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the university daily kansan
friday
9.25.98
eight.a
In his latest film, President Clinton's Grand Jury Testimony, William J. Clinton gives an intense performance that balances the movie's simplicity. In one scene, Clinton tried to distract his grand jury audience by creating an origami swan out of his written statement. Contributed art
Clinton's latest performance a soul-baring masterpiece
THE DIRT
Kansan rating: A four-
Starr triumph!
Running pretty neatly
Running time: pretty danger long
All home video editions have been digitally remastered to enhance that obstruction in the name of love feeling.
Also available in widescreen
No MPAA rating they were too overcome by emotion to complete their analy sis, as can be understood.
By Jeremy M. Doherty Kansan movie critic
There is grand jury testimony and then there is art.
Few moments in home video history (with the exception of the release of The Return of Jafar) can equal the emotional purity and intellectual complexity that is President Clinton's Grand Jury Testimony. Quite simply, this is a four-hour masterpiece.
Dizzyingly elliptical and photographed with such sheer intensity that it overwhelms the viewer's innards, this testimony is a landmark for the cause of love in the face of adversity.
Pretty (old) boy
review
I think the moment that stands out the most to me arrives at the crucial 80-minute point. President Clinton, chugging water and facing questions from the office of the independent counsel regarding his affair with Monica Lewinsky, suddenly asks if he may be excused.
His words, tarnished by humiliation and perhaps an inkling of pride, make the humblest of all human requests: "Would you mind if we take a break? I need to go to the restroom."
Such a staggering moment in video history (and there are few of this magnitude) requires further discussion. Watch Clinton's timing, voice and gestures; the scene is a masterpiece of sound design, choreography and editing on par with the best of Daffy Duck. In the realm of unadultered exhilation, one must look back to the early works of Chuck Norris to find a superior example of such craftsmanship.
And yet, the simplicity of the production is breathtaking. Only one character appears for the entire opus, and the camera impassively remains fixed on one point. Hitchcock experimented with such limitations, but I seriously doubt he would ever consider something this awe-inspiring. That the gamble pays off beautifully is cause for reoiling.
In a moment that hasn't stopped torturing me, Clinton tells his interrogators the details of his affair are too embarrassing to mention. As evidence, he refuses to discuss the particulars of the relationship, placing the matter with some of the greatest mysteries of the modern age. The affair, which seems both real and unreachable to the audience, is just as mysterious as "Who killed JKF?" and "Why couldn't Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis get along?"
Clinton's soul-baring, heart-tugging testimonial amazingly surpasses the high standard set by that monumental Robert Redford picture. Did Redford ever prove his manliness by asking for a bathroom break? Did he ever point his finger directly into the lens, daring the counselor (and into) to gaze into his psyche? I think not. I'd say Clinton's work is Oscar-worthy, but we shouldn't insult his performance with gold statues of naked men.
As for the sexual content, I found it the most poignant, harrowing exploration of human sexuality since Indecent Proposal.
Is this enough to declare President Clinton's Grand Jury Testimony a masterpiece? Yes, but there's more.
In his testimony, Clinton asks for a definition of the word "is." Do we have to know what "is" means? Beats me, but I know this much: This video tape is a colossal, unforgettable experience in the bowels of American culture.
Andrew McCarthy and his 1980s movie pals are fading away
story by jeremy m doherty kansan movie critic
tart making plans. Andrew McCarthy turns 38 on Nov. 24 Who?
McCarthy, star of the 1980s flicks Pretty in Pink and Kansas (which premiered 10 years ago this weekend), is limping toward middle age.
Scary. Seems like only yesterday that we were enjoying his depth and range in films such as Mannequin, Critic Roger Ebert had this to say in 1987 about the dummy-comes-to-life comedy:
"The movie stars Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattraill, actors I have admired before and will, no doubt, admire again." Oons
It was inevitable that more than a few of the so-called Bt Packers such as McCarthy would fail to join us in the '90s. For every John Cusack or Demi Moore who made the journey, there's a mess of folks who didn't 't. (Cattrail, by the wav, just hit 42 last month.)
Hollywood runs in cycles. In the '60s, audiences flocked to the work of visionaries such as Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey) or John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy). In the '70s, the films of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, who earned their stripes in film school, redefined the Hollywood blockbuster and the special effects realm.
The stars of 1985's The Breakfast Club pile it on during the happy days of stonewashed jeans, Menudo and Michael J. Fox. Some KU students said the teen-oriented comedies of the previous decade would wither amid today's special effect-packed action movies.
And what of the '80s, the decade that saw the introduction of MTV, New Coke and Duran Duran?
We saw Harrison Ford trade in Han Solo's blaster in favor of Indiana Jones' whip, and the guy from Crocodile Dundee won a Golden Globe award — for acting, no less.
The subject matter was the polar opposite of complexity. Usually, it had something to do with Molly Ringwald evading a serial killer on prom night or John Cusack torching an army of gremlins while spending his Saturday in detention. Or something like that.
But their influence lives today, says John Aheard, graduate teaching assistant in theater and film.
"They're doing that kind of thing on TV now with shows like Dawson's Creek and Melrose Place," Aheard says. "You just don't see the demand as much because TV is now taking care of so much of the subject matter. Any number of subjects on Dawson's could've been a movie at one time."
movies.
Chris Meissner, graduate teaching assistant in theater and film, says that many of the characteristics of the '80s teen flicks have managed to outlast the stars. The Scream movies and their imitators, he says, are in the habit of employing the same collection of actors, just like the '80s films.
"You had the Brat Pack, this repertory of actors who were in all the same movies," Meissner said. "Event today, with people like Neve Campbell or Sarah Michelle Gellar, there's a little of that around still."
The memories remain too. Just saying the names "Spicoli," "Long Duk Dong" or "Ed Rooney" is enough to get scores of students giggling uncontrollably.
"They look back at them to make fun or to laugh at the things they once did," he savs.
But Aaron Thaete, Claffin sophomore, says that audiences today are more inclined to reminiscence about '80s flicks for the wrong reasons.
That fits in with recent box office reports. Adam Sandler's The Wedding Singer grossed more than $80 million by poking fun at the stonewashed Age of Ringwald. The new breed of slasher films also earned its share of cash by providing satiric commentary along with the mayhem.
"I don't think that's what people want to watch anymore," she says. "They want to see action. Or if it's romance, they want it like in *Titanic*.
Sarah Vrabac, Tulsa, Okla, freshman, says audiences today are too sophisticated to accept the prom-going fantasies of yesterear.
Amanda Booz, McPherson senior,
says movie studios probably would
lose money on such teen-oriented fare
today.
"They're putting more money into movies and special effects," she says. "You don't see a lot of special effects in Footloose."
Exactly. Nothing but Kevin Bacon, an empty warehouse and a little Kenny Loggins.
SURFIN' BACK IN TIME
Websites devoted to films from the 1980s
Daily100
www.BOs.com/Entertainment/Movies/Daily100/
www.Clips From the BOs.
www.gecites.com/SunsetStrip/Mezzanine/4480
90: An Shine.
Chucky G's Eighties Web Page
worcestermoss.com/80s/
www.angelfire.com/me/1980s
Check Out Fiction / Mobi Books
Lisa's 80's Explosion
worcestermass.com/80:
■ Lisa's 80's Explosion
Andrew McCarthy, star of 1980s movies Pretty in Pink and Kansas, will celebrate his 38th birthday in November. However, his movies, and many other from the '80s, appear timeless. Contributed photo
members.aol.com/socia22/index.html
LOST BOYS
Whatever happened to...
Kim Cattrell (Mannequin) appeared opposite Ray Liotta in the 1996 thriller Unfor nottable.
Jon Cryer (pretty in Pink) has a role in the upcoming Eddie Murphy comedy, Holy Man.
■ Emilie Estevez (The Breakfast Club) last appeared in 1996's D3: The Mahlon Ducks
Cory Feldman (The Gooies, Stand By Me) appeared opposite Dennis Miller in the 1996 flop Bordello of Blood.
Corey Haim (The Lost Boys) appeared in 1996's direct-to-video action flick Demolition High opposite Alan Thicke and Dick Van Patten.
Anthony Michael Hall (The Breakfast Club) appeared in the 1993's Six Degrees of Separation opposite Will Smith.
**John Hughes** (director of The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off) wrote 1997's Home Alone 3.
Andrew McCarthy
(Kansas, Pretty in Pink)
was last seen doing
off-Broadway theater
in New York
**Judd Nelson** (The Breakfast Club) now stars in the TV show Suddenly Susan.
Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles) stars in the upcoming thriller Killing Mrs. Tingle, directed by Scream writer Kevin Williamson
Ally Sheedy (The Breakfast Club) received enthusiastic reviews this summer for her performance in the independent film High Art.
Information courtesy the Internet Movie Database at us.imdb.com.
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