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6 ♦ The Red and Black » Thursday. June 30,1994
A&E
Summer movies: 'Lion King’ fails royally;
‘Earp’ shoots blanks; ‘White’ darkly comic
Lions and hyenas and warthogs... oh my! The cute, cuddly and colorful cast
of Disney’s “The Lion King” pose for their publicity photo.
By SCOTT TOBIAS
Staff Writer
*The Lion King” - Disney’s 32nd full-length
animated film, featuring the voices of Jeremy
Irons, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones and
Whoopi Goldberg. Playing at Beechwood
Cinemas. GRADE: C
In the past 50 years, Disney’s animated fea
tures have come about as close to sacred as any
thing in American secular culture, giving us
splashes of color and imagination to brighten our
dreary lives. The quality of their animation and
storylines place them so far above other children’s
fare, they tend to be beyond criticism.
This explains the many glowing reviews for
The Lion King,” a lazy, mediocre disappointment
undeserving of the mega-bucks it’s sure to make.
Heralded as the first ever to be based on an orig
inal script, the film plays like an abridged histo
ry of Disney animation, lifting elements from bet
ter efforts and throwing them together in unin
spired fashion.
Set in the wilds of Africa, the story kicks in
when Simba, a young lion cub, watches his father,
King Mufasa, get killed (“Bambi”) and flees his re
sponsibility to rule the animal kingdom by run
ning away from home (“Pinocchio”). Abandoning
his nose-rubbing romance with the cute Nala
(“Lady and the Tramp”), Simba’s adventures lead
him through the thorny brush (“Sleeping
Beauty”) and he befriends a pair of colorful com
ic misfits (“The Little Mermaid”). Once he grows
older, he returns to the kingdom to defeat the evil
Scar and restore peace and uniformity (All Disney
movies).
The Lion King” is part of the “new regime” be
gun by family values executives Jeffrey
Katzenburg and Michael Eisner with The Little
Mermaid” in 1989. They correctly assumed that
higher production values and age crossover hooks
(like Robin Williams in “Aladdin”) would trans
late into big money at the box office. Just add a
few catchy songs, including a sappy but highly
marketable love duet, and you have the formula
for success. Who cares about spontaneity and
imagination? Saturday morning cartoons have al
ready eliminated that necessity.
The songs by Tim Rice and Elton John are well
below par without so much as one memorable
musical passage. Lyricist Rice, who did a fair job
on “Aladdin,” can’t live up to the legacy of the late
Howard Ashman’s work and the banality of
John’s background music. Why didn’t the produc
ers think of using Peter Gabriel or Paul Simon,
two musicians who have spent much of their ca
reers linking African and American styles to
gether?
Another nagging problem is Disney’s archaic
social conservatism. A big point is made during
the movie about The Circle of Life,” where ev
eryone must blindly assume their role in nature.
Anyone, like the evil Scar and
his laughing hyenas, who tries
to break the circle is considered
a deviant. If you blow up this
metaphor and examine it, the
film is really supporting a
world where all social outcasts-
women, minorities, gays- must
be oppressed in order to retain
order.
Not to take it too far but it’s
these twisted ideas that are
subtly instilled upon American
children. The circle of Disney
values needs to be broken.
“Wyatt Earp” - Director
Lawrence Kasdan’s epic west
ern starring Kevin Costner,
Dennis Quaid and Gene
Hackman. Playing at Georgia
Square (outside). GRADE: C-
The western is dying and
Lawrence Kasdan’s bloated, ex
cruciatingly boring “Wyatt
Earp” does little to revive it.
Falling under the label of revi
sionist western or “anti-western” started by the
superior “The Wild Bunch” and continuing
through “Unforgiven,” the film never bothers to
explore the ambiguities of its title character or
the myths which define the once glorious genre.
The legendary story (told earlier this year in
Tombstone”) follows Wyatt from a little boy in a
family headed by a strong father (Gene
Hackman) to the tragic death of his wife at a
young age to his role as a hardened lawman.
Running from trouble, Wyatt (Kevin Costner) and
his brothers end up in Tombstone, Arizona with
the intent of going into business. They find them
selves enforcing law again, this time with the
help of Doc Holliday (Dennis Quaid), a hot-blood
ed gunslinger. Pressure from the Clanton and
McLaury gangs lead to the infamous, violent
shootout at the O.K. Corral.
Writer-director Kasdan has picked a well-
worn but fascinating legend and, as his funny, ac
tion packed “Silverado” proved, he has the abili
ty to do it justice. Wyatt Earp is a man loaded
with contradictions, courageous and responsible
on one hand, cold, violent and womanizing on the
other. His inner struggle alone, without the big
gunfight, should push the story along. So, why is
it so boring?
The biggest reason is Kevin Costner, whose
plainclothes Midwestern act is growing duller
with time. His character demands an actor com
fortable with moral ambiguity, not the straight
forward goodness we always get from Costner.
He’s unwilling to take the risk of playing a some
what unlikable person like Clint Eastwood did in
“Unforgiven.” His miscasting shoots a hole clean
through the movie.
The only dramatic sparks in “Wyatt Earp” are
provided by Dennis Quaid, whose snarling Doc
Holliday is his best creation since The Right
Stuff” He doesn’t appear until after the awful
first hour and a half of the picture and his witty
improvisations save it from disaster. It’s as if he’s
working from a different, much better, script
than the actors floundering around him.
Considering the talent involved in the produc
tion, “Wyatt Earp” is a huge disappointment. At
three hours plus, there’s little to keep your atten
tion except the ugly thought that this movie is
pounding nails into the coffin of a cherished
genre.
BRIEFLY: If you’re heading to Atlanta over
the weekend, don’t miss Krzyzstof Kieslowski’s
“White,” the second of a trilogy based on the col
ors of the French flag. After the cool, stylish
Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid as legends.
“Blue,” Kieslowski switches gears and tries his
hand at black comedy, with great success.
The story concerns a desperate man (Zbigniew
Zamachowski) whose impotency leads his devious
wife (Julie Delpy) to divorce him. In a number of
hilarious comic set pieces, he will go to great
lengths to take revenge on her.
Playing at Garden Hills Cinema, “White” rep
resents “equality,” which Zamachowski gains
through unpredictable means. The movie has the
whacked-out romanticism of Truffaut’s “Shoot the
Piano Player,” mixing real emotion with bizarrely
comic situations. (B+)
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Alternative rockers Dig end the summer music drought at the
40 Watt Friday, July X. Supporting their self-titled debut and hit
single, “Believe," the band is certainly worth a look. Lucy’s Fur
Coat and Thumb open. Tickets are $5.
‘Pilots’ crash; ‘Doctors’ live
By JOHN EDWARDS
Staff Writer
Stone Temple Pilots,
“Purple" (Atlantic)
Spin Doctors, “Turn It
Upside Down” (Epic)
Whenever the focus of rock ‘n’
roll changes, some bands, with a
little help from their corporate
friends, can get away with mur
der.
When psychedelia went main
stream in the ’60s, we had The
Beatles and Jimi Hendrix leading
to such shallow acts as The Doors
and The Monkees. When disco hit
many years later, The Bee Gees
even threw crumbs to the Satanic
spawn called the Village People.
Today, the pattern continues
with alternative rock. After REM
and Nirvana paved the way earli
er this decade, big record compa
nies swarmed upon cities like
Athens, Seattle, and Chicago in
search of any garage band that fit
the “Generation X" image.
The Spin Doctors and Stone
Temple Pilots were two such
bands. Both of their debut al
bums proved that their alterna
tiveness was literally skin deep.
If you saw them on MTV, they
seemed pretty far out, but if you
heard them on the radio, the only
thing different about them was
that they sure as hell couldn’t
sing.
Although Stone Temple Pilots
dyed their hair orange and
strapped on army fatigue boots,
they sounded like Bad Company
heard through a tunnel.
Likewise, while The Spin Doctors
grew goatees and long hair, their
music was nothing more than
monotonous bubble gum tunes.
Now, each is faced with its
biggest challenge: studio album
No.2. The first one was easy, for
Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder
did most of the promoting for
them. But with the God of
Grunge fallen and the celebration
of psyche winding down, copycat
bands have nothing left to carry
them but talent alone.
“Purple,” Stone Temple Pilots’
follow up to the highly successful
“Core,” shows this foursome doing
what they do best: copying Pearl
Jam. Even the title of the album
is a puzzle, like “Vs.” The child on
the cover holds up a Chinese
character which translates “pur
ple.” However, this ain’t no White
Album.
Starting with the first track,
the Pilots buzz about in an end
less mission of annoyance.
“Vaseline,” the featured track,
could only appeal to adolescents.
The heavy chords of “Lounge Fly”
sound as if the boys are trying to
scare us, and they only succeed in
that this song isn’t even halfway
through the album.
For a brief moment, the listen
er is made to think that the dis
tortion torture has ended with
the gentle, imaginative first
strummings of “Interstate Love
Song." Then the pain begins
again and one can almost hear
lead singer Scott Weiland laugh
ing in the background like
Vincent Price.
“Pretty Penny” sounds so
much like another song that it
probably is, and “Big Empty,”
their feeble attempt at a heavy-
metal ballad, functions as the ul
timate studio embarrassment.
Simply stated, “Purple” is a
chore to endure. Hopefully,
Atlantic won’t pay off too many
radio stations and this junk won’t
pollute the airwaves this sum
mer, but don’t count on it.
On “Turn It Upside Down,” the
Spin Doctors fare much, much
better. Anyone who liked
“Pocketful of Kryptonite" is
bound to epjoy this stable collec
tion collection of pop tunes, and
that’s what makes or breaks a fol
low-up.
Regardless of the fact that
“Turn” shows almost no creative
growth since “Pocketful," the al-
All we can do is hope
the copycats know
what they are doing
bum still pleases the optimistic
ear. The chords are still quick
and jingly and Chris Barron’s vo
cals still come out delicately off-
key.
After passing through the ob
noxious “Big Fat Funky Booty,”
the Doctors deliver a “She Loves
You”-ish, advice track with “You
Let Your Heart Go Too Fast.”
Then they dabble in soul for the
satisfying “Cleopatra’s Cat,” a
weird, if not uncharacteristic fin
ger-snapping melody.
As the album progresses,
themes move away from pop and
more towards a counter-culture
mentality. “Mary Jane,” a tribute
to marijuana, survives musically
despite a shortage of comprehen
sive lyrics. “Someday All This
Will Be Road” expresses futile de
sires to see progress stamped out
from the countryside. “Laraby’s
Gang” plays with the themes of
lost youth, and it’s easily the best
track on the disc.
“Turn” isn’t likely to chum out
as many hits as their first effort,
simply because the Spin Doctors
have been releasing the same song
over and over again ever since
their first single. But its fan ap
peal should land it on the charts,
and that’s all Epic needs from it.
Corporate rock will probably
never disappear. As long as there
are groundbreakers, there will be
copycats. All we can do is hope
that the copycats know what
they’re doing.
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