ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 20, 1996 TAG: 9604230018
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: It Came from the Video Store
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
This week, the subject once again is youth - two more new videos that focus on young people and the rocky transition to adulthood. On a sadder note, we will also mark the passing of two Hollywood veterans. First though, the kids:
"Double Happiness" is a delight. Because the main characters are Chinese immigrants and their children are American-born, it's easy to compare the film to "The Joy Luck Club," but writer-director Mina Shum's debut is a more simple and straightforward coming-of-age story.
Jade (Sandra Oh) is an inexperienced but talented young actress. She lives at home with her parents (Stephen M.D. Chang and Alannah Ong) and little sister Pearl (Frances You) while she auditions for roles and practices alone in her room. (Jade as Blanch DuBois is wonderful.) Her folks tolerate her ambitions but want nothing more than for her to marry a nice Chinese boy - preferably a doctor. That's the film's central conflict, the ultra-conventional parents vs. the dutiful but increasingly independent daughter.
It's a familiar story, but Shum tells it with refreshing vigor. She's not one-sided and takes pains to see all perspectives, making good use of the on-screen "interview" technique that lets the characters explain themselves. But the film belongs to Oh. Her voice, energy and screen presence are reminiscent of a young Jamie Lee Curtis. I look forward to whatever she and Shum choose to do next. A sequel would be terrific.
"Raging Angels" has all the right ingredients for an alternative classic, and it makes full use of them.
First, there's the crackpot plot that might have come from a religious wacko's nuttier fantasies - one world government led by anti-Christ Michael Pare. Allied against him are a drunken young rocker (Sean Patrick Flannery), his bland blonde girlfriend (Monet Mazur) and his nutty grandmother (Shelley Winters) ... yes, Winters at her blowsy, scenery-devouring worst. (Her death scene is a real corker, one of the true lowlights in her distinguished career.) As a goofy psychic, co-star Diane Ladd gives Winters a run for her money with some inspired histrionics.
Finally, add in the direction of the infamous Allan Smithee (the pseudonym that filmmakers use when they're embarrassed by the fruit of their labors), and you've got a strong candidate for a future episode of "Mystery Science Theatre 3000.''
Next week: The positively shameful return of guilty pleasures!
New Releases This Week:
The Bridges of Madison County ** 1/2
Starring Meryl Streep, Clint Eastwood. Directed by Eastwood. Warner Home Video. 135 min. Rated PG-13 for subject matter, sexual content, brief nudity.
Eastwood's adaptation of Robert James Waller's surprise best seller is long, slow and lyrical. The stars do their usual fine work, and the film makes its rural setting look thoroughly romantic. But this is still a story about two people who spend a lot of time talking in the kitchen. Those who aren't already fans will find it slow going.
Magic in the Water **
Starring Mark Harmon, Sarah Wayne, Joshua Jackson. Directed by Rick Stevenson. Columbia TriStar. 98 min. Rated PG for a little cussing.
This fantasy has a few of the strengths and all of the weaknesses of conventional Hollywood kids' entertainment. Harmon plays the workaholic dad of a 10-year-old girl who believes that a lovable lake "monster" is real. The story and characters are thin.
Waiting to Exhale ** 1/2
Starring Angela Bassett and Wesley Snipes. Directed by Forest Whitaker. Twentieth Century Fox. 120 min. Rated R for sexual candor, sex, profanity, drugs.
It's not great, but it sure is fun. This movie has great scenery, great clothes and two great performances - from Bassett and Snipes. For most of the movie you breathe normally, but the scenes they share are breathtaking and heart-stopping. Whitaker shows something that hasn't been on the screen before: a quartet of fine-looking black women (including Whitney Houston, Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine) sitting around talking. This in itself might not be enough for a good movie, but it's just enough for a good time.
Now and Then *
Starring Rosie O'Donnell, Melanie Griffith, Demi Moore and Rita Wilson. Turner/New Line. 102 min. Rated PG-13.
There's nothing new in this so-called ``coming-of-age'' film about four little girls, played by Christina Ricci, Thora Birch, Gaby Hoffman and Ashleigh Aston Moore. Their grown-up versions are played by O'Donnell, Griffith, Moore and Wilson, but they barely introduce the story when we're off into a long reminiscence about one summer in the girls' lives in Shelby, Ind. All the conventions here - and not a stroke of originality - almost as if the filmmaker really believes that all childhoods are pretty much the same. And that's a pretty dull premise.
Ben Johnson was one of the last "real" cowboys who worked in the movies. His first job was as a horse wrangler on the set of Howard Hawks' "The Outlaw."
He went on to play key roles in some of John Ford's finest Westerns and to win a best supporting actor Oscar in "The Last Picture Show." Even when he was playing villains or minor supporting roles, he was an audience favorite, and he was also able to inject humor into his work.
Greer Garson, on the other hand, epitomized upper-class British elegance and resilience for generations of moviegoers. Her best work was done during the heyday of the studio system when she starred in big-budget, classy productions. She was nominated for seven Oscars and won one for William Wyler's "Mrs. Miniver."
Have a question about home video or film? Contact your favorite video columnist at P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010, or by e-mail at|
75331.2603compuserve.com
New Line Home Video. 81 min. Rated PG-13 for subject matter, sexual content, strong language.
Raging Angels *
Vidmark. 97 min. Rated R for strong language, violence, sexual content.
BEN JOHNSON VIDEOGRAPHY
Angels in the Outfield (1994)
Back to Back (1990)
Bite the Bullet (1975)
Bonanza: The Return (1993)
Breakheart Pass (1976)
Champions (1984)
The Chase (1991)
Cherry 2000 (1988)
Chisum (1970)
Dark Before Dawn (1989)
Dillinger (1973)
The Getaway (1972)
Grayeagle (1977)
Junior Bonner (1972)
The Last Picture Show (1971)
Let's Get Harry (1987)
Major Dundee (1965)
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991)
One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
Radio Flyer (1992)
The Rare Breed (1966)
Red Dawn (1984)
The Red Pony (1976)
Rio Grande (1950)
Ruckus (1981)
The Sacketts (1979)
The Savage Bees (1976)
The Shadow Riders (1982)
Shane (1953)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
Soggy Bottom USA (1984)
The Sugarland Express (1974)
The Swarm (1978)
Terror Train (1980)
Tex (1982)
Three Godfathers (1948)
Tomboy and the Champ (1958)
Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)
Train Robbers (1973)
Trespasses (1986)
The Undefeated (1969)
Wagon Master (1950)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Wild Horses (1984)
Wild Times (1979)
Will Penny (1967)
GREER GARSON VIDEOGRAPHY
Adventure (1945)
Blossoms in the Dust (1941)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
The Happiest Millionaire (1967)
Invincible Mr. Disraeli (1963)
Julia Misbehaves (1948)
Julius Caesar (1953)
Little Women (1978)
Madam Curie (1943)
The Miniver Story (1950)
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Mrs. Parkington (1944)
Pride and Prejudice (1940)
Random Harvest (1942)
The Singing Nun (1966)
Sunrise at Campobello (1960)
That Forsyte Woman (1950)
The Valley of Decision (1945)
When Ladies Meet (1941)
LENGTH: Long : 190 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Clint Eastwood stars in and directs "The Bridges ofby CNBMadison County," scheduled to be released this week on video.
color.