Event
70 th Academy Awards
(ABC). At nearly four hours, the
Oscar ceremony was longer and more predictable than Titanic . Despite the
movie's romp to a record-tying 11 awards, the broadcast is still judged "the
most entertaining and painless Oscarfest in years" (Tom Shales, the
Washington Post ). Credit goes once again to host Billy Crystal for jokes
about his own flagging career and l'affaire Lewinsky . On the downside,
this year's outfits were deemed boring: less gothic and showing less cleavage
than usual. And critics unanimously zinged Best Director-winner James Cameron
for the arrogant "I'm the king of the world" (a line from Titanic ) in
his acceptance speech. (See David Edelstein's pre- and post-Oscar dispatches.)
Television
Sitcom
Roundup. Reviewers dismiss the midseason replacement sitcoms as derivative
of Friends and not at all funny. "[E]ven the laugh tracks are wondering
what they're laughing at," says Newsday 's Marvin Kitman. Only Al
Franken's Lateline is said to have any merit. The other shows--especially
House Rules (NBC; Tuesdays, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT) and Two Guys, A Girl and
a Pizza Place (ABC; Wednesdays, 9:30 p.m. ET/PT)--are chided for their now
formulaic depictions of twentysomething lifestyles, replete with tired pop
culture references and "blather ... about relationships and commitment"
(Shales).
Movies
Primary Colors
(Universal Pictures). After weeks of
hype and raves, Mike Nichols' political satire opens to mediocre reviews.
Several newspaper critics--including the New York Times ' Janet Maslin
and the Wall Street Journal 's Joe Morgenstern--say the film isn't nearly
as entertaining as reality. Others gripe about the film's two and half hour
length, its mishmash of a plot, and John Travolta's inability to do more than a
"skillful nightclub impersonation" of the president (Edelstein,
Slate
). (Click here for the official site.)
Wild Things
(Columbia Pictures). Unexpected praise for this lurid
teen drama. Reviewers like the labyrinthine twists of the story, about two
high-school students (Neve Campbell, Denise Richards) who accuse their
high-school guidance counselor (Matt Dillon) of rape. But mostly critics admit
to enjoying the "guilty pleasures, including banzai bikini footage" (Mike
Clark, USA Today ) and "babelicious lesbians" (Owen Gleiberman,
Entertainment Weekly ). Others wonder how the movie got away with an R
rating and find it lacking even "the saving spark of low art or high camp"
(Richard Corliss, Time ). (Click here for the
official site.)
Taste of Cherry
(Zeitgeist Films). Reviewers rhapsodize over
Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's Cannes film festival winner about a man
contemplating suicide. Kiarostami "comes as close to defining the sublime
nature of living ... as a filmmaker is ever likely to do" (John Anderson,
Newsday ). They praise the director for his courage in addressing the
subject of suicide, which the theocratic Iranian government generally considers
taboo. The Chicago Sun-Times ' Roger Ebert dissents, suggesting critics
are swooning over this pretentious, sluggish "lifeless drone" for political
reasons. (The official site, available here, has a history of Iranian cinema.)
Theater
Cabaret
(Henry Miller Theater, New York City). Applause for
32-year-old British director Sam Mendes' reinterpretation of the musical about
Weimar Germany, the second Kander-Ebb show to be revived recently
( Chicago has been on Broadway since 1996). Critics say Mendes improves
upon the 1972 film version of the musical, which starred Liza Minnelli, by
rendering it dark and raunchy. They hail Natasha Richardson's unglamorous
portrayal of Sally Bowles--an aging, seedy bisexual nightclub singer--as the
"performance of the season" (Ben Brantley, the New York Times ).
Dissenting, the Washington Post 's Lloyd Rose says Richardson "can't
phrase a song."
Opera
Lohengrin
(Metropolitan Opera, New York City). Audiences
literally boo avant-garde director Robert Wilson for his minimalist staging of
Richard Wagner's classic opera, and most critics agree with the verdict. Wilson
uses a stage backdrop of nothing but stark blue and projects bands of white
light across it, while his performers stand almost motionless. Reviewers find
the set dull and the "frozen Kabuki poses ... sadistic" (Alex Ross, The New
Yorker ). A few critics take the audience's boos as evidence of New York
opera-goers' conservatism. "Met audiences have shown little interest in any of
the innovations that have transformed opera over the past half century" (Mark
Swed, the Los Angeles Times ).
Recent
"Summary Judgment" columns
March
18:
Movie -- The Man in
the Iron Mask ;
Movie -- Love and
Death on Long Island ;
Movie -- Men With
Guns ;
Television -- Lateline (NBC);
Television -- Significant
Others (ABC);
Pop -- Pilgrim ,
by Eric Clapton;
Book -- Spin
Cycle: Inside the Clinton Propaganda Machine , by Howard Kurtz;
Book -- The
Children , by David Halberstam.
March
11:
Movie -- The Big
Lebowski ;
Movie -- Primary
Colors hype;
Movie -- Twilight ;
Movie -- U.S.
Marshals ;
Theater -- The Beauty
Queen of Leenane ;
Book -- One Nation,
After All , by Alan Wolfe;
Book -- A History of the American People , by Paul Johnson.
March
4:
Movie -- An Alan
Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn ;
Movie -- Krippendorf's Tribe ;
Movie -- Lolita ;
Music -- Ray of
Light , by Madonna;
Book -- The
Smithsonian Institution , by Gore Vidal;
Theater -- Art ;
Art --"Chuck Close" (Museum of Modern Art).
Feb.
25:
Television -- The
American Experience: Reagan (PBS);
Television -- The
Wedding (ABC);
Television -- The
Closer (CBS);
Movie -- Palmetto ;
Book -- Cloudsplitter , by Russell Banks;
Art --"Fernand Léger"
(Museum of Modern Art);
Theater -- Freak .
--Franklin Foer
