FILM LIST
Big Business (PG) e: (Jim Abrahams, US, 1988) Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, Fred Ward, Edward Herrmann. 93 mins. The thought of Bette Midler in a dual role, lorthis particular reviewer, is not an enticing one. But then again there are two Lily Tomlins in this movie too. The answer to this is not the first film shot in double vision but a variation on the identical twin movie, the double identical twin movie. Due to a capricious plot contrivance, a mix up at the hospital results in the rich parents and the poor tolks each getting one oi the others’ identical twins, thus one of the naturally wholesome Lily Tomlins goes to live in the city with the stinking rich iinancier lamin along with the naturally acquisitive Bette Midler child, and vice versa as far as the country bumpkin family are concerned.
Solar, so good. Now years later Bose and Sadie (Tomlin and Midler) are the heads of corporate giant Moramax, and the company is just about to pull a dodgy deal on rural rocking chair manulacturers Hollowmade, which is the source at livelihood tor the village where the namesake twins bumpkin style, Bose and Sadie (Tomlin and Midler) just happen to live. Moreover,
BIG BUSINESS
to lead the campaign against the takeover the twins decide to go to Moramax’s New York headquarters, where their perfect resemblance to the corporations two leading lights results in all manner of confusions much too convoluted to detail here.
It's very much as daft as it sounds, with Tomlin and Midler overacting to the hill to clearly delineate their dual roles' personalities. Midler, in particular, has this habit oi glaring her eyes to gollball size whilst
simultaneously flaring her eyebrows, that is so crazed and hammy that you can’t help but crinkle your mouth into a smile. The narrative is a familiar exercise in counterpointing wholesome poor folks with nasty rich people, but it‘s just a llimsy hook lor some very American sentimental platitudinizing. Still, the final reel, where all four meet up at last is such fun that even the most hard-heated old codger will probably be won over. (Trevor Johnston).
what it seems. and the death of aSupreme Court Justice could. in some strange way. be related to the murder. a fact uncovered by ()uaid's reluctant jury member.
An old-fashioned. wintry thriller that really thrills with (‘her and ()uaid bringing
N” . . HOME STREET‘TOLLCROSS ~TEL.O31 228 4141 PNONEBCO( NGSA;SNOWS
Peter Greenaway’s DROWNING BY
NUMBERS (18)
Thurs1 Sept at1.50.4.10.6.45 From Fri 2 Sept at 1 .50 (not Sun). 4.10. 6.30. 8.50
Final Screening
MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN (18)
Thurs tst Sept at 9.1 5pm
O Late Nights at 11.15pm
FriZTHE BELIEVERS(18) & CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR (15) Sat3CAT PEOPLE(18) &
THE THING(18)
Fri 9 PRINCE OF DARKNESS
(18) a. A PRAYER ron THE owns (15)
Sat 10 CLOCKWISE (15) 8: ALL OF ME (15)
O gum/(1y 7/ lat iném
Sun 4 IRONWEED (15)
Sun 11 KINGS OF THE ROAD (15)
much needed conviction to their roles and screen partnership and Yates confidently adding a cold. bleak feel to the proceedings. suggesting a sense not ofthe aberration ofcrime but its commonplace frequency. Glasgow: Grosvenor. I Swan Song (PG) (Zhang Zeming. ('hina. 1985) lUUmins. Family saga exploring a composer's relationship with his son through the decades that span the (‘ultural Revolution to China‘s recent development. After the screening. noted (‘hinese composer Zhou Xiayouan. who worked on this film. will be joined by muieians from the (‘entral (‘onservatory Of Music in Bejing todiscussthc importance of music in the New ('hinese Cinema. (ilasgow: (iFI‘. I Tampopo ( 18) (Juzo 1tami. Japan. 198(1) 'I‘sutomo Yamazaki. Nobuko Miyamoto. 11-1 mins. Very funny Japanese movie that turns the rennovation of a run-down noodle parlour into an epic Western style adventure in the manner of. say. The .thgllffit‘t’lll Seven. Along the way there are stops for various skits on the Japanese attitude to food and culinary ettiquette. as well as a truly sexy scene involving anegg yolk.
For sustained comic impetus this is a splendid effort. to be heartily
recommended to anyone who enjoys food.
or sex. or both. tidinburgh: Filmhouse. I That Sinking Feeling (PU) (Bill Forsyth.
l'ls'. 1979) (iordon John Sinclair. 89 mins.
Forsyth's debut feature. remarkable for
the paucity of the resources at his disposal.
uses a cast from the (ilasgow Youth Theatre to tell the story ofunemployed youth driven by boredom into an audacious sink robbery. The easygoing performances and spritely wit still catch the attention.(ilasgow: (1171‘.
I The Thing ( 18) (John Carpenter. US. 1982 ) Jeff Bridges. F..(i. Marshall. 96 mins. Scientists on an Antarctic research station thaw out an alien creature able to change its shape and horribly murder humans. Extraordinary effects in this tense shocker which utilises the central gimmick from the original short story in the way that the 195(lversion didnot. lidinburgh: Cameo.
I Three Men And A Baby (PG ) (Leonard
Nimoy. LS. 1987) Tom Selleck. Steve (iuttenberg. Ted Danson. (‘eleste llolm. 102 mins. A trio ofsmug. womanising lads share a bachelor apartment. but the
arrival on their doorstep of the offspring of
one of their careless affairs is soon to wreak havoc with their chic macho lifestyle.
Fine if you have a sentimental. tmdemanding critical faculty and a love of lavatorial humour. otherwise forgettable mainstream fodder and a fairly unacountable box office success. (ilasgow: ()deon.
I Three Men And A Cradle t 'l'mts Hrmtmt's I'.‘t(,'rt('oizftirtt (1’(i)(('oline Serreau. France. 1985) Roland (iiraud. Michel Botrjcnah. Andre Dussolier. Illotnins. 'l‘hree Parisian bachelors are left to look after a little French sprog in the original version of the I ltilly'wood hit remake. ('hances are. if you like the Niinoy-directed effort then you'll go for thisone too. after all. poo poo is poopoo in any language. lidinburgh: Filmhouse. I Throw Momma From The Train 1 15 ) (Danny De \‘ito. IS. 1988) Danny De Vito. Billy (‘rystal. Anne Ramsey . 8'7 mins. Would-be author De \‘ito wants to rid himself of his grotesquely domineering mother. whilst his creative writing tutor (‘rystal displayssimilarly murderous intentions towards his ex-wife w ho has plagiarised his work in her own bestseller and left him with a numbing creative block. ‘l'he solution to their problem lies in an exchange deal inspired by l litchcock's Strangers ()n .-1 l'rutn.
The rich potential for dark laughter is largely thrown away in the soft-hearted later stages of this ratheroverstretched black comedy. First-time director De \'ito‘s hysterical straining for effect doesn't help matters much. but can't take anything away from a marvellous exercise in celluloid horribleness by ()scar-nominated rnatna Anne Ramsey. ('entral: ('annon. Strathclyde: ('annon. ()deon Ay r. ( )deon llamilton.
ITin Men 1 15) ( Barry Lev inson. IS. 1987) Richard Dreyftiss. Danny dc Vito. Barbara llershey. 112 mins. Baltimore. 190.1. A minor car accident is the beginningol a major tit-lor-tat fetid
between two aluminium siding salesmen. Returning to the gently autobiographical territory that he mined so well in Diner, Levinson has produced a thoroughly refreshing warmhearted character comedy Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Travelling North (PG) e (Carl Schultz. Australia. 1987). Leo McKern.Julia Blake. Graham Kennedy. 95 mins. Leo McKern stars as the irasciblc Frank. who attempts to retire with his younger lover to 3‘" 19.11110 lift‘ in Queensland..A funny and well made reminder that life doesn't end at sixty plus. but it suffers from a slight lack ofengagement with these determinedly unsentimental characters. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Vice Versa ( PG) (Brian Gilbert. US. 1988) Judge Reinhold. Fred Savage. Swoozie Kurtz. 98 mins. A mystical eastern vase enables yuppie businessman Reinhold to change places with his precocious schoolboy son for the day. with near disastrous consequences for his career and his love life.
Modern variation on a well-worn comic theme that manages little but predictable farce and a resistible exercise in desperate mugging from Mr Reinhold. Perhapsif your mind had been taken over by an eleven year-old this might be your kind of movie. (ilasgow: ()deon. Edinburgh: ()deon. Strathclyde: ()deon Ayr. ()deon Ilamilton.
I Violence Elegy ( l8) (Sejun Suzuki. Japan. 196(1)1lideki'I'akahashidunko Asano. 8(1 mins. 'I‘he rites ofpassage Japanese style means a good deal oftime spent fighting to prove one‘s manhood. and in the process dissipate onc's sexual frustration. So. this hugely enjoyable film is notable for a number of hilariously violent scenes ofconflict. and a memorable comic scene where our hero plays the piano with his tumescent organ! (ilasgow: (il’l‘.
I Wall Street ( 15) (Oliver Stone. US. 1987) Michael Douglas. (‘harlie Sheen. Daryl I lannah. 126 mins. Contemporary robber baron and stoekrnarket legend (iot‘don (iekko ( Douglas) takes a shine to ambitious yuppie Sheen and eventually offers him the option of becoming a ruthless player like himself or somehow have the gtits to maintain his self-respect and integrity.
Wall Street finds Stone's fire tempered by a more seductively ambivalent incarnation of evil. but the result is stillan impressive. engrossing drama that. for memorable dialogue and fluid cinematic skill remains comfortably altead ofthe current pack. (ilasgow : ('annon (‘larkston Road. Izdinburgh: Dominion.
I Warner's Wackyland ( P( i) A devastatingly enjoyable eighty-minute programme of the best of the violently stirreal animated shorts made by Frank 'l'ashlin and Bob ( 'lampett at Warner Brother in the 'l‘hirties and 1-‘orties. (ilasgow: (il’l.
I Wild Youth 1 18) (Sejun Suzuki. Japan. 19(13).lo Shishido. Akiji Kobayashi. 911 mins. Stylish yakuza thriller fresh from the lidinburgh Film l'estival‘s notable Suzuki retrospectiv c. This tale of corruption. narcotics and gangland murder is typical in the way that Suzuki coats the action in a violent comic absurdity. (ilasgow : (1171‘. I Working Girls ( 18) (Lizzie Borden. 17S. 198(1) Louise Smith. Deborah Banks. l.i/. (‘aldw-ell. 91 mins. 'I'histeminist exatnination of middle-class prostitution presents the establishment almost as an alternative social structure. It's a thesis that has aroused not a little controversy. but the admirably restrained treatment works in the film's favour. (ilasgow: (iF'I'. I Yellow Earth (1’0) ((‘hen Kaige.(‘hina. 1984 ) Xue Bar. Wang Xequie. 89mins. Is'aige's extraordinary debut feature centres on the clash between the traditional y alues and the rituals of a remote mountain tribe and the modernist drive towards ( 'ommunist Industrialisation. (ilasgow: (il’l'.
28‘l‘he Listl - 15 September 1988