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Show A militant heroine takes on -Texas in tale of 'Billie Jean' Quickies by Kick Hrough I lit " J - S i . - - - - ; ! 1 Morris (Jim Belushi) is chagrined to find a body hanging in the bathroom in the undercover under-cover comedy "The Man With One Red Shoe." This gives Hank a passive role in his own movie, but he's surrounded by funny characters. Carrie Fisher (why is she stuck in supporting roles now?) is a mousy musician who likes to get Hanks alone so she can strip down to her leopard-skin underwear and play Tarzan and Jane. (She's the discarded "dippy woman," but she's as sexy as slinky Lori Singer, the nominal leading lady). " . Fisher's husband (Jim Belushi) is a burly, suspicious percussionist, but he keeps getting run down by the spies ( In a funny sequence straight from the Lou Costello school, spy bodies pile up in Hanks' apartment, but only Belushi spots them. ) The spies also include a bumbling kill-crazy agent (Gerrit Graham), a mouthy tubbo (Irvin Metzman) and a schmuck (David Lander, television's "Squiggy"), who wanders around the sewer in search of clues that Hanks may have flushed down the toilet. Dragoti's American movie may ( lack the refined hilarity of the ' original, but it's one of the brightest spy spoofs since the days of "Get Smart." . ' 2 The Legend of Billie Jean Billie Jean Davey is young. She's idealistic. She's a fighter. But most important she's got the fastest knee in the South. Whenever she's confronted by hulking redneck men, she goes right for the groin. Helen Slater (previously known as "Supergirl") plays Billie Jean, who runs into trouble when a local punk trashes the scooter belonging to her brother ( Christian Slater, not a real-life real-life sibling.) When Billy Jean confronts the punk's father (Richard Bradford) with a bill for damages, he tries to toss her into bed, and in the ensuing chaos, little brother accidentally shoots the man. , The kids must take to the road, and here's where the movie starts to turn goofy, in order to set up her premise. Billie Jean's case attracts the imagination of youngsters across Texas (out of all the crimes reported on the TV news how come?) and she becomes a folk heroine. Inspired by the tale of Joan of Arc, she cuts her hair, adopts a simple punk outfit, which soon is imitated. While adults tremble at phony reports of her "crime wave," an underground railroad of teens helps her evade the cops. In messages to the media, she demands only $608 the original repair bill for the scooter. This nonsense is enjoyable because it's directed efficiently by Matthew Robbins, and Helen Slater , plays Billie Jean with a visionary glint in her eyes. The supporting cast also has good performances fromv Richard Bradford (as the slimy rapist, who has the gall to merchandise Billy Jean hats and T-shirts), Peter Coyote (a symphathetic cop) and Now Showing At the Holiday Village Cinemas : 'iBack to the Future E.T. : The Extra-Terrcstrial Extra-Terrcstrial National Lampoon's European Vacation (not yet rated) Silverado Keith Gordon (as a rich kid who suggests Billy Jean hold him as a hostage.) The Man With One Red Shoe This is the best of a recent breed of comedy American films that are remakes of successful French films-in this case, "The Tall Blond Man With One Red Shoe. " The basic plot is the same as the French film, with two spy chiefs battling each other. CIA head Ross (Charles Durning) decides to lead his rival (Dabney Coleman) on" a wild goose chase by picking someone at random and planting the idea that he's an important spy. Their pigeon is a concert musician wandering through the airport (Tom Hanks), who merely happens to stick out because he's wearing one red shoe. From there on, director Stan Dragoti differs from the Gallic version with a jazzy, American style, and a bit more emphasis on bash-bash slapstick. While the two rival spy factions tail the musician (ultimately clubbing and shooting each other to a pulp), Hanks walks through it blithely like a young Mr. Magoo. 7J vv- f-f ; tz L.,s - , w ' A Classic Recommended Good double feature material Time-killer For masochists only I Billie Jean Davy (Helen Slater) brings her keen sense of right and wrong to her confrontation confront-ation with Wilson Pyatt (Richard Bradford) in "The Legend of Billie Jean." |