Friday, October 2,1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 5
Reviews
A Night at the Roxbury's comedy duo not ready for big night on the town
By Jeremy M. Doherty
Doug Butobi (Chris Kattan) and brother Steve Butabi (Will Ferrell) try to bribe a doorman (Michael Clarke Dunsen) in the comedy A Night at the Roxbury. Contributed Photo
By Jeremy M. Donerty
Kansan movie critic
Class, repeat after me;
TV humor does not work in movies.
Though it barely makes it to the 80-minute mark, A Night at the Roxbury seems to drag on longer than even the most overdone Kevin Costner movie.
The film is based on a popular Saturday Night Live skit about two club-hopping losers, played by show regulars Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan. Dressed in metallic suits, black T-shirts and gold chains, these guys cruise the L.A. club scene armed with their dad's BMW and a crop of 20-year-old pick-up lines.
This works fine on the small screen because each skirt rarely exceeds the length of a two-minute segment. If the material sucks, so be it; you just grab the remote, and no one gets hurt.
But watching this drek on a 20-foot screen and in THX sound is nothing less than torture. *Roxbury* boasts SNL cast members, out-to-pasture TV stars and a flood of pounding dance music, but it forrests the laughs.
No kidding. The audience sat stonefaced at a recent screening for as long as five minutes at a time
With their sculpted sideburns, brothers Steve (Ferrell) and Doug Butabi (Kattan) toil in their dad's floral shop by day and groove at the hot clubs every night. That is, they party at any club that doesn't have a guest list.
Steve and Doug trade high-fives for no reason and wow the "hotties" with stories about meeting Emilio Estevez.
One night, Richard Grieco, of 21 Jump Street fame and deity to all young swangers, engages
the Butabis in a round of fender-bending. Eager to avoid a lawsuit, Grieco shepherds the two studs into the posh Roxbury, where Steve works on the nerve to ask his host the burning question.
"So, are you, like, going to meet up with Johnny Depp later?"
A couple of real actors (Chazz Palminterl and Dan Hedaya) pop up every so often, with little or no impact. I suppose we all have to find ways to pay the rent, but this is pathetic.
For the most part, A Night at the Roxbury is a simple point A-to-point B movie, and the audience keeps waiting for Kattan and Ferrell to come up with a punch line. They evidently think that the mere sight of these two trying to pass themselves off as happenin' guys is funny enough. It isn't.
A NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY
Kansan rating:★ out of ★★★★
Running time: 80 minutes
Rated PG-13 for mildly sexual situations, head-bobbing and gold chains
Kent's American debut shows mediocre effort
Kansan music critic
By T.R. Miller
There is a tradition among all Swedish bands to spit out the quintessential pop song. Take your basic Swedes: Abba, Roxette and The Cardigans, and you will see a distinct pattern. The lyrics are catchy, and the melody bubbles over in a sickeningly sweet froth. It's disgustingly addictive, and it works.
Kent is a fairly new Swedish
KENT
Kansan rating: **★** and 1/2 out of
*****
essentially a 12-track continuation of the same melody.
band that has attracted attention thanks to the success of The Cardigans, with whom they toured last year. The all-male band from Stockholm released its American debut this year to eager media hands. Just imagine my disappointment when I listened to "Isola," which is
Kent sticks to the prototypical pop formula: a steady one-two beat, a non-existent bass line and a four-minute song full of chorus.
"Things she said" is similar:
The second track on the album is a prime example of this theory. "If you were only here today," croons lead singer Joakim Berg. But the song has a surprising lack of passion for such a woeful song about lost love.
"Underneath my wristwatch, my skin is white / Underneath my wristwatch, my skin is winter." The music is as empty as the lyric.
There was one song that did stray from this droning effort. "Celsius" actually has a quite lovely violin solo and a rhythmic, yet elementary bass line.
Kent could do itself a favor by taking more chances in their songwriting. "Isola" shows little artistic ability and is a mediocre piece at best.
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