The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 02, 1999, Page Page 5, Image 5
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'Ed' not mt
'Truman'
by Kenley Young
Gamecock Critic 1/2 out of four '^8
if * ;
In Ron Howard's "EDtv," a young M
video store clerk named Ed (Matthew
McConaughey) is chosen to "star" in a I
24-hour television show chronicling his &.
life.
Sounds a lot like "The Truman
Show," right? Well, not exactly. While
"The Truman Show" examines the futility
of a manufactured existence and
ultimately extolls the virtues of the visceral,
imperfect real world, "EDtv" explores
the boob tube's shameless pandering
to society's morbid fascination ||fl
with famous figures.
The problem? Woody Allen did it
better in "Celebrity." Nevertheless,
"EDtv" has a few things going for it that
"The Truman Show" lacks. Elizabeth
Hurley is the first thing that comes to
mind, not only because she plays a
supermodel named Jill and is taped in
a provocative sexual encounter with
Ed, but... well... so maybe that is the
only reason. Matthew McCor
And as chauvinistic as it sounds, niVftrsal p cture
sexuality and romance are what "The the throats of eve
Truman Show" is missing. Truman has audience membei
only a vague semblance of sentiment But "EDtv's"
for a woman he once loved, but any mo- true redemption,
ments of actual tenderness and electric fightful as Shari,
chemistry must have ended up on Pe- good-hearted lovi
ter Weir's cutting room floor. the audience is
"EDtv" also has Ronnie Howard in Wondv Harrelsor
its corner, who is the consummate artist as Ed's promiscu<
when it comes to evoking tenderness nancially and mon
and chemistry. Howard has an uncan- who thinks he can
ny knack for wringing the sap from the found fame. Ell
most contrived and rehashed scripts, creative force bel
catching the runoff and pouring it down the performance i
-m ? *
* a /^(
after last Co.
by Marcus Amaker
Albert Hill will rock Columbia for the last time this
weekend. The Spartanburg band is breaking up after a
prolific career that produced several tapes and CDs, an
extremely loyal following and a reputation as one of the
best bands in the state.
A live Albert Hill show has a little bit of everything.
Lead singer Aaron Whisnant, bassist Chris Francisco,
drummer Kenny Hogan and keyboardist Robbie Bowen
will have a lot of material to choose from when they perform
Saturday night Their latest CD, The AU-for-Me Theology,
contains fen favorites like "Realigning" and "Commander
Nude," which are brought to new heights in a
live setting. They'll also do songs from their earlier albums,
Fistunderfinger and Machine Called Company.
These two CDs displayed Albert Hill's more aggressive
and energetic side, with songs such as "Impressed," "So
the Row," "U.V." and "Rotten" staples of their live set.
mEuL ^jS0SBHT^4
91 ?
Albert HIR, left to right: Aaron Whlsnant (guitar, voc
(drums) and Chris Francisco (bass, backing vocals).
People's Poe
by Beth J. Harpaz
Assoriatfrl
New York ? Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" will be read
in a cemetery, rappers will hold a war of words and cowboy
poets will sing their songs.
There will be an open mike for poets seeking fame, and
readings by those who've found it: Pulitzer Prize winner
Galway Kinnell, "Iron John" author Robert Bly and U.S. Poet
Laureate Robert Pinsky.
All the above will unfold at the People's Poetry Gathering,
April 9 to 11, in cafes, parks and auditoriums around
Manhattan. The festival will celebrate poetry from sonnets
to hip-hop, from Montana to Brazil, from the verse of 18th
enc
ck Weekend
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Special to The Gamecock
laughey (left) and Woody Harrelson star as brothers in
is' "EDtv."
;n the most stalwart though with projects like "Mr.
"s. Wrong" under her belt, I'm not sure
ensemble cast is its how much that really says.
Jenna Elftnan is de- But "EDtv's" true scene-stealer is
Ed's compassionate, Martin Landau, who plays Ed's wheele
interest, for whom chair-bound stepfather and who never
supposed to cheer, fails to deliver a powerhouse perfor1
is an absolute gem mance. Landau's character serves as
)us brother Ray, a fi- the film's emotional locus, and as the
illy bankrupt moocher skeletons in Ed's family closet graduprofit
from Ed's new- ally are resurrected and paraded in
en DeGeneres, the front of 200 million Americans, Landnd
"EDtv," pulls off dau's is the one character with whom
3f her film career, al- the audience is at pains to find fault.
__________
Each of their three full-length CDs showcase Albert
Hill's knack for creating songs that have a universal appeal.
Their music is an indescribable hybrid of rock and
pop music, highlighted by Whisnant's exceptional songwriting
talent.
The Elbow Room Music Hall has always been one of
Albert Hill's most frequently visited venues because of
the enthusiastic crowds that show up. Saturday's show
should be no different
The opening band will be Angry Salad. In the past,
this five-member band has opened up for popular acts
such as Live, Goo Goo Dolls and Barenaked Ladies. They
will be releasing their self-titled major-label debut soon,
which features songs from their earlier independent albums,
Bizarre Gardening Accident and The Guinea Pig
EP. The Guinea Pig EP received a fair amount of atten<
. .
tion trom the press and was nominated tor Outstanding
Debut Rock Album at the Boston Music Awards.
The show should start around 11 p.m.
Special to The Gamecock
als), Robbie Bowen (keyboards, voclas}, Kenny Hogan
try in the Pa
century Scotsman Robert Burns to publication on the Internet.
The festival is being organized by City Lore, a group that
preserves folk culture, and Poets House, which sponsors
readings and maintains a large poetry library.
"We're trying to create a festival that involves and includes
literary poets, but also includes new inner city poets
and ethnic and folk traditions," City Lore's director, Steve
Zeitlin said.
Kinnell is one of the most prominent poets attending.
"The whole flowering of poetry is a wonderful thing, and
there are many more petals than there used to be," Kinnell
said. "Having every bod y involved like this is kind of exhilarating."
ore!
& e ii i o r i a i ii i
I For Fun Time
falls short
by Rob Lindsey
Gamecock Critic 1/2 out of four
"Mod Squad" is a sad, wasted effort
of a film. Such a good cast, such a talented
director and such a solid idea for
a movie should have produced a formidable
action thriller. As it stands,
however, the plot is flimsier than a
twice-used tissue, and all these excel- 9?|9
lent elements fall short as soon as cam- 9
eras roll.
The movie is based on the '60s H
and '70s television show of the same jfl
name. But the plot is the same as every
other good cop / bad cop movie ever
made: A small contingent of good cops
fights against an overwhelming infestation
of bad cops at the local precinct.
The only twist, which isn't really a twist
at all, is that the good cops are delinquent
kids. Don't worry about why these
kids were chosen or why they've suddenly
decided to leave their lives of He
crime behind. Apparently none of this
matters to the screenwriters. You would
only need this information to get an Omar EPPS (,eft)
idea of the character's motivations and delinquent C0')S
personality. But, the writers aren't Mod Squad who
interested in developing characters, ei- quality police wo:
ther. Claire Danes
The three misfits are played by stars as Julie, a
extremely talented young actors. Omar convicted ofassai
Epps ("Scream II") plays Line, who, supposed to have
as the voice-over during the opening seems benign em
credits says, has a penchant for arson film. Again, the
? a useless plot point, for the audience during the openi
never sees him use this skill. Despite like that which E
such flimsy characterization, Epps man- in this horrendou
ages to give Line a smoldering loner to nothing to wor
quality. He is the one member of the tress who has pn
by Valerie Byrd ^ ,nm*m
el situations. Te
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and/or strengths possessed by emory.l
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| ed their endurance in a variety of era- Tests Homepage?
Benigni's ~
indie gem
by Chris Richter
Richter Scale
One of the most joyous moments I Benigni, John Lur
have seen on television was during last tells the story of Ji
week's Academy Awards ceremony, to, three men who
Roberto Benigni restored my faith in er in a jail cell. Ja
the movie industry for a couple of hours. w^0 ge^s caught p
I first saw Benigni about one- d gir, Zach ,
and-a-half years ago although I had no M {n sto]cn
idea who he was. After reading about .. , , .
"Life Is Beautiful" and seeing him on !"> ?' ca*d feat>k
the "Charlie Rose Show" on televi- , s during a
sion, I became interested in his films during a spirited
and tried to find a few. you scream, we all i
The video pick for the week is Jim It sounds odd, bul
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Kewulay Kamara, who will be at the festival, is a Sierra
Leone poet who comes from a long line of West African
oral historians. "Their role in society is quite different from
the role of artists in Western society," Kamara said. "These
were ... the ambassadors, the masters of ceremonies, the
people who orchestrated coronations. The word is what brings
people together ? not money."
Kamara's work is performed to music and partly improvised
? not unlike the rap lyrics to be featured at the
festival's hip-hop slam, a spoken-word contest in which participants
try to out-rhyme each other.
Other slams at the festival include "Head -to-head Haiku"
? usi'ig the Japanese verse form ? and a Puerto Rican decima
contest, in which a sentence is literally pulled out of a
hat and a 10-line poem is composed endi ng in that line.
?
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Special to The Gamecocl
, Claire Danes and Giovanni Ribisi star as three juvenille
in MGM's "Mod Squad."
actually does some al high-profile roles, she should be abl<
rk. to do more than she does. Is she a ba<
i ("Romeo & Juliet") girl? Or a shy wallflower? Or a sexy su
recovering alcoholic per cop? The answer is a little of eacl
lit. Apparently, she is yet none of the above,
a bad temper, but she Finally, Giovanni Ribisi ("Savin]
Dugh throughout the Private Ryan," "The Other Sister") play
character described Pete, a totally ineffectual robber. Hi
ng credits is nothing character is mainly the comic rebel
lanes portrays. True, Again, a paper-thin character, with i
s script, she has next paper-thin role, functioning as a mer
k with, but as an ac- variable in the most cliche of all actioi
wed herself in sever- formulas.
, , bunnies, this one examines Peeps. Lots
1' ^ of the same teste are performed, but
2^fc one thing different about this site is
jy the step-by-step operation guide. AH
I , Peeps are torn connected, and here
1 j you learn how to surgically separate
g-Ji them. I always thought just ripping
g^?"! them apart was fine, but I was wrong!
?o n 'A Vtfl & must be done carefully with love
w-J and caution. There are also pictures
"Hip- at this site.
sts include Ovvpen I
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ance. It s fun to see n cT
the bunnies in the pSnOW
k it out! Pictures are
enjoyment. This site is also dedicated to the
marshmallow Peep as opposed to the
tv.learnlink. marshmallow bunny. Includes peepy
i'dii/pccp/ &cts (only 32 calories and 0 fat in 1
11 peep!) mid lots of peep art. You can get
UlOW reeps wallpaper for your computer or print
Hon Site the pictures out and create a magnet
for your fridge (suggestion of site
) the Bunny Survival creator). Oh, the fun you can have with
but instead of using Peeps.
They escape from the prison through
" underground tunnels and find themselves
in the backwoods of Louisiana.
/\ >CO Eventually, thejailbreakers find a road,
F'idc which they follow until they get to an
Pold store. Zach and Jack send Roberto
in to investigate, but he doesn't come
back. They venture into the store to find
Roberto eating dinner with the proprietress,
Nicoletta, played by the real-life
ie and Tom Waits. It Mrs- Beni^ni' Nicoletta Braschi.
ick, Zach and Rober- ^ Bfn^[ 1Jas ^en spared wit!
> are thrown toeeth- Charhe ChaPhn' However'don t exPec
. T . . . this over-the-top comedic style in "Dowi
c une is a pimp ^ LaW." Jarmusch's films are alway
roposi lonmg ^un studies in understatement, so Benif
Waits), an ex-DJ, is n- doesn't climb chairs or jump stair
car. Roberto (Benig- although he does stumble with his Ep
jiiea a man wnn un- lish. Other Benigni films available c
i fight. The men bond video are "Night on Earth," another Ja
chant of I scream, musch film, and two Italian films, "Joh
scream for ice cream." ny Stecchino" and "Monster." Benig
t it's things like this might not be a comic genius, but h<
im Jarmusch's films, certainly a joy to watch.
1 graveyard
Several events feature cowboy poets, including Wally
McRae, 63, a Montana rancher. "Everybody is supposed to
write about where they come from," he said. "That's what
it's about ? it's who we are and what we do."
The festival also offers sessions on the blues, Asian writers
and Yiddish female poets, along with workshops on how
to memorize a poem and on writing renga, a Japanese popm
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'To have a festival where you can taste poetries from
around the world, and find the music in poetry that you can
sing to and dance to ? as opposed to something you have
to have explained to you ? is a milestone in the renaissance
of poetry," said slam impresario Bob Holman, co-producer
of the PBS series The United States of Poetry."