The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, January 22, 1988 Page: 9 of 20
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THRESHER Fine Arts Friday, January 22,1988
Entertaining Moonstruck succeeds despite hype
Moonstruck
Directed by Norman Jewison
Moonstruck has received some ter-
rific reviews, but frankly this is one
movie where I just don't see what the
big deal is. Basically this is a made-
for-TV movie with some big name
stars, not, as one reviewer hailed, the
"funniest movie of the year."
The story centers around an Italian-
American family and their various
relationships. Loretta Castorini
(Cher) is a superstitious widow who
is looking to get married again, but
this time not for love. She gets en-
gaged to Johnny Cammareri (Danny
Aiello), a dullard who is nonetheless
willing to marry her—that is, after he
goes to visit his dying mother in Italy.
During this absence Loretta goes to
reconcile with Johnny's brother
Ronny (Nicolas Cage). It seems the
two brothers haven't spoken for five
years.
They meet each other, talk about
the wedding, yell at each other, and
then end up going to bed together,
complicating things considerably.
Despite Loretta's protests, we know
the two are in love.
In the meantime, her father (Vin-
cent Gardenia) is fooling around with
a side dish of his own, much to the
Moonstruck stars, among others, Nicolas Cage and Cher (seated, left).
dismay of his wife Rose (Olympia
Dukakis). The movie also follows
other family relationships.
The entire cast is asked to speak
with Italian accents, with varying
degrees of success. Cher's is pass-
able, but it fades at times. Cage's
sounds authentic, although it seems
like he has the nasal congestion voice
he donned in Peggy Sue Got Married.
Gardenia, Aiello, and much of the
supporting cast are Italian to begin
with.
The biggest surprise is Olympia
Dukakis. The mother of the family,
she has almost no accent -but she also
gives the best performance in the film
by far.
The resolution of the different
story lines is brought to a much-too-
tidy conclusion by writer John Patrick
Shanley, which undermines some
otherwise good character develop-
ment. Director Jewison does an admi-
rable job with the comic pacing, even
though it lags in the middle.
Strangely disappointing was the
use of the moon. From the opening
shot which has Dean Martin
singing,"When the moon hits your
eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore,"
we are led to bel ieve the moon is a key
element of the film. Yet the moon
scenes are neither mystical nor spe-
cial - they're just there.
Moonstruck is a nice collection of
actors working their way through a
somewhat interesting story, but it just
isn't much as a full-length film. Cher
and Cage are fairly attractive to-
gether, but Olympia Dukakis and
John Mahoney (who plays a flirta-
tious professor) are infinitely more
entertaining in a much smaller rela-
tionship. Is Moonstruck overpraised?
Yes, but it is still entertaining and
possibly worth five bucks.
—David Nathan
Robertson's first solo album combines various styles
Robbie Robertson
Geffen Records
Not much has been heard from
Robbie Robertson since The Band's
1976 farewell concert,"The Last
Waltz." After a more than ten-year
hiatus, Robertson has broken his
musical silence with the release of his
first solo album, entitled Robbie
Robertson. It is definitely one of the
best albums of the year.
With producer Daniel Lanois,
Robertson has crafted an album that
blends the styles of other bands with
his own to come up with a unique
sound. Robertson's voice is a blend of
Bob Dylan and Paul Hewson (Bono
of U2). On the album's opening cut,
"Fallen Angel," Robertson is backed
by vocalist/keyboardist Peter Gab-
riel. The textures of their voices blend
beautifully, each complementing the
other. On this album, texture seems to
be Robertson's primary aim.
On "Sweet Fire of Love,"
Robertson is backed by U2, another
Lanois success story. The song begins
with a ringing guitar riff by Dave
Evans (the Edge) and evolves into a
duet between Robertson and Bono.
The croon of Bono's yoice bounces
off the hoarseness of Robertson's to
produce a song that conveys the voice
as an instrument that produces musi-
cal sounds rather than a simple
mouthpiece. Though the song is a
slightly more cutting version of Bruce
Springsteen's "Born to Run," the lyr-
ics are not that important in this con-
Jazz pianist Taylor pleases crowd
Billy Taylor
Jazz, America's Classical Music
As a part of the Afro-American
Culture Series currently being spon-
sored by the Shepherd School of
Music, world-renowned jazz pianist
Billy Taylor performed and lectured
to a full crowd in Hamman Hall last
Monday night. The performance was
entitled Jazz, America's Classical
Music.
Actually, Taylor's lecture started
Monday afternoon when he held a
Master Class for students, teachers
and various Houston artists. Many
Rice students were asked to play as
Taylor objectively critiqued their per-
formances. Taylor also played with
some students and later answered
questions ranging from interpreta-
tions of Jazz and Gospel to improvisa-
tion, showmanship, idiom and musi-
cianship.
He opened the night performance
with a reverent movement from a
piece commemorating the observed
birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., His Name Was Martin from
Peaceful Warrior. He then began to
lecture on the meaning and origins of
jazz which included renditions of the
spirituals Nobody Knows the Trouble
I've Seen and When the Saints Go
Marching In.
After a crowd-tickling improvisa-
tion of Three Bltfid Mice ("All you
have to do is change it melodically,
harmonically, and rhythmically"), he
analyzed and demonstrated the style
of the renowned Jazz great Eubie
Blake with the classics Melodic Rag
and Ain't Misbehavin'.
Throughout the performance Tay-
lor commented on his family history
and musical background while nos-
talgically telling of his experiences
with Jazz greats such as Duke Elling-
ton, CountBasie, Max Roach, Charlie
Parker, Thelonious Monk and Dizzy
Gillespie.
Taylor ended the night with a
lenghthy and spectacular medley of
standard and elite tunes depicting the
chronology of Jazz ("That'll give you
something to think about") and after a
lengthy round of applause he opened
the floor to questions. Although he
actually answered only one question,
the appreciative and enchanted crowd
demanded a spectacular double en-
core which included It's the Little
Things That Mean So Much and I
Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be
Free.
B illy Taylor is a busy and respected
producer, arranger, author, composer
and performer. For him to perform a
free recital is indeed an honor. As
Mellon Fellow of Afro-American
Studies in Music, Jones Resident
Associate Dwight Andrews did an
excellent job of coordinating this
unique and memorable event.
True to its billing, Jazz, America's
Classical Music was an informative
lecture and recital. Billy Taylor
eloquendy and venerably addressed
the overflow crowd in a manner that
was definitive but not overly techni-
cal. He proclaimed jazz as a "Gift of
the Black community" that is
uniquely American and has come to
be respected and cherished all over
the world.
—Russell Ross
text.
"American Roulette," a song that
chronicles the rise and fall of Elvis
Presley and Marilyn Monroe, is the
album's most biting cut. In it
Robertson takes a cynical look at the
American dream, singing,"American
Roulette, stake your life upon it."
Drummer Terry Bozzio and Stick
Bassist Tony Levin help to give the
song a menacing, pulsating beat.
Robbie Robertson closes his album
with 'Testimony," a song that is pure
funk. Backed by both U2 and a horn
arrangement by Gil Evans, it has a
sound that is reminiscent of Stevie
Wonder's "Superstition." The song
reveals how much influence producer
Lanois had over the sound of the
album, as neither Robertson's nor
U2's style is evident in the song. It's
purely Lanois and Evans.
To call Robbie Robertson a come-
back album is a mistake. Robbie
Robertson took his time crafting this
album, avoiding the pressure of a
record company to make a hit record.
The style Roberston has chosen is a
departure from the sound of The
Band. He's not sure what sound he
wants. So he and Lanois have created
an album that is almost like a demo
tape, using styles of others and mak-
ing them his own. Robbie
Robertson's next album will probably
be based on just one style, or he might
choose to pursue each style in an
individual project.
In a year that has given us both
Tiffany and Belinda Carlisle, Robbie
Robertson is a breath of fresh air. He
has proven that in a world of commer-
cial pop music, a thoughtful, eclectic
and earnestly performed album can
still be produced.
—Louis E. Spiegler
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Wucker, Michele. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, January 22, 1988, newspaper, January 22, 1988; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245682/m1/9/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.