Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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) % Country fi appeals to Called Love I By J.E. WILLIAMS ^ Staff Writer jj I don't like country music. a My skin crawls and I cringe r( whenever I hear anything resembling a twang. e So, I was surprised when I i ^ wanted to see Peter e Bogdanavich's latest movie, t! "The Thing Called Love," e though not as surprised as my c Garth Brooks-loving girlfriend. t] After some initial trepidation, t I found the movie to be not only tolerable but toe-tappingly a enjoyable. n The story is bare enough. A e yuuug suigti-juiigwiiiti ?? a Nashville looks for fame and fortune but settles to sing one a song at the The Blue Bird Cafe, ^ an actual country music place. Making up for the simple plot are heartfelt performances by Samantha Mathis, Sandra Bullock and Dermot Mulroney. River Phoenix, I think, was supposed to be a co-lead, but his insincere performance and rocklike lip-synching to country lyrics - "your lyin', cheatin', dog-stealin', toe-suckin', bookreadin' heart" - make him seem ( like nothing more than a carica- 1 ture of a self-obsessed jerk. Mulroney's Boston wannabe i writer carries himself like a shy i hangdog, the perfect romantic foil to Phoenix's flashiness. He 1 seems perfectly morose in his ] physicality, a country song personified, but his childlike won- i der with the music capital balk - ' diel I i Apple 4180, E m ? lb get subs ers, there's one \ yours direct fror | 'MrnkbU to ipuilifyit lm fare non-fan aces it. Sandra Rnllock's rnnfidentlv itzy Linda Lue threatens to be a lereotype until she gives up the tie of Miss Nashville for fear f spending the rest of her life utting ribbons at the grand penings of Piggly Wigglys. She wests more than a helium voice nd vacant eyes in this showy 3le. More so than 1992's xploitative "Singles," "The Tiing Called Love" comes closr to representing twentysomehings with personalities and motions not so carelessly worn in sleeves. Maybe it has sometiing to do with the new country eing bigger than grunge. It would have been a nice ddition if Mathis and Mulroney net with some resistance to their nusic because their characters ire both transplanted Yankees. I wasn't as thrilled as other ludience members by the :ameos by country stars such as F T Oclin onH Tricha v. A . V/OIHI U1IU A I IvJIlU fearwood. I had no idea who hey were. The country music sn't so grating as to cause any iiscomfort. As a Southerner, it vas nice to see realistic Southerners on the screen as )pposed to teeth-sucking bigots ound in thoughtless movies ;uch as "Doc Hollywood." Unfortunately, "The Thing Called Love" will probably get ost at the box office like 'Singles" because of a marketing campaign that pidgeonholes it as a country music movie. See it before it fades away to video. It's cool to see people line dance on the big screen. Even though it's kind of corny. Not< nar&L L vA^lllA |wf 'J'' " n<b" " I 33 \uilt-in 10" Color Monitor & lie Keyboard II. $999 fantial savings on these Mae place you'll want to head for n Apple - and to find out ab< Contact US( To order direct fi and easy rg students. ?1993Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, th Carols RAHTf USC grad aims for By LEE CLONTZ Senior Writer Lake Murray is a long way from Hollywood a town of big budgets, big stars and high-teel special effects. Lake Murray still has a long way to go, but it i< taking a step toward becoming a movie Mecca. A small step, but who's counting? 1992 media arts graduate Jeff Miller is usin< Lake Murray as the setting for the new movit he is directing "Head Cheerleader, Deac Cheerleader." The movie, an ugly stepchild of "Night of the Living Dead" and "Hardbodies," is the creatior of Miller, who wrote the film during a week and-a-half period in May. "It's about a team of cheerleaders and thei: evil coach," he said. "They go on a retreat int( the woods, and the coach makes them conjun up the spirit of her dead husband." Of course, the zombie husband, hatchet ii hand, begins to chop up everyone in sight. Miller's production crew consists of abou five people or, in Miller's words, "whoever cai get off work and get over there." Miller got his start while young, drawing comic books and watchine movies. After writ ing several scripts, he came up with the stor> for "Head Cheerleader, Dead Cheerleader." "I had some free time, and it was either dc this or sit around," he said. "This is what I've always wanted to do, so I figured I'd do it." The budget ?"Ultra-low," Miller said ? was paid for primarily by Miller and friends. Miller said his influences are good, cheap horror movies much like the one he is trying tc make. "The first 'Halloween,' 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' 'Phantasm.' Those were movies thai played with people's minds," he said. "They were good, not just some dreck." Some of the movie's highlights, according tc Miller, are cheerleaders cheering around a pen tagram, girls in bikinis playing paintball and, ir what is sure to be a classic scene, the loppinc off of one of the coach's breasts. The unlucky recipient of this mammaria massacre is April Lynn Paris, an exotic dancei jvtti yi ?roffen The Environmental Forces That Arc Changing the Sahara Desert ^B !?<**? At filCtM* ts> llll %m t?* ?*> %?*4 <? -ST" H itrngit** Ut?t U>?* t*a4i ? 33^. ?- ^?<S H MNS? VXKO * Ittfc. I ??*?? 8i? - -7---. j.*i.i;-v SH ??w4 ?fw>H JjK vtfKtetteN ^S^JJ^^BBB|?S?s8 HBBIra&K*. v^IHBI H U fe?; tfc< ? *>*?.*? ? MKIRMMniy<M8trt? ] tfc* *?*?. aw>a*m->k> A*W?? <*?>? ?* ** w*a ? ? {?! ^B ?y*r ti? ctutvriM. Iff****, (? <cfa?* MV* c?mt4 > i *, ***; ** H-*i /t y-XV'J f Apple Macintosh LC 111 4/80, Apple Basic Color Monitor & Apple Keyboard II. $1313 intoshf personal comput- with tb : your telephone, lb order see you out easy student financing power r ^ Bookstore in the Russe rom Apple or to learn m financing - CALL 1-800e Apple logo, Macintosh and "The power to be your best " are registered trademarks of Af ja! tAfilfa big time with 'ultra1 IB ' \ J , Wjf\ \Jf * 9 i Makeup supervisor Michael Smith applies bl 1 ing of "Head Cheerleader, Dead Cheerleader.' at the Trophy Room and a men's magazine model. Paris, in her movie debut, is comfortable in front of the camera, having appeared on "Sally Jesse Raphael," "A Current Affair" and "The Joan Rivers Show." She has also appeared in such magazines as Gent, Hustler's Busty Beauties and Bust Out. Paris, who tours the country dancing, has been in the business for five years. "I basically did the movie for fun," she said. "I intend on doing a lot. I want to be successful in both movies and dancing and everything else I can. I guess I'm just greedy. "Sylvester Stallone started out in porno movies and look how he turned out," continued Paris, who has turned down roles in porn movies. Other actors include Bill Kealey, Amy Swain, Summer Still, Michele Willman and Amber Coker. Juedey Green, who is in this month's 1 issue of Playboy's Wet and Wild Women, also r makes an appearance. >ur local 5 reduct lis. * Apple PowerBook 145 Built-in Keyboard & Iff' Super Twist Monocbi Display. $134. e Apple? Computer Loan* ? call 1-800-8 r Apple campus representative today. Am nore college students choose. The power t ill House 777-7430 ore about Apple products 877-4433, ext. 40 >ple Computer, Inc. PowerBook is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Classic is a registered traderru iAARrgh! low budget' flick m iWL ' W/^: - ^St Photo courtesy of Dismembers Onty ood to Bill Kealey's shirt during the filmFilming is expected to end next week.. Miller said Dan Berman, a professor in the media arts college, was instrumental in helping him nurture his love of movies. Berman was supportive of Miller's effort. "I think what he is doing is great,'.' Berman said. "It takes tremendous courage. He is showing a lot of business savvy. You don't have to make great art to be successful in this business." Shooting on the film is set to conclude next week, with the movie ready for distribution, hopefully on video, by the beginning of 1994. Miller's next project, other than a script currently in negotiation, is a segment of "Freak Show," the follow-up to the horror anthology "Campfire Tales" produced locally several years ago. "We're trying to add production values to the " X/f;u or ooiH "Aft<?r oil thp hnttnm linp iiiuviw, lTiuivi ooiu. nnvi uii) v..v wiiv". *"-w is profit motive." Nubile young cheerleaders, zombies with hatchets and dismembered breasts. Production values indeed. Hollywood, here he comes. + ^ >" --- ions B 4/80, Backlit vme 2 77-4433, ext. 40. Or, d discover the ^ o be your best! w1. ; .