Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 20, 1993 TAG: 9303200243
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
UNRATED DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE UNAPPEALING
In the jargon of home video, the word "unrated" carries all sorts of implications.It suggests that the title is racy, too hot for the stodgy old MPAA's rating system; something that carries a faint whiff of the forbidden. Occasionally, the movies in question even deliver on that unspoken promise.
More often, the word may mean that no one at the studio or video company took the time and trouble to submit it to the MPAA's ratings board. And in a few cases, it may mean that the material is so unusual and challenging that "PG," "R" and the rest just don't apply. Note these five new releases.
\ "Hit the Dutchman" is a gangster picture set during Prohibition and told with the brash foolishness of a good comic book. Veteran producer-director Menachem Golan has put together a B-movie version of "The Godfather" that copies Coppola's original all the way down to the imitation Nino Rota score.
That's not to say that the film isn't fun. It is. Joseph Goldman's script is filled with sharp one-liners - my favorite: "Take your brother to the hospital and have them sew his nose back on." And the wild characters are a delight. Bruce Nozick does a fine job as Arthur Fleggenheimer, who changes his name to Dutch Schultz after he gets out of jail. He joins Legs Diamond's gang and falls for his boss's girl. At the same time, he becomes the mortal enemy of Mad Dog Coll, setting in motion a lifelong feud.
The story is an interesting mix of Irish, Jewish and Italian conflicts, and since the film was made in Moscow, it has a genuinely different look to it. This one's a sleeper.
\ "Sunset Grill" is a mystery that mixes old cliches - the hard drinking, hard smoking detective who does divorce work - with new cliches - the apartment that can only be reached by a freight elevator, the big slow-turning fan in the wall and lots of smoky light.
Ryder Hart (Peter Weller) is our hero in an overly complex story that involves crooked cops, a series of murders, illegal immigrants, gangs and many of the other standard elements of the genre. Lori Singer provides the love interest, and Stacy Keach is all right as the wealthy and powerful bad guy.
Similar material has been handled much more deftly in other movies, so this one comes across as a rehash of the familiar with a noticeable lack of chemistry among the leads. "Chinatown" it ain't, and it doesn't have anything to do with the Don Henley song of the same title, either.
\ "Outrageous Animation, Vol. One" is virtually impossible to describe. It's a laserdisk collection of a dozen short animated films that are so strange and different that some of them are hard to watch. As a group, they're sexual, scatological, sacrilegious and often, but not always, really funny. There's something here to offend just about everybody.
Many of these are European. Comedy often has trouble crossing cultural and national borders, and these are no exception. I think I understand what's going on in "Full of Grace," but I'm not sure. "An Inside Job," about dental work, is so effective that I hit the fast-forward button after the first few minutes, and the infamous "Lupo The Butcher" is like nothing you've ever seen. Definitely not for children.
\ "Alien Intruder" is science-fiction in the time-honored tradition of killer B's. It combines a good cast with fair special effects and laughably flimsy models and sets. The plot has something to do with a mysterious computer-generated siren (Tracy Scoggins) who can drive men mad with passion. She's loose on a space ship with Billy Dee Williams, Matthew Caulfield and some other guys on a dangerous secret mission.
They have lots of fights and shoot-outs and fantasy sequences. It's all handled with enough spirit and energy to please fans of bad movies. Everyone else should give this one a pass.
\ New releases:
Captain Ron: Stars Martin Short, Kurt Russell. Directed by Thom Eberhardt. (Touchstone). Rated PG-13.
An story about a trapped suburbanite who breaks out into romantic seas. But like the Cap'n himself, this movie guzzles up its dreams and ignores the busted gaskets.
Mr. Saturday Night: ***1/2
Billy Crystal, David Paymer, Helen Hunt. Directed by Billy Crystal. (Columbia Tristar). Rated R. 130 minutes.
Billy Crystal's directing debut. He shows a sure hand with this comedy-drama in which he also stars. The movie looks at the lives of a stand-up comic and his brother, who lives his life in the wings.