Cinema

Rip It Up, Issue 173, 1 December 1991, Page 38

Cinema

THE COMMITMENTS : Director: Alan Parker Alan Parker’s films have often been sabotaged by earnestness — Mississippi Burning being a case in point. As that film proved, he's a sloppy commentator and more often than not, to quote the great Andrew Sarris, his films are a case of ‘less than meets the eye’. The Commitments s then a pleasant surprise — a small film allowed to remain small, capitalising on the energy inherent in the subject and players — without a ‘name star’ in sight. Roddy Doyle’s abrasive novel - showed the struggles of a bunch of teenage Irish misfits o form a rockand roll band in the hallowed tradition of American soul (and, as one character explains, with the Irish being the ‘blacks of Europe’ they have every right to do so). lan La Frenais and Dick Clement's script catches the mood beautifully, delivered in thick, bristling accents and buzzing with street patois. This is Dublin in the 90s — we see the desperation of the young people working at piecarts and waiting in dole queues, breaking forth with Procol Harum on the cathedral organ. Parker catches the seedy side perfectly whether it's in a bustling market, a tacky wedding or a Church Hall concert. When he plays fast and loose with his cameraq, it's apt — in a series of auditions with every one from a glitter queen to a couple of folk madonnas, each prospective singer is allowed a few words of introduction. And, in the final count, there’s just such great music here — classics like ‘Nowhere To Rur’, ‘Chain of Fools’, and, above dll, ... ... .. s version of ‘Try A Little Tenderness’, modelled note for note on Otis Redding and none the worse for it. WILLIAM DART THE FISHER KING : Director: Terry Gilliam Recently Terry Gilliam was outlining his ‘Guilty Pleasures’ to Film Comment magazine — and they ranged from Julie Andrews and Fred McMurray to

The Ten Commandments and Steve Reeves. | suspect that lurking somewhere inside Terry Gilliam is someone who wants to make Mary Poppins Il (the first was one of his all-time favourites) but his latest film is far short of thismark. : The premise of The Fisher King is redemption — a cynical radio talk-show host (a wonderfully seedy-looking Jeff Bridges) redeemed by his association with a crazed street pixie (Robin Williams), who has never been the same since his wife was massacred by a talk-show caller that Douglas abused on the radio three years previously. It's the whimsy that jars here. We have a lot of Robin Williams being cute. Well, Robin Williams being Robin Williams, and it's an act that hasn’t done much for me since Popeye and that film had Robert Altman in the director’s seat. The Fisher King works best when Gilliam relaxes and soft-pedals the ‘significance’ — the scenes in which Williams woos Amanda Plummer, a neurotic clerk whose life is a nightmare of uncoordination, and in the marvellously rich performance of Mercedes Ruchi, so good as the boss’s wife in Married To The Mob. Another highlight is the set piece where a bizarrely bedraggled Michael Jeter pumps out a Gypsy medley in the middle of an office desk. But there's an awful lot of Robin Williams ... WILLIAM DART. , , FORTHCOMING RECORDINGS 24-7SPYZ, Thisls ... 24-7 Spyz! JULIA FORDHAM, Swept. TALKING HEADS, Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favourites 1976-1991. ' BRITNY FOX, Bite Down Hard. CHIC, Dance Dance Dance (Best of). . CHIC, Chicism. SPINNERS, One of a Kind Love Affair (Anthology). BABYFACE, A Closer Look. JODY WATKEY, Affairs of the Heart. : ICE CUBE, Death Certificate.