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• Entertainment extra • 2/13/98 thru 2/19/98
Lifestyleextras
HALLE BERR/:
LOOKING AT OU RSEIVES
by Sally Stone
On February 22 and 23, ABC will
ir “Oprah Winfrey Presents: The
Vedding.” The two-part miniseries
Halle Berry as Shelby Coles, a
oung woman who must choose
between two suitors: the poor white
nusician she’s engaged to, played by
3ric Thai, (“Six Degrees of
reparation”) and a successful black
nan who has decided to divorce his
vhite wife and marry Shelby, played
>y Carl Lumbly (“Cagney & Lacey”).
The other stars in this production
tre Shirley Knight, the film, theater
ind television star who plays Gram,
Shelby’s grandmother, along with
„ynn Whitfield (“Eve’s Bayou”),
dichael Warren (“Buffalo Soldiers”),
ind Richard Brooks (“Law and
jfrder”).
‘The Wedding” is based on a
lovel by Dorothy West, described in
iterary circles as the last surviving
nember of what was once called
The Harlem Renaissance.” It tells
he story of a family living in a
vealthy African-American communi
y in Martha’s Vineyard. The matri
trch, Gram, is the daughter of a slave
iwner. She is determined that each
mcceeding generation of her family
le lighter in color than the last, until
here is a generation that no longer
‘betrays” its black ancestry.
“To tell you that I was excited and
ronored to be asked to be part of this
ilm can’t even begin to describe how
1 felt,” Halle Berry said. “First, it was
something Oprah was doing, so I
xnew it would be important and spe
cial. And then there’s the story, which
1 believe is one of the most powerful
I’ve ever seen done on film.”
Asked what she felt was the most
striking aspect of the story, Berry
said, “The way this family wants to
manipulate the future. We all want a
better life for our children and their
1—
by Mickey Greene
HARD RAIN: Personally, after
the spectacular epic, “Titanic,” I
thought I’d had my fill of water in
films for a while. Unfortunately, I
was wrong. This flick has enough
soggy scenes and water-logged
actors in it to make you squish in
your seat!
In the flick, two armored car dri
vers, Tom (Christian Slater) and his
Uncle Charlie (Ed Asner) drive to the
■village of Huntingburg to pick up
some big money. As fate would have
it, the town’s river is flooding its
banks in the worst such disaster in
memory for the townsfolk. Stranded
. on a flooded highway, the two wait
A/
Halle Berry
children. But what this family wants
is, somehow, to blot out the black part
of their heritage by creating a family
that will look absolutely white.”
Is that because they feel white
people have more access to the
American dream?
“I think it’s more than that. After
all, these are wealthy people. They’re
educated. They’re middle-class. But
they’re uncomfortable with the fact
that they’re identifiably black. They
see their own blackness as something
to be ashamed of, and they see the
only way out of that so-called prob
lem is to create a family that is ulti
mately white. As a matter of fact, in
the story, one of the daughters mar
ried a man they didn’t approve of
because they felt he was too datk and
they put pressure on her to end the
marriage.”
That would make them sound like
racists.
“They are, in that they have
bought into the prejudiced assump
tions about black people being inferi
or to white people. And, by the way,”
Berry said, “this sense that having
lighter skin is better than being dark-
racists.
Movie Review
for a rescue party.
When the party reaches them,
under the direction of Jim (Morgan
Freeman), it quickly becomes appar
ent to the two men that these guys
are out to rob them. Tom manages to
escape, money in tow, with the bad
guys in hot pursuit.
The local lawman (Randy Quaid)
isn’t interested in doing the right
thing. He’s a lame-duck sheriff and
bitter about having lost the election.
He decides it would be in his best
interest to steal the money for him
self. Thus, Tom is battling the very
person who could actually help him
out.
Along the way in this wet mess of
. a flick, there’s- Karen (Minnie
er, also reflects the black experience
during slavery when your skin color
often was the difference in how you
might be treated. The lighter-skinned
slave worked in the house, and was
treated better than the darker-skinned
slave who worked in the fields and
lived under much harsher condi
tions.”
Halle, whose father is African-
American and whose mother is
white, says that she recalls as a child
wanting to have blonde hair and blue
eyes.
“But that wasn’t because I
thought a person with blonde hair
and blue eyes was somehow better
than anyone else. It was because my
mother is blonde with blue eyes, and
I love my mother. I think every child
who loves their parents wants to be
as much like them as possible. As I
grew older, I continued to find ways
to identify with my mother, but for
reasons that have little, if anything,
to do with how she looks, but for
who she is as a person.”
Finally, Halle Berry said that if
the film has one message that would
resonate with people regardless of
who they are and where they come
from, “It’s that we realize that some
times we act not out of conviction,
but because of peer pressure. It’s the
classic ‘keeping up with the
Joneses.’ People want to be accepted
by their community, and the most
expedient, if not always the best
way, to do that is to live up to what
the community black or white
expects of them. It’s a matter of feel
ing connected.”
In other words, fit in or be left
out?
“Exactly,” Berry said. “And it
often takes a great deal of strength
and courage to risk being isolated
from the group by daring to take a
stand and doing what is right.”
© 1998 King Features Synd., Inc.
Driver), who refuses to evacuate
because she wants to save the local
church. We also have an amusing old
couple (providing comic relief),
Richard Dysart and Betty White,
who won’t evacuate because they
want to protect their store from pos
sible looters.
You’d think with such a good cast
you’d have a good movie.
Unfortunately, the plot is weak and
sometimes, downright stupid. The
best thing about this outing was the
special effects. That alone isn’t
enough to recommend it, in my
book. Stay home and wait until this
one comes out on video. You’ll be
glad you did!
© 1998 King Features Synd., Inc.
■■
Top Rbythm/Dance , ,L„. \ 7 .„,< ;
"4 ■ • yt
1. Usher “Nice & Stow” (Laface/Arista) New Entry
2. Unde Sam T Don’t Ever WantTo See You Again” (Stonecreek/Epic) Last Wk: No. 2
3. Mase Feat. Total “What You Want” Bad Boy/Arista) New Bitty
4. Jon B. “Are U Still Down” (Yab Yum/Epic) New Bitty
5. LL Cool J “Father” (Def Jam/Mercury) New Entry
6. KJP. & Envy “Swing My Way” (EastWest/EEG) No. 9
7. Destiny’s Child “No, No, No” (Columbia) No. 2
8. Martba Wash Feat RuPaul “It’s Raining Men - The Seqel” (Logic) No. 8
9. Rare Essence “Player Haters” (Rare One/Liaison) No. 5
10. Jay-Z Feat. Blackstteet "The City Is Mine” (Def Jam/Mercury) No, 27
Top Tea Singles .. "" -
1. Janet‘Together Again” (Virgin) Last Week: No. 1
2. Usher “Nice & Stow” (Laface/Arista) New Entry •
3. Uncle Sam “I Don’t Ever Want To See You Again” (Stonecreek/Epic) No. 8
4. Busta Rhymes “Dangerous” (Elektra) No. 3
5. LeAnn Rimes “How Do I Live” (Curb) No. 4
6. Chumbawamba‘Tubthumping” (Republic/Universal) No. 6
7. Third Eye Blind “Semi Charmed Life” (Elektra) No. 7
8. Usher‘‘You Make Me Wanna” (Laface/Arista) No. 9
9. LL Cool J “Father” (Def Jam/Mercury) New Bitty
10. Pearl Jam “Give lb Fly” (Epic) New Entry
Top Video Rentals
1. Conspiracy Theory starring Mel Gibson (Warner - Rated: R) Last Week: No. 22
2. My Best Friend’s Wedding Julia Roberts (Columbia Tri-Star - PG-13) No. 1
3. Contact Jodie Foster (Warner - R) No. 5
4. Con Air Nicolas Cage (Touchstone - R) No. 3
5. Face/Off John Travolta (Paramount - R) No. 4
6. Menlh Black Will Smith (Columbia TriStar-PG-13) No. 2
7. Fire Down Below Steven Seagal (Warner - R) New Bitty
8. Hoodlum Laurence Fishbume (Warner - R) New Entry
9. Spawn Martin Sheen (Warner - R) No. 6
10. Qasittg Amy Ben Affleck (Buena Vista -R) No, . . - |
IL Speed 2fCfffie~tSffiofS»B®ck (fdiVdeo - PG-13) No. 7
12. Austin Powers Michael Myers (Warner-PG-13) No. 9
15. The Fifth Element Bruce Willis (Columbia TriStar - R) No. 14
16. George Os The Jungle Brendan Fraser (Buena Vista-PG) No. 16 >
17. Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion Mira Sotvino (Buena Vista-R) No. 16
18. Breakdown Kurt Russell (Paramount - R) No. 18
19. Liar Liar Jim Carrey (Universal - PG-13) No. 19
20.187 Samuel L. Jackson (Wimer - R) No. 13
Top 10 Movies
1. Titanic starring Leonardo DiCapno
2. Spice World Spice Girls
3 Wag The Dog Dustin Hoffman
4.. Fallen Denzel Washington
5. Good Will Hunting Robin Williams
6. As Good As It Gets Jack Nicholson
7. Hard Rain Morgan Freeman
8. Tomorrow Never Dies Pierce Brosnan
9. Half Baked Dave Chappelle
10. Amistad Anthony Hopkins
© 1998 King Features Synd., Inc.
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Top C&W Singles
.., ; .7. :
1. Sammy Kershaw “Love Os My Life” (Mercury) Last Week: Na 2
2. LeAnn Rimes “On The Side Os Angels” (Curb Album CutJNo. 12
3. Shania Twain “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)” (Mercury) No. 8
4. Lila McCann “I Wanna Fall In Love” (Asylum Album Cut) Nd. 3
5. George Strait “Round About Way" (Nashville Album Cut) No. 7
6. Lee Ann Womack “You’ve Got To Tilk To Me” (Decca) No. 10
7. Anita Cochran (Duel with Steve Warmer) “What If I Said” (Warner) No. 5
8. Dixie Chicks T Can Love You Better” (Monument) No. 15
9. Collin Raye “Little Red Rodeo” (Epic Album Cut) No. 16
10. Tim McGraw “Just To See Ybu Smite” (Curb Album Cut) Na 6