Show The Herald Journal Logan Utah Saturday July 20 2002 — B7 SHERMANS LAGOON a funny guy but uncomfortable imtKiwt toHenmmr WOOLPHOftKON TwmRoe'tooftt By Cathy Burke Associated Press Writer men couldn’t save Grodin from cancellation “I believe all this manipulation to move me out came from a fundamental belief that in truth the public is best served if we hear only from lifelong journalists preferably those based in Washington I believe the public is best served by also hearing from people outside of Washington and in professions other than journalism’’ he writes Grodin does plenty of second-guessin- g here including the theory that his invitation to environmental activist Robert F Kennedy Jr who blasted GE’s history of polluting might have done him in at CNBC “I Like It Better When You’re Funny: Working in Television and Other Precarious Adven-tune- s” (Random House 242 pages $2493) by Charles Grodin CATHY Charles Grodin sgan to practii the comedy of discomfort in the late 1970s saying he found about equal numbers of people who were amused by it and irritated by it — he would say His “from the heart” — style changed little when he traded in his stage and film career for a talk show on cable television’s CNBC two decades shoot-from-the-- lip For a mastic of discomfort Grodin appears surprisingly unaware of its effect on TV moguls — or that his brashness is not so dissimilar to that of media personalities he claims later Book to despise “Hoe’s a man in his forties who is obsessed with looking at women’s breasts and speculating on who’s a real blonde or redhead” hd writes of radio shock jock Howard Stern “A sexually retarded adult who doesn’t even seem to know it It’s sad that such a person enjoys such a large following and the friendship of otherwise estimable people It’s another example of money and power corrupting values” Still Grodin freely admits when he crosses die line including the time he debated Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz who had been on Simpson’s defense team “In retrospect I do think Alan was right in charging me with using my television show as a venue to go after him more than was reasonable I didn’t see it at the time but now I think it was inappropriate” Though canceled from his cable talk show Grodin landed on his feet — first for a brief stint at MSNBC than at CBS as commentator for weekly closing segments on ’’60 Minutes “Whenever it seemed appropriate I tried to take situations that were going on around the show and turn them into comedy segments where I would ‘confront’ a producer on the air and he or she would walk off in a ‘snit’’ Grodin writes in the brash revealing memoir “I Like It Better When You’re Funny” It’s his fourth book “New York magazine by the way did eventually do a very long piece that was for the most part highly flattering The title of the story was ‘Mr Angry’” But cutting-edg- e comedy took a back seat to more weighty matters when 0 J Simpson went on trial for double murder Soon! the popular hourlong show was focusing more on the shamed football hero as well as other social issues including clemency drug addiction and BEETLE BAILEY - HAGAR THE HORRIBLE PIC? p&il&GereoMeotie 0K3 &JOU6H SWOOTTP AnI IHg BtJEtMGET B& ? AFKOtV THAT homelessness The change riled some conservatives though Grodin insists he hates labels “Clearly all of us have s lot of sides” he writes He also cultivated some of the most important people in television including Jack Welch ' then of General Electric which owns NBC But all the good ratings — best when the talk was about Simpson — and all the good TV ID 1-X- o ' ‘ H” ‘ “I feel as though I’m finally where I was meant to be” he writes ' As for his memoir on the rocky breathless ride to that point it’s much like Grodin’s comedy of discomfort: guaranteed to make readers ' giggle or bristle in about equal numbers 9 'Halloween: Resurrection’ big waste of viewer time PEANUTS JUST THINK -- AT ONE TIME DNOSAUItS UiALKB? UMERE fadEkE SlANPING “Halloween: Resurrection" has no reason to exist Not now — ‘ in the middle of summer more than three months before the holiday — and not ever-- ' Not even as a straight-to-vide- o slasher flick If it’s a Friday night and this is the last' video on the shelf at your local store please — I’m begging you — find something else to do Macrame perils or ballroom dance lessons This eighth installment in the horror series which conspicuously wasn’t screened ahead of time for critics is devoid of wit style or creativity Screenwriiers Larry Brand and Sean Hood chum put the cliches with such lifeless predictability you can practically MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM SNAKE ETIQUETTE FOXTROT ' '' hear the cogs grinding Director Rick Rosenthal also directed 1981’s “Halloween H” and has nothing new to offer Psycho murderer Michael Myers is bac k lumbering d along with his butcher knife still trying to kill his sister Laurie Jamie Lee Curtis who starred as Laurie in foe 1978 - CLOSE TO HOME - shameless' ‘Halloween: Resurrection” a Dimension Films release is rated R for strong violence language and brief drug use : RUSTLIKE THE ONE usep TO HAVE THATYOU SAIPSOT BROKE iSOME LOCK i ' V Copyright 2002 Newspaper Enterprise Assn - North r plays that I hadn’t thought of Occasionally' one is better' ' than myintended approach In this deal against your ' ' ' Mahwt Obt V The better playersunblock dummy's club lO under the ace Then they cross to the heart kingr finesse the club mm nri claim an nvertri V-' ' West ¥ y - ' K Q Q J - spte What next? 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Dime appear to be 10 easy tricks: one spade two hearts and seven clubs Sot most of Bertplt Brecht a German hay students immediately cash dramatist and poet wrote: die club ace and without “The world of knowledge takes a crazy turn When pausefor thought follow with v teachers themselves are taught dummy’s three They can ' cross to and run the to team " v dummy ‘ club 10 but with no hand ' 'Ategiilarreadmskhow ni a Ibt of bridge classes entry left the contractis ' Sometimes my students rind ' Onmakable BvPhllllp Aider HEY LOOK ATTHtS COOL LAM X BOVOHT AT THE 6ARAEET SALE ACROSS THE STREET fTS When you throw something away throw v “ ttwpy far away ' 'l r !T YIn qt bridge V V i i (Thomas Ian Nicholas of the “American Pie" movies) who’s obsessed with sex Once inside the rickety old house it doesn't take long for Michael to take them out one by one Naturally because they’re all so stupid they go : off individually in the dark which makes it easy bn him ' (Just wondering how did he know they’d be there? Did he log onto the Internet between ' murders to find out? And how do they not know he’s dime? ' In true horror fashion the house creaks and collapses with every step) When die bloodletting is over “Halloween: Resurrection” has the audacity to skewer reality TV for being exploitative which has been done repeatedly in recent years — and only slightly better — in movies including “Series 7” ”13 Minutes” and “Showtime"- Please as if slasher flicks weren’t just as ‘ blood-soake- REAL UFE ADVENTURES m Movie review original is back for her fourth “Halloween” — but not for long Something happens early that suggests this could be her last one but as you’re well aware no one ever really dies in these movies The premise this time as if it matters: Qonzo TV producer Freddie Harris (rapper Busta Rhymes) picks six college students to spend Halloween ' night in Michael Myers’ childhood home He straps tiny cameras to their heads and broadcasts what they see live on the Internet— sort of across between “The Real World” and “Voyeur Dorm” but without die colorful Brea for- mture There’s conservative Sara (Bianca Kajlich who looks UkeAnne Archer) perky blonde Jen (Katee Sackhoff who looks like Tori Spelling) and brainy Donna (Daisy McCrackin who looks like Julianne Moore) As for the guys dime’s Jim (Luke Kirby who sounds like Christian Slater impersonating Jack Nicholson in “Heathers”) Rudy (Sean Patrick Thomas) who’s obsessed with food and Bill By Christy Lemire AP Entertainment Writer - A 4 A 8 7 9 4 ' j' 5 f 'i" DealmjVyfaU-- South ' 3 A 3fT ’ West Pas : 3 0 'Pass' y ' East iNorth a iA Pass- ' r ' 'Vulnerable: Both I r A K Q 9 8 7 4 A ': ' ps pass Pass Opening lead: 'Ak' i |