Arts/Review MIAMI BLUES. Starring Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Fred Ward. Directed George Armitage. LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN. Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stephen Lang, Burt Young. Directed by Uli Edel. At Cineplex Odeon theatres. _Its mean streets time in mainstream cinema. By that term, we don’t just mean the Usual portions of violence and more wiolence; we mean that grittiness that pees human degradation in a social con- Ext. _ Which is not to say that two recent offer- ings On the theme of America the Ugly are brilliant social critiques. It’s questionable Whether Miami Blues, a well-acted and edited, engrossing, offbeat treatment of a riminal psychopath’s adventures could qualify for the Enlightening Film award, if Such a category existed. And it’s definitely hot the award one would hand to Last Exit To Brooklyn, a film almost as devoid of jumanity as the namesake novel that Inspired it, But what seems to be emerging is a possi- ble 8enre of knife-edge post-Reaganism that whittles away at the layers of pretence cov- ‘ring the warts of American capitalism — the layers that were applied to Eighties film fare Tanging from bland comedies through slasher flicks to right-wing orgies of glorifi- Cation of imperialism such as the Rambo Series, _Miami Blues, despite its title, offers no vistas of white-sand beaches and swaying palms. There are a few classy hotels, but much of the scenes of Dade County, Fla. show backstreets of graffiti-covered walls and storefronts with barred windows’com- | Municating a general sense of decay, or the / Sterile venues of shopping malls and air- ports. Alec Baldwin is highly effective as Junior, a boyishly handsome, frequently charming con artist armed with considerable skills of Persuasion but who can commit violence, up to and including murder, to achieve his ends (there are some graphically gory Scenes). Jennifer Jason Leigh matches the performance in portraying a naive hooker Who falls for the man and his dreams. Juniour’s dreams? They’re just like Suzie’s: a nice house with a white picket fence and living happily ever after. But Suzie thinks the way to achieve this is to Start a fast food franchise. Junior counters that with, “Why don’t we cut out the middle Part and go directly to the happily-ever- after?” Like other marginalized Americans. in Miami Blues, Junior hungers after those things the society promises but. fails to deliver. Marginalized too is Junior's neme- Sis, a cop played by Fred Ward. Sloppy, aging, and modestly corrupt, Ward’s slum- dwelling detective goes after Junior with vengeance in his heart after the criminal has beaten him senseless and taken his gun and badge. ; The film’s original premise is that Junior poses as the detective, using the guise to deprive hoodlums and drug dealers of their booty. The problem is, Junior gradually comes to believe in the image he’s created, which helps to bring about his downfall. But the self-delusion-allows a glimpse at the complexities of an’ individual whose activities are mainly anti-social. Miami characters — with virtually no one to iden- tify with, the audience may feel somewhat numbed by the parade of corruption and fallen ideals — but the yearnings of Suzie ~ and Junior, and their links with the detec- _ tive through the fraternity of want, make cops-and-robbers entries. Blues does not entirely crack the code of its , this film better than average fare in the — Blues, Exit show ‘America the Ugly’ Last Exit to Brooklyn, on the other hand, gives us no place to put our sympathies. Based on the mid-Sixties novel by Hubert Selby Jr., this film mirrors Last Exit the book in portraying brutality with no redemption. After taking us for a walk through Selby’s sewer, the filmmakers try to wash off the slime in the sunlight of a happy ending. It rings false. Jennifer Jason Leigh resurfaces as a hooker, but unlike the warm, vulnerable Suzie of Miami Blues, the character of Tral- ala has no soft edges. Strutting on stiletto heels, the bleached-blonde, foul-mouthed streetwalker is almost an old-style carica- ture of prostitutes. Caricatures also are the metal workers who mill around the gates of the strike-bound plant; this film, aside from the language and sexual frankness of more recent cinema, has the look and feel of a movie of the Fifties, with about the same depth as that Cold-War period. And in fact, it takes place in the early part of the decade, during the Korean War. Tralala’s role is to lure unsuspecting ser- vicemen into a vacant waterfront lot on the promise of quick sex. Vinnie, her pimp, and his gang waylay the assorted sailors and soldiers, take their wallets and divide the take. Other assorted characters include Harry (Stephen Lang), the corrupt local strike cap- tain who uses union funds to buy beer and impress the local toughs; transvestites who encourage Harry to acknowledge his sup- pressed homosexuality; a loutish, insensitive worker type (Burt Young) who tries to punch out his son-in-law at the party cele- brating a shotgun wedding to the man’s overweight, childlike daughter. Last Exit may have one thing going forit that its literary inspiration lacked. A pitched battle between police and strikers trying to prevent scab trucks from leaving the plant doles out a modicum more of sympathy to the hard-pressed workers than Selby did in his anti-working class, anti-people novel. Salvation eludes Brooklyn’s benighted residents, and in turn we cannot grant any saving grace to this work, the creation of German director Uli Edel. Last Exit to Brooklyn, book and movie, imply that the victims of poverty and degradation are the sole authors of their sorry state. Ina recent interview, author Selby stated: “Those kind of neighbourhoods have existed since the beginning of time — there was one waiting outside the Garden of Eden.” Just as old are those reactionary sentiments. — Dan Keeton Pre-Inventory. Sale May 19 to June 2 20%. off paperbacks 25%. off hardcovers 1391 COMMERCIAL DRIVE VANCOUVER, B.C. V5L:3X5 TELEPHONE: 263-6442 Dancers from the Ballet Folklorico de Chile — Chilean Folkloric Ballet — brought a crowd of close to 1,000 to their feet several times during a perfor- mance of folk and interpretive dance, and songs, at the Pacific National Exhibition Gardens May 10. The company, formed in 1987 as the grip of Chile’s dictatorship was loosening, was on a tour of the United States and Canada. Classified Advertising COMING EVENTS MAY 25 — COPE invites you to participate in a conference you can't afford to miss. ‘“‘Com- munity Directions “90.” 7-10 p.m. and Satur- day, May 26, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on Broadway. 711 W. Broadway. For registra- tion or info phone 879-1447. MAY 27 — The Association of United Ukrain- ian Canadians presents The Dovbush Dancers in “A Mosaic of Ukrainian Dance." 2 p.m. North Vancouver's Centennial Theatre, 23rd and Lonsdale. $8/$6 seniors and students. For info call 254-3435 or 253-3032. JUNE 2 — Kim Goldberg is launching her new book “The Barefoot Channel” at Spartacus Books, upstairs at 311 W. Hastings 7 p.m. Come out to discuss Community TV as a tool for social change. KAMLOOPS JUNE 2 — Good company, good food, both available at our annual Tribune banquet. Tickets: $7/$5 (unemployed and seniors). Same place as last year, Mt. Paul United Church Hall, 140 Laburnam St., North Kam- loops. For tickets: 376-7110 or 376-6053. COMMERCIAL TRIB PHOTOS — Would you like a specific photo in the Pacific Tribune? Copies available: 5"x7"/S$6, 8"x10"/$8. Phone 251-1186. GRAMMA PUBLICATIONS. Complete print- ing services. Brochures, menus, leaflets, etc. A union shop. 2089 Commercial Dr. Vancouver. Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sat., 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 254-7717. AUTOPLAN, GENERAL INSURANCE, Early Agencies Ltd., 5817 Victoria Dr. Home, tenants, business, trade union. Call Dave Mor- ton, 321-6707. VICTORIA BILL HARTLEY your AutoPlan man. All types of insurance. Mail in or phone in. 2420 Douglas Street, Victoria, V8T 4L7. 388-5014. PORT ALBERNI STEREO, TV REPAIRS. All makes. Rebuilt TVs for sale. TVs bought and sold. Call Andre anytime! All Star TV-Stereo. 724-7238. LEGAL SERVICES CONSTANCE FOGAL. Family law, wills and estates. #401-207 W. Hastings St., 687-0588. JUNE 17 — Father's Day Halibut Barbecue: 1906 10th Ave. (Dougan’s). 2 to 6 p.m: $7.50/$3 (children). 521-7966 or 525-6013. Sponsored by New Westminster Club, CPC. FOR SALE ELECTRIC RANGE, spotless, $125 or best offer. Birdhouses, $10 each. Proceeds to Trib- une. Phone Sam at 327-5883. NOTICES COMPUTERIZING? Need help? Experience with IBM compatible computers. Call Shelly 688-9504. KAMLOOPS TRIB LENDING LIBRARY — 242 Larch Ave. Lots of labour and progressive literature for your reading enjoyment at no cost. For info 376-7110. Kamloops. memory of Tom McEwen husband, father and activist for peace and the rights of the working class. ‘We miss him very much. Rose McEwen Norman, Sean and their families DIRECTORY COMMUNIST PARTY OF CANADA office located at 1726 E. Hastings St., Van., V5L 1S9. Phone: 254-9836. Office hours: 9:30-12 noon; 1-5 p.m. Mon. to Fri. For information on political issues or assistance in political activity. COPE. Working for Vancouver. #206-33 East 8 Ave., Vancouver, B.C. V5T 1R5. Phone: 879-1447. HALLS FOR RENT MARITIME LABOUR CENTRE. 254-9550. RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME — Available for rentals. For reservations phone 254-3430. UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CULTURAL CENTRE — 805 East Pender St. Vancouver. Available for banquets, weddings, meetings. Phone 254-3436. TIM LOUIS & COMPANY ; _ Trial Lawyers Uncontested divorce $200* Conveyancing $200* Incorporations $200* Probate of will $500* Separation agreements $300* Wills $50* ICBC © contingency fee agreement Welfare,UIC appeals No fee* * All prices plus disbursements Divorce and Family Law Criminal Law '~ (including impaired driving) 108-2182 West 12th/732-7678 Tim Louis / Angela Accettura Pacific Tribune, May 21, 1990 « 7 ae ee ee Ena SOO