— PROMISED LAND Starring Jason Gedrick, Kiefer Sutherland, Meg Ryan, and Tracy Pollan Produced by Rick Stevenson Written and directed by Michael Hoffman A Vestron Release. Drama, rated R Running time: 101 mm Screening date: 1/11/88 Meandering and nebulous of intent, "Promised Land" functions well nonetheless as an intriguing portrait of a new lost generation of Americans. Based on the true story of a young Idaho policeman who ends up shooting one of his old high school buddies, director Michael Hoffman uses this central event to tie together the otherwise disparate lives of three one-time classmates: high school basketball hero turned university washout Davey (Jason Gedrick J, who winds up returning home to take a job as a local lawman; unhappy university art major Mary (Tracy PollanJ, who wants to return home but cannot for fear of displeasing her family; and dim but likeable Danny (Kiefer Sutherland), an unambitious drifter who spends the last years of his young life wandering the American Southwest. The bulk of the movie follows all three characters as they converge on their hometown for the Christmas holidays. Davey patrols his hometown, still shaking off the disappointment he feels at having his future stall so early. Mary, his semi-estranged high school sweetheart, is home from college; university life is already causing her to grow beyond her small town origins, and she's obviously quite ambivalent about the transformation. Danny, meanwhile, is returning home for the first time since he just picked up and disappeared two years before, and he's got Bev (Meg Ryan), his brand-new, beautiful, semideranged, boisterous and gun-happy wife in tow. Ryan's performance as the chronically quirky but totally engaging Bev is the highlight of the film, and, oddly, its most accessible element. A fiercely weird girl with nearly arbitrary notions of right and wrong, Bev remains easy to like because she's funny, totally uninhibited and ruthlessly devoted to Danny. The ubiquitous Sutherland, who has held the market lately as our leading purveyor of teen evil in movies like "Stand By Me" and "The Lost Boys," is excellent in a completely different way as the sad misfit who, with Bev's help, finally begins to glean some fun from life. Gedrick is a tad stiff and Pollan's role somewhat underdeveloped, but Hoffman manages to elicit praiseworthy performances from virtually every supporting player. The movie is essentially a character piece, and Hoffman comes through with some fascinating personalities. Special mention must go to Oscar Rowland, endearingly pathetic as Danny's sick, broken husk of a father, and the aptly-named Googy Gress as Davey's goofy cop sidekick. Strictly in terms of craft, Hoffman's screenplay and direction work in tandem to fomiulate scenes rich with wellhewn texture and detail. There are no real false moves and many quite superb set-pieces. The only real problem, really, is trying to figure out what the film is trying to say. It lacks thematic unity. The climactic shooting, well-handled though it is, seems a gimmicky way of drawing the two sets of main characters (who have really had little to do with each other in the past) together. In the final analysis, "Promised Land" is an entertainingly well-crafted movie that will leave audiences scratching their heads with unremittant vigor. "Promised Land" is rated R for language, violence, nudity and sexual situations. Jim Kozak Claire ("'Crocodile' Dundee's" Linda Kozlowski) has been swindled out of a $50,000 inheritance by TV preachers Ray and Darla Porter, so she sets out with her boyfriend Jesse (Bill Paxton) and her two outlaw cousins to steal the money back. Their plan goes smoothly until, when trying to escape, they mistakenly run onto the set of Ray and Darla's live fundraising broadcast. Caught redhanded on satellite television, Jesse thinks quickly and takes the show hostage. The film takes the expected shots at the hypocrisy of the religious leaders getting rich off the contributions of their poor followers, but what gives "Pass the Ammo" its humor and, yes, warmth is its quirky characters and attention to detail. Writers Joel and Neil Cohen's characters are cut from the same cloth as the Southern scheiners we've seen in "Blood Simple" and "Raising Arizona" (which were, coincidentally, written by Joel and Ethan Coen), but where the Coen's characters' chief trait was stupidity, these folks are mostly endearing. The casting is nearly impeccable. Paxton and Kozlowski are basically a bland hole in the middle of the film, but the supporting players more than compensate. Tim Curry is wonderful as Reverend Ray, oozing with a snake-oil salesman's sincerity. While Ray is not identifiably patterned after any specific clergyman, Darla is clearly a thinly disguised Tainmy Bakker. Typical of the film's light touch, however, Darla does not become a caricature and, as played by Annie Potts, emerges as fairly sympathetic. The film's highlight, however, is Glenn Withrow as Claire's cousin, Arnold. A true innocent despite his lengthy prison record, Arnold reacts gleefully to the spectacle he's caught in and spends fully half the film dressed as Lucifer as he tries to catch the eye of a choir singer dressed as an angel. It may soimd silly, but Withrow pulls it off with considerable charm. David Beaird directs with a minimum of visual flash, but his sharp timing keeps the action moving. "Pass the Ammo" will need a solid marketing campaign to tnake up for its lack of big stars and for a premise that may alienate a substantial number of potential viewers. But if it gets the chance to reach its audience, this little gem should do well. Rated R for language and violence. — Eric Williams PASS THE AMMO Starring Bill Paxt(m, Linda Kozlowski, Annie Potts, Anthony Geary and Tim Curry Produced by Herb jaffe and Mort Engelberg Directed by David Beaird Written by Neil Cohen and Joel Cohen A New Century/Vista release Comedy, rated R Running time: 91 min Screening date: 12/3/87 "Pass the Ammo" takes a well-timed swipe at telcvangelism and turns out to be a great deal of fun, provided that the viewer already has a somewhat jaundiced view of the profession. R-25 BOXOKRCE
MANON OF THE SPRING Starring Yves Montand. IJanicl Auicuil and EmmanucUr Bcart Directed by Claude Bern Written by Bern and Gerard Brach An Orion Classics Release Drama, rated PG Running time 113 mm Screening dale 12/17/87 We actually missed ".Jean de Florette" when it came out, but we'll be certain to see it now Its seciuel, "Manon of the Spring" is a bnlliantly realized achievement in its own right, a sad, cunning, thoughtful examination of a villain's heart and what drives men to evil. I his sit onil h.ill 1)1 thi- sfo/i ht-^uii ii/(/> " Ir.iii ilirion'ttr" is ,i ri-ni.irk.ihli' stii(h ol f\il .mil intriiatcly -staged revenge. Alter nine weeks, the lilni had earned a healthy SI. -t million. EAT THE RICH SIwriH!; [.• . Liy and Nnsher Powell Produced by Michael Whiff and Tim Van Rellini Directed by Peter Richardson Written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens A New Line Cinema release Comedy, rated R Running lime: 88 min Screening date 12/1/87 The British import "Eat the Rich" bills itself as an "anarchic comedy," which is only half-right It certainly is anarchic, but only occasionally does it generate enough laughs to be called a comedv Rrmrmhrr bou "Thrrr At
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