F ILM.
pretty soon she’s a topnotch assassin. But does this make her any more fulfilled? Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Nocturne (15) (Joy Chamberlain. UK. 1990) Lisa Eichhorn. Caroline Paterson. Karen Jones. 58 mins. Made for television. Chamberlain‘s parable of liberation from sexual repression follows a middle-aged woman‘s return to her childhood home after her mother‘s death. When two young women burst in from the street. she suddenly finds her lesbian nature expressing itself more forcefully than she had ever anticipated. Touching but unsentimental psychological drama. Showing with three lesbian shorts: Khusli; Forever and Can 'I You Take/1 Joke? Fifth Lesbian And Gay Film Festival On Tour. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Pacific Reights ( 15) (John Schlesinger. US. 1990) Melanie Griffith. Matthew Modine, Michael Keaton. Tippi lIedren. 102 mins. Creepy suspense thriller with mildly llitchcockian undertones has Griffith and Modine as a lovey-dovey couple struggling to pay the mortgage on their desirable new Frisco home. Keaton is their undesirable new lodger. who not only fails to pay the rent. but also introduces some other unwanted tenants of the six-legged variety. Well acted and not without its moments. but rather slender in the plot department. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge, Odeon, Grosvenor. Edinburgh: Odeon. UCl. Central: Allanpark, Caledonian. Cannon. Strathclyde: Cannon. Odeon Ayr. UCI Clydebank. UCl East Kilbride.
I Pink Narcissus(18) (US. 1971) 70mins. ’A swooning homo-erotic fantasy in tie-dyed psychedelic colours. unavailable for over a decade until recently rediscovered in a New Jersey attic.‘ it says here. What more need we add? Fifth Lesbian And Gay Film Festival On Tour. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Postcards From The Edge (15) (Mike Nichols. US. 1990) Meryl Streep. Shirley MacLaine. Dennis Quaid. Gene Hackman. Richard Dreyfuss. 101 mins. Glossy but honest adaptation of Carrie Fisher’s largely autobiographical novel of Hollywood hell: cocaine addiction. waking up with strangers. a plummeting reputation and the degradation of the detox clinic. In this case. the young star. played with gusto by Streep, faces the additional tribulation of an alcoholic mum (MacLaine). but can country ‘n‘ western save the day? Sensitively assembled with an admirable lightness of touch. this is a reasonably honest and generally charming movie. Glasgow: Cannon The Forge. Odeon. Edinburgh: Dominion. Odeon. UCI. Strathclyde: UCl Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.
I Presumed Innocent (15) (Alan J. Pakula. US, 1990) Harrison Ford. Greta Scacchi. Bonnie Bedelia, Brian Dennehy. Raul Julia. 126 mins. Courtroom drama with Ford as the upright state prosecutor accused of the murder of his colleague. Scacchi. with whom he was having an affair. Julia shines as the brilliant defence lawyer determined to get him off. Ex-lawyer Scott Turow‘s bestseller gets the prestige big-screen treatment from veteran director Pakula. who returns to the themes of his earlier movies The Parallax View and All The President's Men in this thoughtful vision ofcorruption in America‘s corridors of power. Glasgow: GFT. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.
I Pretty Woman (15) (Garry Marshall. US. 1990) Richard Gere. Julia Roberts. Ralph Bellamy. 120mins. In this hugely succesful comedy-romance. Gere stars as an unfeeling financial wheeler-dealer discovering he is human after all when he spends a week in the company of Roberts" downhome goodtime girl. Conversely. she rediscovers her self-esteem by flawlessly carrying off the role of his high society companion. so the audience can feel happy for both of them. The outline might be as hackneyed as they come. but
MEET THE APPLEGATES
Meet The Applegates (15) (Michael Lehman, US, 1990) Ed Begley Jr, Stockard Channing, Cami Cooper, Dabney Coleman. 82 mins. Squeaky clean to the point of perversity, the Applegates are more than your average square-jawed, fun-lovin’ family. Beneath those gingham dresses and stay-press trousers lie live pairs of feelers and a murky mission to save the earth from a genocidal human race. Michael Lehmann once again sinks his claws into the veneer of American society in this off-beat follow-up to his debut with Heathers. An angry family of giant Brazilian cockroaches shed their modesty and protective foliage, assuming the form of their would-be human exterminators to the rallying cry of ‘OK crawlers, rise and mutate.’ As prototypes of the American dream, modelled on a ‘Fun With Jane and Dick’ reader and epitomised magnificently by Ed Begley Jr. as the blue-eyed patriarch. the metamorphosed nuclear family is ripe for degeneration. Under strict orders to blow up the local atomic power plant, each memberflounders upon discovering the joys and penalties of the American consumerist
i ii
catchword, ’Enioy’. Exposed to the temptations of suburbia - sex, drugs and credit cards - the mission is soon derailed.
Placing the Applegates in direct opposition to their next-door neighbour Greg Samson (Glenn Shaddix). an exterminator of bugs to whom killing is ‘Iike a religion, or great sex’, Lehmann uses the old black and white treatment, which gradually blurs to a foggy grey as the goodies assume the characteristics of theirfoes. Sally (Cami Cooper) copulates with Greg’s son before eating him for breakfast, while Spot the dog is caught in a compromising position with Samson’s Dobermann. Cleverly dodging the dangers of wheeling out tired old stereotypes (if only just), Lehmann’s fable nips where Heathers punched. Funny, lovable and cute, this is a gentle satire with a slimy underside, designed to prod the ribs of a green-saturated society ready to slip on its own excrement. (Kathleen Morgan).
Glasgow Film Theatre Mon 11—Sat 16 Mar.
television veteran Marshall has just the right lightness of touch. Glasgow1GFT.
I The Rocky Horror Picture Show ( 18) (Jim Sharman. UK. 1975) Tim Curry. Susan Sarandon. Barry Bostwick. Meat Loaf. 100 mins. The cult film to end allothers. this rock spoof on old horror movies has created a breed of Rocky Horror crazies. and packs them in at late shows everywhere. The film has its moments. and Curry is splendidly camp as the bisexual Frank N. Furter. Edinburgh: Cameo.
I Rocky V (PG) (John G. Avildsen. US. 1990) Sylvester Stallone. Talia Shire. Btrrt Young. Sage Stallone. 104 mins. All that battering has taken its toll and Rocky discovers he‘s brain-damaged (no. don't titter). Thanks to an unscrupulous accountant. he's broke too. and his son's having a rough time at school. What to do'.’ Become a trainer/manager. of course. But when his disciple (Young) gets lured away by big money. Rocky finds vicarious victory eluding him. The last (we're promised) and most subtle ofthe
sequence. but that's not saying much. Central: Regal.
I Roxanne (PG) (Fred Schepisi. US. 1987) Steve Martin. Daryl Hannah. Shelley Duvall. 107 mins. Witty. tender and charming reworking of Cyrano de
Bergerac which deploys a range ofcomedy
techniques as fire chief Martin ofthe enormous proboscis copes with life and lovestruck romance. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank.
I The Russia House (15) (Fred Schepis‘i. US. 1990) Sean Connery. Michelle Pfeiffer. Roy Scheider. James Fox. 117 mins. Dated foray into Cold War
espionage thrillerdom. which has Connery
as a vague British publisher inexplicably engaged by the intelligence boysto smuggle some documents out from under the Ruskies‘ noses. Iiis blase expectations of the whole business are thrown out of kilter by the appearance of lovely Ms Pfeiffer. and a familiar wish-fulfilment adventure ensues. Despite the strength of the original material (John Le Carre). the script (Tom Stoppard). the cast and the
director. however. it all looks pretty 7 outmoded now. no matter how much unperestroiking Gorbie's up to. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: Cannon. UCI. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank. UCI East Kilbride.
I The Sheltering Sky ( 18) (Bernardo Bertolucci. UK/ltaly. 1990) Debra Winger. John Malkovich. Campbell Scott. Jill Bennett. 138 mins.The
much-publicised criticism of Bertolucci's cherished adaptation of the psychologically complex Paul Bowles novel is only partly fair. Although the book‘s subtlety is seldom fully communicated. and Bertolucci‘s alterations have been frowned upon. it is ironically his departures from the letterof the text which produce the most intense cinematic images. In the central roles asa doomed American couple seeking adventure, meaning and one another's souls in the north African desert. Winger‘s Kit may be flawed. but Malkovich's Port is a superbly intuitive characterisation. Glasgow: GFT. I Shock Corridor ( 18) (Samuel Fuller. US. 1963) Peter Breck. Constance Towers. Gene Evans. James Best. Ilari Rhodes. 101 mins. Breck‘s heroic reporter allows himself to be committed to an asylum in order to investigate the murder ofan inmate. As the slow process ofobtaining reliable information from the deranged witnesses frustrates him. so the surroundings begin to wear down his own sanity. and his latent neuroses arise to speed his descent into madness. Slightly hard to believe. but it‘s an enthralling and stunningly photographed ride. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. I Short Cuts ( 15) ( \‘arious directors. l‘ranee. 1988-00) A selection ofseven of the best entries from the Brest short film festival. held annually since 1986. Among the titles on offer are Igor de Savitch‘s Un Hmmne Suns Influence and Irene Jouannet's I'llltl/ 14'. which was the runner-up in this year's Short ('trtsaward last month in London. Edinburgh I'niversity Film Society. I The Singing Ringing Tree (U) (Francesco Stefani. East Germany. 1958) 73mins. Imaginative adaptation of the Grimm Brothers' tale. in which Princess Thousandbeauty‘s suitor prince has the unenviable task of supplying her with said vegetation in order to win her hand. Edinburgh: Cameo. I South Of The Border ( 15) (David Bradbury. Australia. 1988) 63 mins. An intelligent and disturbing documentary about the potency — and dangers— of political songwriting in Central America. Filmed over five months in Mexico, Guatemala. Ilonduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. it includes concert and interview footage of numerous musicians whose performances are both a galvanising political force and a crime. punishable in some cases by death. The screening will be followed by a discussion on the issues raised. led by David l layman and Elaine C. Smith. Glasgow: GFI". I Steel Magnolias (PG) (Herbert Ross. US, 1989) Shirley MacLaine. Dolly Parton. Sally Field. Olympia Dukakis. Julia Roberts. 117 mins. The downhome tale of a bevy ofsouthern belles who support each other through a combination of hugs and wisecracks. Robert llarling‘s stage play. written as a testimony tothe courageous womenfolk of his home-town, wends its weepy way onto the big-screen. Loads of local colour and tragedy but you can‘t help feeling that you've been emotionally manipulated by a bunch of cindy dolls. Strathclyde: UCI East Kilbride. I Subway (15) (Luc Besson. France. 1985) Christophe Lambert. Isabelle Adjani. Richard Bohringer. 104 mins. Would-be stylish thriller set in the Paris Metro with jewel thief Lambert courting the attractive Ms Adjani while trying to stay out ofthe way ofcop Bohringer. Far too pleased
24 The List 8— 21 March 1991
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