Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 25, 1993 TAG: 9312020260
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Mike Mayo
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In a movie, for example, why not bring together motorcycle gangs and wetlands preservation? That's what video veterans Ferd and Beverly Sebastian did in ``Running Cool,'' a biker flick that's environmentally friendly.
At its core, this is your basic story about a loner from the outside who comes in to clean up a corrupt town where the local rich guy has the sheriff in his pocket. Self-described ``scooter trash'' Bone (Andrew Divoff) and Bear (Bubba Baker) are called away from a party in South Dakota when their old pal Ironbutt (grizzled B-movie stalwart James Gammon) needs help. Seems like Mr. Hogg (Paul Gleason) is trying to take away Ironbutt's homestead in the South Carolina wetlands and turn it over to developers. And if that weren't enough, his rotten son is mean to Michelle (Dedee Pfeiffer) the shy, pretty waitress.
The working out of this story is about as complex as professional wrestling and, for this kind of movie, it could be a lot trashier than it is, but, hey, the people who made it had their hearts and their heads in the right place. Earth-firsters and other sobersided environmentalists may not welcome support from a few hundred tattooed, beer-chugging, Harley-riding biker types, but that's their choice.
"Volere Volare'' is another decidedly odd combination, a slapstick Italian love story that mixes live action and animation as well as any movie has since ``Roger Rabbit.''
Maurizio (writer-director Maurizio Manuli) is a sound-effects man who dubs noises onto cartoons. With his bushy mustache, childlike manner and delight in odd sounds, he's almost a cartoon character himself. Martina (Angela Finocchiaro), on the other hand, is a cynical woman who's not exactly a prostitute. She fulfills her clients' curious fantasies and predilections without ever becoming physical or intimate with them. She's far too calculating and detached for that.
Clearly, there's no way these two could ever get together, but, of course, that's just what happens. There's a problem, though. When Maurizio begins to fall in love with Martina, he starts to become a cartoon version of himself. As various parts of his body become animated, he loses control over them.
That premise is developed at a leisurely pace and doesn't really become important to the story until late in the second half. Most of the film is a playful examination of these two characters who are polar opposites in every way. It's told with lively wit and a real sense of fun.
Not all of the humor works - some of it, I suspect, is lost in translation - and the possibilities of the human-to-'toon transformation aren't fully explored, either. Given the imaginative concept, much more could have been done with the film. Even so, this one's well worth a try, particularly for fans of Italian comedy. Nichetti, by the way, is also responsible for the well-regarded ``The Icicle Thief.''
More odd combinations are waiting among the older titles down at the corner video store.
If it's been a while since you've seen it, take another look at ``Risky Business.'' This sexy comedy about an uncertain high school student (Tom Cruise) and a savvy hooker (Rebecca DeMornay) has aged well. Many elements of the story - the cold mother, the sports car that dad loves, the pressures of upper middle-class adolescence, the Chicago locations - have been used in several other movies before and since.
But director Paul Brickman handles the film with such a strong sense of style that he lifts it above the level of the typical teen sex comedy. That's most notable in the vivid dreamlike quality he gives to some sequences. The love scene on the El is a real showstopper. All in all, ``Risky Business'' has aged so well that it's hard to believe it was made 10 years ago.
Going a bit farther back in time to 1951, we come to one of everybody's favorite odd combinations, ``The African Queen.'' Humphrey Bogart is the world weary and no-more-sober-than-he-has to-be captain who finds himself stuck with missionary lady Katherine Hepburn on the titular steamer. All they have to do is survive every treacherous hazard that the river and the continent can put in their way and then sink a German battleship.
Oscar nominations were handed out all around for James Agee's script and John Houston's direction, but only Bogie came out a winner. And that just shows you how little awards mean in the long run. Great movies last. ``The African Queen'' is as much fun now as it ever was.
On your next visit to your favorite video store, you may well find that all two dozen copies of the most recent Hollywood hit have been rented, but chances are there's something a lot better near the back of the rack. Take a look.
New release this week:
Sidekicks: ** 1/2
Stars Chuck Norris, Beau Bridges, Joe Piscopo, Jonathan Brandis, Julia Nickson-Soul. Directed by Aaron Norris. Columbia TriStar. 100 min. Rated PG for mild violence.
This pleasant, sloppily-made little martial-arts movie will appeal to kids. The formula plot involving cardboard characters and familiar situations is spiced up with a series of day-dream fantasies. There's not enough to the film to recommend it to all audiences, but young viewers who like this kind of action picture will probably be entertained. Norris does fine work as himself.
\ THE ESSENTIALS: Running Cool: **
Paramount. 106 min. Rated R for strong language, mild violence, brief toplessness.
\ Volere Volare: ** 1/2
New Line. 92 min. Rated R for comic nudity, sexual content.
\ Risky Business: ***
Warner. 99 min. Rated R for sexual content, brief nudity, language.
\ The African Queen: ****
FoxVideo. 105 min. Unrated, contains no objectionable material except the leech scene.
by CNB