Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 7, 1995 TAG: 9510100003
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"Crimson Lights" is one of those serious "little" films that's perfectly suited for home video. With its low-budget look and starless cast, it wouldn't stand a chance in today's theatrical marketplace, though it's strikingly similar to the sleeper hit "The Brothers McMullen." Both films are about sex, family, religion and guilt. "Crimson Lights" takes a darker, more haunted approach to the subjects.
Adam (J. Gregory Smith) calls himself a writer but he's living with his fiancee, Samantha (Erika Jaeger), in her New York apartment and doing a lot more talking than writing. Like his drinking buddy, Bobby (Jim McCauley), he's aimless and unhappy. Then Adam picks up Lynn (Mary Balkin) in a bar and everything changes.
Early on, writer/director John Brenkus lets the plot unfold slowly. Later, that same deliberate pace effectively builds suspense, though this isn't a conventional mystery. Its questions and concerns are more personal and psychological, revolving around the ambiguities of sex and responsibility in the 1990s. Throughout, Brenkus avoids easy situations and answers, and his conclusion is properly unorthodox. Recommended and worth seeking out.
"Dance Me Outside," on the other hand, ought to be better.
Whenever the movie gets around to it - and that's not nearly often enough - it's a coming-of-age story set on an Ontario Indian reservation. Silas Crow (Ryan Black), our narrator, his friend Franklin Fencepost (Adam Beach) and his sometimes girlfriend Sadie (Jennifer Podemski) don't know what they're going to do with themselves. If they think about it, they see a future of pointless drunkenness, so they mostly don't think about it. These young men and women don't know how to talk to each other either, and when they do begin to get close, they back off immediately.
But that apparently is too tough a subject for writers Don McKellar and John Frizell (working from a book by W.R. Kinsella) to deal with, and so the story shifts to Anglo-Indian conflicts. Then it becomes cartoonish at best, racist at worst. Before long, director Bruce McDonald shifts gears again, and for a little while, the film is a crime story about the murder of a young girl.
These disparate pieces fit together poorly and never amount to much. About the best that can be said of the film is that the young cast is attractive and does the best it can given the material. Also, the locations have a grimly realistic look that you don't see in mainstream Hollywood films.
"A Matter of Honor" is a well-intentioned amateur effort about, of all things, college rugby. It was written and produced by Craig Cosgrove and seems to have been filmed primarily at the University of North Texas in Denton. With grainy color and lots of starkly lit locations and semi-professional acting, the production values are barely acceptable even for video.
The central character is John Bull (Jackson Bostwick), an allegedly old-fashioned history professor who lectures in blue jeans and open collar shirts (no tie). He's also the rugby coach and arch foe of villain Nick Raider (Allen Arkus), who disgraced the team years before. Raider is a thoroughly ridiculous caricature and the crackpot conflict between the two is embarrassing. At its best, this is an affectionate but jejune undergraduate melodrama.
Next week: Sister, My Sister!
New releases this week:
Village of the Damned *
Starring Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley. Directed by John Carpenter. MCA/Universal. 100 min. Rated R for violence, strong language.
What a yawner. Until its unfortunate conclusion - the bombing of a building - this is a flat horror film completely lacking suspense or surprises. Veteran filmmaker John Carpenter must have burned up his best creative energies on "In the Mouth of Madness," released a few months ago. This remake of the 1960 original looks like it was phoned in.
- M.M.
Tommy Boy *
Starring Chris Farley, David Spade, Rob Lowe, Bo Derek. Directed by Peter Segal. Paramount. 93 min. Rated PG for sexual humor, slapstick, strong language.
Here's another unlikely attempt by the ``Saturday Night Live folks'' to strike "Wayne's World" gold. It's a real hash of elements: a "dumb" comedy with Farley as the bumbling title character; tear-jerking drama; road-buddy picture; romance, etc. Like its star, the movie is amiable, slow and disheveled.
- M.M.
Casper ***
Starring Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle. MCA/Universal. 100 min. Rated PG.
Comedy about a "ghost therapist" who's hired to rid "Whipstaff Manor" of its four ghosts: Casper and his three reprobate uncles. The special effects are terrific, and the story not all that bad. There are one or two foul words, but it's perfect entertainment for most kids.
- Katherine Reed
The Essentials
Crimson Lights *** Base Productions. 92 min. Unrated, contains sexual material, strong language, brief nudity.
Dance Me Outside * 1/2 A-Pix. 87 min. Rating pending, probably PG-13 for subject matter, some strong language, violence.
A Matter of Honor * Arrow. (time not listed, about 90 min.) Not rated, contains mild sports violence, strong language, mature subject matter.
by CNB