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Show Thursday, August 19, 1993 D Page B3 Gibson scores with directing effort V j8iV u-iiHtrty Walt Disney's W by AMBER McKEE Record staff writer The Man Without a Face Starring Mel Gibson, Nick Stahl Directed by Mel Gibson 1993 Warner Bros. I must confess that I never find it hard to watch Mel Gibson on the big screen (or on the VCR and little screen, either for that matter.) Stahl), troubled by nightmares, the enigmatic death of his father and angst of a boy in an all-female household, seeks an escape-prep school. However, his attempts at the entrance exam are failing. And so he finds a tutor, a cranky, disfigured teacher named Justin McLeod, who has a mysterious past and a soft spot for young, troubled boys. If that sounds a bit fruity, well, therein lies the crux of the drama. Www Wdtc and the Sovon Dwarfs Silt. Hut.: JH K 3:1 Starring: Richard Dryfesa & Emllio Estevez Kill: 8:n D'BSSEPCLfl H hu s' M""1, 1 c"cr TTQcrtgjn3tr tniM"liifi: Jnnii Clllllll Vlllllllllllll HJMItll U1III.IIW AtltilM 14 I .1 l mini u l st. iii, irt f All m lied ii' f. I 4 SIM fMT lll-IMII I hi 1 1 ml lliKrl I nvs tnnici.t litr SIM- rr iiriun 4 The Park Record B Section B i- uiiM.il i i im l. mm. I " ' iwir ' " A b .Vr V iU b Cinema Review My first reaction to hearing about The Man Without a Face was that it seemed a little, well, planned on his part to choose to play a disfigured recluse. Close on the heels of Hamlet, it seemed a bit like Pretty Boy Actor Tired of Typecasting Decides to Star and Direct Something Serious, Part II. Whether or not that was a motivation for Gibson in this instance, however, became irrelevant after I saw the film. This is a story that begged telling on the screen, and Gibson did a handy job at it--with only half his gorgeous face. The tale is very Dead Poets Society-csque. Young Charles Norstadt (played most convincingly by newcomer Nick The scenes where McLeod teaches Chuck an appreciation for Shakespeare (They are studying The Merchant of Venice) are some of most moving, as the desire to learn ignites in the boy. At one point, he becomes completely exasperated with his mother, when he learns she studied Shakespeare in college, but doesn't remember whether or not anyone gets stabbed in the end of The Merchant of Venice. (She responds that it's Shakespeare, so someone always dies in the end.) The screenplay, written by Malcolm MacRury, is based on the novel of the same name by Isabelle Holland. The movie is funny, sad and well . vjt in r i Nick Stahl and Mel Gibson And a mutual interest in literature. worth seeing, although it has not be appropriate for yons language and situations which may children. 'Heart and Souls' a new comedy twist by RICK BROUGH Record guest writer Heart and Souls Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Charles Grodin Directed by Ron Underwood Universal Pictures 1993 Here's a new twist for a ghost-comedy ghost-comedy flick: Four people die in a San Francisco bus crash in 1959, but instead of floating up to Heaven, they're detoured--into the soul of a babe, bom on the same city block while his parents were trying to reach the hospital. Now a lot of kids have invisible playmates, but as young Thomas grows up, he realizes he's the only stole from a victim who was worse off than he was. Thomas isn't especially anxious to help the spirits, since he's grown up to become a '90s-movie cliche-uSe cold-hearted Yuppie lawyer who needs to be redeemed. But he has to be persuaded to balance the heavenly books before they're picked up forcibly by a Celestial Bus. Ironically, the driver (David Paymer) is condemned to this terminal transit for 500 years because he was the guy whose carelessness got them all killed 24 years ago. The movie is a winning combination of humor, sentiment and cute special effects. (The ghosts here have a new look-they into his body, so at various times he is a mug, a sassy black woman, and a terrified warbler of "The Star-Spangled Star-Spangled Banner." Downey is building up a reputation as a skilled physical comedian, maybe not the equal of Chaplin (though he played him fairly well last year) but in the league of Steve (All of Me) Martin. Cinema Review Our ratings system: A classic Recommended Double-feature material Time-killer For masochists only kid who has four phantom friends. They're partly his buddies, partly his parent figures and they even teach him to sign and dance to the Four Seasons' "Walk Like a Man." For the ghosts, it's like they're trapped on an after-life elevator. They can become visible or invisible to Thomas, but they can never leave his side. Any time they try, some unknown force drags them back by the heels. When Thomas grows into an adult (Robert Downey, Jr.), he finds that his role is to help the four ghosts tie up the loose ends in their life. Pannie, a young black mother (Alfre Woodard) wants to find out what happened to the three children she left behind. Julie (Kyra Sedgwick) never married the young man from back home that she loved. Harrison (Charles Grodin) yearned to sing in public but in life, didn't have the nerve. And Milo the burglar (Tom Sizemore) regrets the one time he Poetry sought for book become wavy Vaseline spirits as they appear or disappear.) The cast is uniformly charming. Perhaps my two favorites are Grodinwho freezes like a rabbit when he has to sing, and Paymer as a mock-solemn Heavenly Messenger with the most inflexible bus schedule in the universe. (At one point, as Downey and Co. flee, he mutters in disbelief, "They're trying to lose me?") Elizabeth Shue also does nicely with the thankless role of Downey's baffled girlfriend. A couple of people are important to the film. One is director Ron Underwood, who is talented with quirky material. He previously directed City Slickers, and next time you're in the video stores, you should hunt down his spoofy giant-worms-in-the-desert thriller Tremors. Secondly, there's Robert Downey, Jr. The plot dictates that the ghosts have the ability to leap Terms available Custom designed Free in-home consultation MURPHY BED SYSTEMS OF UTAH 2243 South State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 801 466-8255 Showroom one block north of 1-80 General poetry is being accepted for the Western Poetry Association's 1994 poetry book entitled Poetry: An American Heritage. Poets are invited to send one or two original poems of 24 lines or less on any subject Poems with a point of view or statement are preferred. 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