Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 21, 1994                   TAG: 9405230137
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

LAWRENCE ISN'T FUNNY IN 'YOU SO CRAZY'

The MPAA gave it an NC-17 rating, which would have been the kiss of death in some markets. After much wrangling and rescheduling, the film acquired a new distributor and is now being shown without a rating. Viewers younger than 17 are not being admitted.

After seeing the film, most adults will probably understand what the fuss is all about. The MPAA rating system was not designed to handle this kind of material. Lawrence's humor is certainly not titillating or ``obscene'' by most definitions of the word. He does discuss sexual practices and bodily functions in graphic detail that will embarrass some viewers. He means to.

Other comedians have done the same thing. Robin Williams, Richard Pryor and George Carlin come immediately to mind, though Lawrence isn't in their league. He's not even close, but his routines are more sexually explicit than theirs have been. He's crude and brash, and there's sometimes a degree of truth to his comments about sex.

But that comes late in the film. In general terms, Lawrence begins his stage show, filmed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, with racial and social matters, then moves from them to more personal subjects. Along the way he talks about prison, rape, movie audiences, romance, families and syrup sandwiches. He's more interested, though, in relationships between unmarried men and women. Most of his observations in that area are not particularly insightful.

His repetition of the most common profanities is so thoughtless and constant that it undermines his larger points. That part of his act isn't meant to be humorous or even shocking. It seems simply to be the way that Lawrence talks - sloppy, unimaginative, immature.

Perhaps that's what his live audiences expect and want to hear. But motion pictures are different. Given the harsh, grainy quality of the film that director Thomas Schlamme uses, Lawrence's performance comes across as impersonal and coldly removed from the viewer in a theater.

In the end, there's not enough substance to ``You So Crazy'' to justify the small flap that it has generated.

You So Crazy **

A Samuel Goldwyn Company release playing at the Valley View Mall 6. 83 min. Unrated, contains strong language. No one under 17 will be admitted.