n
E! critic gfives
Costner a
second look
by Chris Richter
Gamecock Critic
I’m going to make a very contro
versial statement. It isn’t going to win
me a lot of friends around here and
it’ll probably gamerme some enemies.
But here it goes. Kevin Costner is an
underappreciated actor. Hate me yet?
Yes, I saw “Waterworld” (which I
didn’t mind too much) and I didn’t see
“The Postman.” I know Robin Hood
is from England and should have a British
accent. And “Message in a Bottle,” an
overly sentimental and cliched story, is
one of Momca Lewinsky’s favorite books.
But films like “Field of Dreams,” “Bull
Durham,” “Dances with Wolves,” “The
Untouchables” and “JFK” redeem
him from the bad movies, the ego trips
and the bad hair (“The Bodyguard”).
The video picks of the week are two
Costner movies that have not gotten
their due: “Fandango” (1985) and “A
Perfect World” (1993).
In case you didn’t know, and I did
n’t before I looked it up, a fandango is
a fast-paced Spanish dance. Costner’s
“Fandango” is one of those “young men
who are about to enter the real world go
on a last fling” films. Written and di
rected by Kevin Reynolds, it was orig
inally conceived as a short film. How
ever, Steven Spielberg was so intrigued
by the idea, he pushed the project, al
lowing it to get made as a feature. The
film opens in 1971 at the University of
Texas. Gardner Barnes (Costner), Phil
Hicks (Judd Nelson), Kenneth iVbggen
er (Sam Robards), Dorman (Church
Bush) and Lester (Brian Cesak) are bud
dies who have lived together since ar
riving at college. On the night of grad
uation, the boys plan a party for
Waggoner, who is getting married. How
ever, he shows up with draft papers and
a canceled wedding. The guys decide
to drive to Mexico to find the mysteri
ous entity named Dorn. The film fol
lows their adventures, from trying to
hook their car to a moving train to
skydiving with a backpack full of laun
dry. All the while, Bames sees visions
of The Girl, played by Suzy Amis.
“Fandango” is a film rife with clich
es. Hicks is the straight arrow, set to fol
low his father into the military.
Bames is the smooth talker. Waggener
is the ordinary guy. Dorman is the brute
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ing for the priesthood. Lester is the
future accountant on a three-day binge.
Then you have the mystery girl, the
good-natured pothead, and interwoven
into all of this is a subplot about Viet
nam. But Reynolds, who directed “Wa
terworld” and wrote the testos
terone-driven “Red Dawn,” writes and
directs the film so that we care about
the characters and don’t get bogged down
by the formulas we’ve seen hundreds of
times before. It’s a funny movie with
several touching moments, especially in
the graveyard scene when Barnes and
Waggoner watch a fireworks battle while
lying on the grave of a kid killed in Viet
nam. They know they will both be see
ing something similar soon, only the fire
works will be very real.
And if you have a quick eye, you
can catch a University of South Car
olina pennant hanging on the wall of the
boys’ house in the opening scene.
In “A Perfect World,” Costner plays
Butch Haynes, a career criminal on
the lam in Texas. He escapes from prison
late one night and ends up in a neigh
borhood where he takes a hostage. The
hostage, Phillip (T.J. Lowther), is an
8-year-old boy who has seen very lit
tle of the world. He has been brought
up as a Jehovah’s Witness, and Haynes
is befuddled by how their practices de
ny Phillip all of the joys of an ordinary
boy’s life. The two criss-cross the
back roads of Texas, and Phillip, who
is played perfectly by Lowther, begins
to warm up to Haynes, eventually see
ing him as a father figure. However, hot
on the trail of the two is Red Garnett, a
Texas Ranger, played by Clint Eastwood.
Eastwood, who directed the film, plays
a tougher-than-nails lawman who has
crossed paths with Haynes before. He
has been saddled with Sally Geiber (Lau
ra Dem), a criminologist who has no re
al field experience. It is really two films
in one. On the one side, we see every
thing Garnett does to catch up with
Haynes. While experienced, he has short
comings and is aware of them. His pur
suit is hindered by Gerber’s company as
well as by the involvement of an icy fed
eral agent. On the other side, we watch
as Phillip attaches himself to Haynes,
even becoming somewhat of an ac
complice. Eventually, the two sides
come together in an ending that is rem
iniscent of the tragedy that concludes
“Chinatown.”
The film is not so much about crime
and the law as it is about fathers and sons.
Phillip grew up in a home with a moth
er and two sisters, but no father. Haynes
grew up without a capable father. He
tells Phillip that one thing they have in
common is that neither one has “a dad
dy that’s worth a damn.” In Roger Ebert’s
review of the film, he says it’s about
“how the child is the father to the man.”
While not a good role model, Haynes
does give Phillip the older male figure
that he needs. It’s that part of the father
that kids around with the son. It’s the
part that gives the boy a sip of beer or
lets him do something Mom wouldn’t
allow. However, Phillip plays the father
to the man in that he provides the moral
center that Haynes desperately lacks.
Toward the end, in a scene of unfulfilled
but no less disturbing violence, Phillip
keeps Haynes from committing an act
so brutal it would have erased any sym
pathy we would have had for the char
acter. “A Perfect Wbrld” is a Hollywood
film with Hollywood actors that goes in
very un-Hollywood directions.
Costner’s new picture, “For Love
of the Game,” opens Sept. 17. Two of
his best films have been baseball relat
ed, and he rarely fails with romance,
so look for this one to be better than av
erage.
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Top Video Rentals
1. “Payback,” Paramount Home Video.
2. “Cruel Intentions,” Columbia TriStar.
3. “8mm,” Columbia TriStar.
4. “Shakespeare In Love,” Miramax Home
Entertainment.
5. “A Civil Action,” Touchstone Home Video.
6. “Enemy Of The State,” Touchstone Home
Compiled by Billboard Magazine
Video.
7. “Analyze This,” Warner Home Video. 1
8. “Rushmore,” Touchstone Home Video. •
9. “True Crime,” Warner Home Video. I
10. “The Thin Red Line,” FoxVideo. I
Top Video Sales
1. “There’s Something About Mary,” Colum
bia TriStar.
2. “Austin Powers—International Man of Mys
tery,” New Line Home Video.
3. “Playboy’s Celebrities,” Playboy Home Video.
4. “Blade,” New Line Home Video.
5. “What Dreams May Come,” USA Home En
tertainment.
6. “RoninMGM/UA Home Video.
7. “Backstreet Boys: Homecoming—Live in
Orlando,” Jive/Zomba Video. (Platinum)
8. “Playboy: 1999 Playmate of the Year,” Play
boy Home Video.
9. “America’s Funniest Home Video,” Real En
tertainment.
10. “The King And I,” Warner Home Video.