears
and hopes that are part of the college experience. And she
creates these images in a way that demands very little from
the reader other than his time.
With this easygoing style, Jaffe is able to convey her point,
about the thin line between fantasy and reality, to the reader.
By not challenging the reader to think she allows them to
think. This might seem a ludicrious statement, but it really
isn't. Jaffe does such a fine job of mirroring college life in the
book, the reader finds he is nroiectinc himself into the storv A
Jaffe's characters are appealing as well as realistic, and this
invites reader identification.
Mazes and Monsters does have its disquieting features
though. The fictional game that Kate, Jay Jay, Daniel and
Robbie play is based on a real game called "Dungeons and
Dragons" that is now an obsession with many people. A
friend of mine at another college told me it is not unusual to
see students stagger into the cafeteria for breakfast having
spent the whole night engrossed in a game of "D & D," as it
is called by fanatics of the game.
THIS REALISTIC base for Mazes and Monsters gives the _
book its chilling effect. The novel truly makes the reader w
think, "this could really happen."
Jaffe blends the story's realistic base with the novel's
fictional elements to deliver a book that amuses, saddens,
and entertains. Mazes and Monsters may be merely light
reading, but the time spent with it will not be wasted.
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