Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 4, 1995 TAG: 9511060100
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It's easy to see why ``The Underneath'' didn't catch on in its limited theatrical release. First, it takes a harshly critical look at one of America's favorite pastimes - gambling - in all of its most popular forms, from illegal sports betting to government-sponsored lotteries. Second, though it's a crime film - a remake of the 1949 Robert Siodmak/Burt Lancaster film noir, ``Criss Cross'' - director Steven Soderbergh downplays conventionally suspenseful and violent elements in favor of a more elliptical, stylized approach. There's also some questionable casting. Still, on video, it's going to be a hit.
The opening shots establish a mood of regret and loss as Michael Chambers (Peter Gallagher) returns home to Austin, Texas, for his mother's (Anjanette Comer) marriage. On the bus he meets Susan (Elizabeth Shue) and though there's something between them, he's still in love with an old girlfriend, Rachel (Alison Elliott). She's now keeping company with gangster Tommy Dundee (William Fichtner).
Michael's new stepfather (Paul Dooley) gets him a job at the armored car service where he works, but Michael hasn't overcome the problems that got him in trouble years before. That's where Soderbergh does his best work. He mixes past and present fluidly, spinning out a story that has strong psychological roots. He also makes effective use of tinting, often washing the screen in primary colors.
The two female leads are problematic. Elizabeth Shue is a fine, underutilized actress. Though she's been cast in ``good girl'' parts, she's got the range and the screen presence to play a bad woman who'd make a man do the wrong thing. But in that role, Alison Elliott is hardly a femme fatale. She looks like she'd be more at home organizing a Cub Scout meeting. The film would have been better served had the two had been reversed.
That said, ``The Underneath'' is well worth watching. It's a crime story with substance and style.
To place ``Out of Sync'' on the cinematic spectrum, it's somewhere between Kid 'N Play's ``House Party'' and Spike Lee's ``Clockers,'' - a noir-ish story of faithless love, larceny and murder.
St. Julian (LL Cool J) is a gypsy DJ who's the hottest host on the L.A. underground party circuit. He's also a recovering alcoholic with a mountain of gambling debts that force him to work for Simon (Ramy Zada), a gangster. Simon is obsessive about his girlfriend, Monica (Victoria Dillard), but she's more interested in his loot and wants St. Julian to help her steal it. The rest of Robert Dorn's plot involves a tough cop (Howard Hesseman), St. Julian's mentor (Yaphet Kotto) and a few unexpected twists.
It all works moderately well, the main distractions being the polish that director Debbie Allen puts on a gritty story, and her inability to energize action scenes. Though LL Cool J isn't much of an actor now, he's got an undeniable screen presence and could have a future in movies. He's the best part of the film.
``In the Kingdom of the Blind'' is a Scorsese film without the Scorsese genius - a New York story of gangsters, punks and crooked cops.
When a Mafia elder is killed, Tony C (William Petersen) calls in a favor from Al (writer/director Nick Vallelonga), an NYPD detective. Al's young brother Mick (Quinn Duffy) is involved. So is Papa Joe (Paul Winfield), a Harlem gangster trying to cut a deal with the Italians; Jack Ryan (Michael Biehn), boss of the Irish mob; and Moran (Leo Rossi), a sadistic cop who's eager to kill somebody. The initial crime leads to a long dark night of the soul for all concerned.
Unfortunately, the film is simultaneously complex, static and talky. It also seems bound by the conventions and limitations of the stage with extended scenes of stiff confrontations. These are long-winded (really long-winded), overly dramatic set pieces in which about as many lines are screamed as are spoken. Likewise, much of the acting looks like it's meant for the theater, not the screen, with exaggerated gestures and loud voices that could reach the top row of the balcony.
Because his cast is so feverishly dismantling the scenery, Vallelonga tends to keep his camera at a distance. Despite its shortcomings, the film still earns a qualified recommendation for its energy and passion.
In ``Midnight Heat,'' washed up quarterback and recovering alcoholic Tyler Gray (Tim Matheson) does all the wrong things when he has an affair with the team owner's toothsome and toothy wife (Mimi Craven), and then involves himself in said owner's murder. The cliched title is the tipoff. From beginning to end, Meredith Preston's script is remarkably predictable. According to the timer on my VCR, I figured it out before the 10-minute mark.
Next week: Music and comedy!
New releases this week:
Bad Boys * 1/2
Starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence. Directed by Michael Bay. Columbia TriStar. 126 min. Rated R for graphic violence, strong language, brief nudity.
Mix one part ``Lethal Weapon'' with three parts TV sitcom and you have an action flick about buddies who spend most of their time bickering. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are comfortable with the comedy but there's simply not enough coherent story to keep this loud, clumsy shoot-'em-up moving for two hours-plus.
- M.M.
Miracle on 34th St. * 1/2
Stars Richard Attenborough and Mara Wilson. FoxVideo. 115 min. Rated PG.
Much remake about nothing, this John Hughes-Les Mayfield version of the Christmas classic tries to plug a very dated story into the '90s and hopes excessive cuteness and sentimentality will make everything OK. Richard Attenborough is the perfect Santa Claus, and Mara Wilson is an adorable Susan, but there's nothing much good - and a couple of things bad - about this movie. Parents should be warned that Santa gets accused of being a child molester in one particularly awful scene.
- Katherine Reed
Mad Love * 1/2
Stars Drew Barrymore and Chris O'Donnell. Buena Vista/Touchstone. 99 min. Rated PG-13.
This is the story of Casey (Barrymore) and Matt (O'Donnell) and how they fall in love and then are forced to stop seeing each other because Casey's parents are in bigger need of therapy than she is. And she needs it BAD - or at least that's what we're supposed to believe. Unfortunately, Barrymore doesn't have the dramatic ability to convey deep inner conflict, and her cross-country odyssey with Matt isn't very interesting at all.
- K.R.
The Underneath *** MCA/Universal. 100 min. Rated R for strong language, violence, sexual content.
Out of Sync ** LIVE 105 min. Rated R for strong language, racial epithets, brief nudity, sexual content, violence.
In the Kingdom of the Blind * 1/2 Arrow. 99 min. Rated R for strong language, violence, brief nudity.
Midnight Heat H1/2 97 min. WarnerVision. Rated R for sexual scenes, nudity, language, some violence.
Allison Elliott, William Fichtner and Peter Gallagher star in ``The Underneath,'' which is new to video shelves this week.
by CNB