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Show The Salt LakeTribune CALENDAR “Viva Rock Vegas’ Should Sink Like a Stone wasp-waisted Wilma. Cumming gets the movie's few laughs as the Viva Rock Vegas Barney, preening Mick Jagged. “Viva Rock Vegas” seems eager to trade in “Flintstones” nostalgia. The makers have cast Harvey Kor: man (the original voice of Gazoo) Rated PG for innuendo and as Wilma’s doddering father, given a voice cameo to Rosie O’Donnell * @ Going backin time, and down ih quality, with Wilma and Betty. Fred, brief language; 90 minutes. @ Playing everywhere. THESALT LAKETRIBUNE = When future archaeologists un- earth copies of““The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas” — a follow-up to the 1997 live-action adaptation of Betty O’Shale (Jane Krakowski, from “Ally McBeal”), a waitress at the Bronto King, mistakes Wilma for a caveless person — these are the jokes, folks — and gets her a job serving burgers. It’s there that Wilma and Betty meet two new graduates of the Bronto-Crane the Hanna-Barbera cartoon about the “modern Stone Age family” they will come to one inescapable cOnclusion: UniversalPictures exequtives did, indeed, have brains the size of walnuts. How else to explain why Uni- (Stephen Baldwin). Thesecond half follows the four to Rock Vegas, where Wilma’s conniving ex-flame Chip Rock- vérsal would make a sequel — actually, a prequel — to a movie that wasn’t that good or profitable in gambling debts and reclaim Wilma tHe first place? Maybe they wanted td use the warehouse full of animal-skin costumes and footpowered cars left over from the first movie. Or maybe they thought they could overcome the slack writing and garish direction of the previouseffort. Alas, if anything, “The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas” has a weakerscript than before, and director Brian Levant (whodid the first “Flintstones”) is still too enamored of his elaborate set design and latex effects (provided by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop) to care that the story moves with as much gtace as a dinosaur. “Viva Rock Vegas” could be ti, tled “When Fred Met Wilma . asit takes us back to the day when rich gal Wilma Slaghoople (Kristen Johnston) ran away from her snobby mother (a vamping but Academy, Fred Flintstone (Mark Addy) and Barney Rubble efeller (“Dharma & Greg’s” Tho- mas Gibson) plots to load Fred with for himself. Meanwhile, a misunderstanding pushes Betty into the armsof rocker Mick Jagged — who is played by Alan Cumming, who also appears as the Great Gazoo. You remember Gazoo, don't you? Heis easily the dumbest idea ever introduced in animation — little green spaceman visible only to Fred, Barney and those poor unfortunate souls who boughta ticket to the movie. Baldwin and Krakowski(wearing the trademark black wig over her blond kinks) are letter-perfect as Barney andBetty. Addy, trying so hard to hide his “Full Monty” British accent, is too uptight as Fred, coming off more like Fred’s inspiration, Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden,thanthe original Fred, Alan Reed. And Johnston, the Amazonian funnywoman from (Bettyin the first movie), provided screen time to series creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, used the late Mel Blanc’s original Dino voice tracks and hired AnnMargret (who appeared in “Viva cee BYSEAN P. MEANS Las Vegas” and as Ann-Margrock Attention, Wal-Mart shoppers! There is a new shipment of syrup on sale in aisle 6 in the form of the sticky-sweet comedy-drama “Where the Heart Is.” Novalee Nation (Natalie Port man) walks into an Oklahoma Wal-Mart barefoot and pregnant, having lost her shoes through a Bruno) are driving from Tennessee to California. Willy Jack strands the teen mom-to-be, and Novalee makes do byliving in the Wal-Mart — sleeping in the into labor. an unintentional homage to the old show's crude animation. But does anyonereally get nos- still laugh at Bugs Bunny’s pranks or obsessively quote “The Simp- sons”? Not likely — and “The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas” won't change that in a billion years. ladies’-room sink — until she goes Thebirth of Novalee's daughter, Americus Nation, becomes a media sensation and brings out of the woodwork Novalee’s long-absent pregnant when a within 20 feet of her. OK, we're man already mentof “Where the Heart Is,” the walks on plot- contrivance overload and there's still 90 minutes to go. In that time, the movie serves up the following: a baby-napping, Novalee’s burgeoning photography career,a tor- nado, an unexpected death, an lepburn. Give her some better movies and Portman won't be shopping at Wal-Mart — she'll be buying the whole company. Novalee finds strength in her new friends in Sequoya, Okla.: exevangelist Sister Husband (Stockard Channing), the jittery nice-guy librarian Forney Hull (James Frain), Wal-Mart photographer Moses Whitecotten (Keith David), and the irrepressible Lexie Coop Plus 20 MinIn-home Instruction FREE! Lessthan a $1/ dayfor programming. No monthly contract. Over 210 digital-quality channels, including locals. Avoid high cable rates. 877-DISH-111 Local Tol-ree Line for Salt Lake canaraeemoreeeepnewRECT “Riveatn eeewiennepperrgccany (Titeeedergo ONonDeeSpe iePatnasae eaagenaan oe RIRIE-WOODBURY Through all the gloppy senti- (Ashley Judd), who seems to get mom (Sally Field, passing the “Steel Magnolias” baton). Mom FREE Satellite TV 6 point to the next. First-time director Matt Williams shifts from com- edy to drama so painfully they doesn’t stick around long, but ProfessionalInstallation! Save $200by Subscribing Today! ma Book Club entry), crashes unsteadily from one plot cancel each other out. her boyfriend Willy Jack (Dylan stones in Viva Rock Vegas” most closely resembles the TV show is in its production values. The special effects are surprisingly cheesy for talgic over a one-joke show like “The Flintstones,” the way people = The heart is fine — it's the movie's mental state that is suspect. @ Rated PG-13 for intense the matic material, and sexual content; 118 minutes. @ Playing everywhere. hole in the floorboard as she and camping-supplies aisle, dining in the cafeteria, showering in the a big-budget feature, and serve as = subplot about Willy Jack's post-Novalee life that no one would have missed if itwere cut — except Where the Heart Is THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, on the old TV show) for an illadvised renditionofthetitle tune. Theone area where “TheFlint- New car. New home. New job. New Milkennium. Your future is in the classifieds. DIRECTY. 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