The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 26, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 19, 1985 Page: 6 of 8
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WRESHER FINE -4RTS
As a film, Fast Forward bombs, but as modern dance, succeeds
Fast Forward
Directed by Sidney Poitier
After the recent debacles of both
Break in' and Breakin' II. Electric
Boogaloo, it was with extreme
reluctance that I even bothered to
go to Fast Forward. I now have to
admit that I liked the film, but not
for the usual reasons.
First, the plot. Eight teenagers
from Sandusky, Ohio, have a little
dance team that performs its
own original dances to its own
original music and lyrics. They
have the dream of going all the way
to New York, where they will win a
big contest that will propel them
to stardom.
I didn't like the plot.
John Scott Clough plays Matt,
the business manager of the troupe
and the lyricist. He constantly
overacts in almost every scene
except one, where he stands still
and looks vacant. He may have a
future, but it is probably not in
acting.
Don Franklin plays Michael, a
not-too-thinly-disguised Michael
Jackson-esque type person
(though not as androgenous) who
is the troupe's choreographer.
Unlike Mr. Clough, Mr.
Franklin's problem is that he tries
to be too cool and comes off like
he's waiting for his cue to start
acting. He never receives the cue.
Tamara Mark plays June
Wolsky, the object of Matt's
affections until he runs into a rich
New York girl. Miss Mark has the
largest amount of talent of any of
the troupe and 1 was almost
impressed. A few more years and
she will be quite good.
Rounding out the troupe were
five anonymous actresses who
played equally anonymous parts.
1 didn't like the acting.
The cinematography was slow
to achieve any decent effects and
some of the editing was very rough
indeed. The opening scenes, for
example, although providing the
necesary expository information,
were really dull because of lack of
imagination.
■>««*
Don Franklin leads "The Adventurous
1 didn't like the technical side
either.
What, then, did I like about this
film that I would recommend it?
Simple: the dancing.
The eight bad actors (well, four
anonymous females, two bad
males, and one maybe) are all,
without exception, some of the
finest modern dancers to recently
appear on the screen. They have
enough talent and skill to
overcome all of the other Haws in
this film.
And Sidney Poitier must be
given credit for allowing so much
dancing in one movie. All of the
numbers are wonderful. In the first
one, they are doing their last
rehearsal before leaving for the Big
Apple. It's pretty good stuff, but
certainly nothing to write home
about.
Next, they are in New York,
giving concerts on the streets to
raise money for their stay, and
even bursting into a luxurious
hotel and performing for a
Eight" on an impromptu concert at a con
convention of rich people. The
dancing, never dull, gets better.
At the Zoo, a famous New York
nightclub, the eight are challenged
to a Dance War by renegades from
Breakin' I and II, who, of course,
win. The yokels from Sandusky,
Ohio, are made to look just like
that: vokels.
vention for rich people at a posh hotel
Michael goes to work to
rechoreograph everything. A
revenge dance war is arranged,
with the same sides competing.
The eight from Ohio win easily,
doing amazing routines in perfect
synchronization. They work in
groups of from one to eight and are
at all times together. Don Franklin
is especially outstanding in his
originality, flexibility and
consummate skill.
Finally comes the big chance,
which, plotwise, is not very
climactic. But the final dance
number tops all previous ones.
There is such raw energy, such
vitality in the dancing, that the
audience is caught up in it, swept
along, and deposited breathless at
the end. This is what modern dance
should be like on film.
This is not to say, however, that
everthing else in the film was bad.
One bright spot is Irene Worth,
who plays Ida Sobel, the widow of
a New York manager who had
promised to help the kids but died
before he could. Ida will go to any
length to keep her late husband's
promise, even if that means dyeing
her hair blue, dressing up as a New
Waver and wearing leather and
chains. MissWorth plays this sixty-
year old with great vitality and
enthusiasm, adding the only
realistic and believable acting to
the film.
Though terribly weak in its plot
and acting. Fast Forwardexcells in
the dance scenes so adroitly crafted
by Mr. Poitier. If you go to see a
good film, you will be
disappointed. But if you like
dance, or if you have never
experienced good modern dance,
you will be amazed.
—Ian Neath
.But excess scenes bury the good bits
continued from page 5
avenges the murder of a friend by a
rival gangleader. The scene works
so well because of the sheer
intensity of Noodles's rage and the
shock of just how lethal a sixteen
year old's vengeance can be.
The problem is that though this
kind of narrative might work for
children, or in the wide-open
spaces, it loses credibility when
applied to mob leaders who
control huge chunks of New York,
with its vast network of
bootlegging and its complex
political machine. Instead of
adding intelligence, Sr. Leone
merely adds reels, compounding
the problem by reaffirming it for
nearly four hours.
good with action. Sr. Leone seems
to have learned how to direct
actors from experience with Clint
Eastwood, and De Niro is sadly
wasted, spending most of the film
talking very slowly and very
quietly, sporting a blank
expression that is supposed to be
pensive. He isn't helped out at all
by the script and the culmination
of this dead-pan approach comes
in a confrontation where De Niro
stirs coffee for five minutes while
Woods and the gang sit and stare
at him in silence. It's ludicrous.
Both major female roles are
utterly superfluous and the film
grinds to a total stop whenever
either one of them makes an
appearance. Elizabeth McGovern
wins the award for most time spent
Unfortunately, though he is
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with a glazed look in her eyes and
Tuesday Weld does nothing
besides get laid. Sr. Leone should
have cut a few reels by ditching
these two completely, along with
his entire 1960's story, which
wastes many feet of film solely to
provide an ironic ending that is at
best contrived and at worst
ridiculous.
Another peculiarity is
cinematographer Tonio Delia
Colli's use of "period" color (a la
Cotton Club). For some unknown
reason he uses it in the teenage
scenes but not in the prohibition
scenes, causing the 1920's to look
much yellower than the 1930's. He
also seems to be rather nervous in
the tight urban settings and
constantly moves the camera,
sometimes panning or tracking
only two or three feet at a time,
giving the film an unsettling
jumpiness.
Once Upon a Time in America
has some good moments, but they
tend to be connected by quite a bit
of less-than-captivating footage,
and at 225 minutes, that is a
distinct drawback. Sr. Leone made
some good spaghetti westerns;
perhaps he should return to that
genre and leave the gangsters to
somebody else.
— Ross Waldorf
Wine and cheese will be serveci Wednesday
and Thursday nights.
FEB. 20-23
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The Rice Thresher, February 19, 1985, page 6
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Havlak, Paul. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 26, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 19, 1985, newspaper, February 19, 1985; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245588/m1/6/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.