film

Rip It Up, Issue 192, 1 July 1993, Page 30

film

JAMON JAMON Director: Bigas Luna The spirit of Pedro Almodovar is alive and well, and thriving in the films of Bigas Luna — or so it seems with Jamon Jamon. The title is taken from the Spanish for a cured leg of pork, an object that takes on a sinister significance in this melodrama of lust and intrigue. Luna weaves a tangled webb of erotic plots and mishaps, while, around the edges of all this body heat, young men romp around bullfighting in the buff and long to be underwear models. Ham is not the only commodity celebrated in Jamon. This Spanish film does for Y-fronts what One Million Years BC did for cavegirl bikinis. At the centre of Jamon Jamon ,alas, is a rather ordinary tale. There is nothing anywhere near as demented as some of Almodovar's plot turns and character foibles. The nude bull-fighting romp is just high jinx, no more no less, and a scene fitting a dog with panties is just ... we 11... silly. The name of Bunuel has been invoked in connection with thefilm'ssurreal visual images, although Penelope Cruz's fantasies are a few notches below those of, say, Simon of the Desert. Jamon Jamon is fairly frenetic in its pace, although the evocative Spanish landscapes provide some poetic respite. And lest one sink into a sunset, hardly five minutes go by before a lorry or two cross the screen, filled, I presume, with either ham or underpants. WILLIAM DART TOYS Director: Barry Levinson Toys is an unexpected project from Levinson and, I suspect, a very personal one: the script had been with the director since 1978, when it was slated to be his debut. This highly stylized allegory of the tussle between Good and Evil in a toy factory is in sharp contrast to Levinson's other work such as The Natural, Rain Man and Tin Men. Robin Williams (as the frenetic Leslie Zero) has to battle with his evil uncle, The General (a nicely manic performance from Michael Gambon) to ensure that malevolent machine-gun-sprouting dolls don't take over the toyworks. And Williams is superb—his most successful turn since Robert Altman's Popeye in 1980. Sending his toy-troops off to battle with oratory purloined from the great military speeches of all time, is just one of the highlights. But there are many, many others wonderful moments—toyshop workers checking out the ethnic sensitivity of joke vomit with Swiftian zest, and an inventive scene where Gambon plots with the military in a super-securex-ray cabinet, the men all reduced to phosporescent green skeletons. And then there's the ingenious and ingenuous Alsatia, played with such charm by Joan Cusack. One of the strengths of Toys is Ferdinand Scarfiotti's brilliant sets — all building-blocks, zoo playground fantasy and primary colours. Even the father's tomb is a monumental toy, set in the midst of swaying green fields, right out of a Edward Hopper painting. Toys was an unmitigated box office disaster in the

States—and perhaps there are moments which fall uncomfortably between adult satire and kiddie matinee. But there is one unexpected bonus for the film buff. If you're a fan of 50s MGM classics like The Bandwagon and you wonder whatever happened to Donald O'Connor.. ... well, he turns up as Williams's father in a brief scene at the beginning of the movie. Now, when is someone going to do the samne for Mitzi Gaynor? WILLIAM DART DENNIS THE MENACE Director: Nick Castle I had seen the trailer for Dennis in the States a few months back and it was a hoot, a cataclysm of disasters, with Mr Wilson as the long-suffering dupe. The audience was howling with laughter. But the film has slipped onto the circuit here, without the usual press previews and brouhaha. Was it, I wondered, such an outright turkey, or was the film company confident that this movie would make its planned impact, critic-proof, in its niche market? To be honest, the first half does suffer somewhat from a leaden pace. After Dennis's opening encounter with Mr Wilson (the superbly irascible Walter Mathau) Nick Castle (working from a script by producer John Hughes) seems mainly concerned with painting a nostalgic portrait of small-town America aided and abetted by a delicious Jerry Goldsmith score. Robert ' and Lea Thompson's Mom and Dad have the sitcom sweetness that could induce diabetes, and Mason Gamble is as cute as they come. Things pick up in the second half. But Dennis, like The Addams Family and even Coppola's Dracula, suffers from thecontemporarypenchantforturning comic books into High Art. The original TV series, with Jay North and (I think) Gale Gordon, was more faithful in style to Hank Ketcham's comic strip. True to the 90s, the film has a few serious moments. The momentary bedroom clash between Mr Wilson and his wife (the wonderful Joan Plowright) is quite unsettling, and at odds with the mayhem around it. Much more deftly handled is the come-uppance of a Lea Thompson's colleague who is not sympathetic to the problems of working mother. Her humiliation on the

xerox machine over the CLOSING credits is one of the film's more inspired gags. The adult-bashing is a few degree milder than that in Home Alone, butthen Christopher Lloyd's Dickensian villain is just so leeringly evil. With all the talk of whether Jurassic Park is suitable for the under-sevens, I would have been scared shitless by Christopher Lloyd at twice that age. WILLIAM DART BAD LIEUTENANT Director: Abel Ferrara This is a film that could replace Driller Killer as Ferrara's most controversial work to date. Harvey Kietel, the poor studio's Robert De Niro, plays the Lieutenant, for whom 'bad' is woefully inadequate description. One Sick Motherfucker Cop would be a more apt title, and I can only hope that the Lieutenant is a metaphor for the ills of our society — surely no one person could be this fucked up? Kietel steals cocaine from drug busts and then onsells it to dealers for harder drugs, which he himself uses. When not living the family life at home Kietel is out shooting up with his girlfriend (played by Ferrara's cowriter Zoe Lund), shooting up his car with his own gun, or watching two women making it while he gets more wasted. He soon owes the bookies $l2O Gs as he falls deeper in debt trying to dig himself out of the mess, although it more probable he just wants more money for more drugs. With a $50,000 reward offered for finding the two men who raped a nun the Lieutenant shambol ically decides to get to work. Ferrara gives no indication why the Lieutenant is so fucked up, other than perhaps a tortured Catholic upbringing (Ferrara's?). Initially this provides voyeurs with giggles aplenty as the Lieutenant's behaviour becomes more and more excessive. But as the film unfolds one has to wonder what is the point? Kietel does everything but molest small children, and by the time he forces two out-of-it women drivers to submit while he jerks off, the film has become decidedly uncomfortable. If you want to see a graphic rape of a nun then this is a film for you. I hope Ferrara has worked his demons out. SIMON LAAN

CINEMAFILE Don't tell the National Government but in San Francisco the Police have sold off districts to private enterprise, allowing citizens to do the policing. It's true and Christian Slater plays one such 'cop' in Kruffs, opening nationwide July 30. Of course Slater is a bit if a misfit, who only inherits the business when his brother dies... on limited release but well recommended is Roman Polanski's unconventional sexual thriller Bitter Moon. It's an RlB tale of grand passion that destroys all those it touches... Sylvester Stallone's 'comeback' film Cliffhanger is pretty wild on the stunts, and more so with the plot. He spends most of his time on the icey slopes in a wet t-shirt, but do we hear his teeth chatter? No we do not ... Arnold Swarzenegger may be needing a 'comeback' film after the failure of Last Action Hero to do the US box office that was expected. It could be the film was just over-hyped and we'll get to find out August 6. The story sounds great with Arnie being pulled out of the silver screen and into real life, only to discover that guns actually kill and car jumps can give you whiplash... has anyone noticed the number of films in which women are 'used' to settle debts? Following on from Honeymoon in Vegas and Indecent Proposal comes Mad Dog and Glory

with Uma Thurman presented as a gift to Robert De Niro by grateful mobster Bill Murray (in a straight role). De Niro plays a cop nicknamed Mad Dog because he isn't ... some politicos have decried Aladdin as stereotyping Arabs, but Nick say: Bollocks! Everyone is Arab, good or bad, and the Disney studio should be credited for not giving the heroine their standard button nose. If you've got young 'uns this film is a treat, with Robin Williams excellent as the voice of the genie... can't wait for Tim Burton's foray into animation with The Nightmare Before Christmas. It's a story about a goul from Halloween Town who accidentally lands in Christmas Town - kidnapping Santa and then setting off to deliver creepy toys to kids! Fingers crossed for a NZ Christmas release ... NICK D'ANGELO®

JENNIFER 8 Andy Garcia is a burnt out L.A. cop who joins the police force of a small Californian town. Immediately called in to investigate a death, Garcia believes that the murder is the work of a serial killer but his fellow cops don't agree. Things get testy as Garcia tries to prove his point, but instead is accused of becoming obsessive. Two things are clear: he is obsessed, but he's also right. The killer is now after Uma Thurman, a beautiful blind woman who Garcia can't help falling for. This is a classic suspense thriller which has its faults but is still well recommended. The ending is a real treat in the way it breaks with Hollywood tradition. HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THE MARLBORO MAN This a real weirdshit film. It's hard to tell if those involved are playing it straight, or for laughs. Don Johnson looks just like the bloke in the cigarette ads, but sadly Mickey Rourke is not the beer swillin' ZZ Top fan I was expecting. He does ride a Harley though, and he's meaner than Win Peters on a Bad Hair Day. The two are old pals who rob a security truck to help out their mutual girlfiend (Virginia Slim,

oh so it is a joke) who is being financially harrassed by a corporate bigwig. An enjoyable cartoon romp with necessary violence. DEVLIN It fascinates me the way Australian Bryan Brown keeps popping up in Amercian films, playing an American but always without explaining his Aussie accent. This time Brown plays Devlin, a cop under suspicion for the murder of his brother in law. He's been framed of course, but fitted up so well it could be curtains. It's that sort of vid. Lloyd Bridges also stars as a Joseph Kennedy type figure who controls the power in Brown's New York precinct. CAPTAIN RON Martin Short and Kurt Russell in a cartoon romp thru the Carribean. Short is an uptight account exec trying to impress his family with their recently inherited boat, and Russell is a lovable old salt with an eye patch helping him do it. Avoid if you dislike necessary cute family togetherness. ROMPER STOMPER This film caused a stir at the cinema with those who didn't realise just how cold and cruel and empty the life of a neonazi was. Russell Crowe plays

Hando, a racist fucknuckle who leads a group of young similarly idiotic youths in this slice-of-life tale by writer/director Geoffrey Wright. While some critics have dismissed this film as saying nothing and going nowhere, that's exactly the point. This film is more relevant than a similarly bleak Bad Lieutenant (which is surreal), and Wright has got the Antipodean Middle Class Punk Wannabe pathos spot on. SIMON LAAN GIVEAWAYS Answer the question and remember to include a stamped self addressed envelope with your entry. Send to RIU Giveaways, PO Box 5689, Auckland. Harley Davidson & The Marlboro Man (renting nationwide) 3 copies of the video and 3 HD & TMM tshirts: