Boxoffice-September.1997

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REVIEWS
The Buyers Guide
187 ••
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kelly
Rowan and John Heard. Directed by
Kevin Reynolds. Written by Scott
Yagemann. Produced by Bruce Davey and
Steve McEveety. A Warner Bros, release.
Drama. Rated Rfor violence, strong language,
drug usage and brief nudity. Running
time: 120 min.
There have been several good
teacher/bad student films in
the past few
years, standouts among them "Dangerous
Minds" and "The Substitute." This drama
isn't quite in that class. In "187" (the California
penal code for murder), Trevor (Samuel
L. Jackson) is a teacher whose career is
changed by a student attack. After recovery,
he returns as a substitute at a different
school—a school that has metal detectors
and a disrespectful student body. In genre
tradition, he is assigned to the worst class
on campus. When the rules don't work, he
decides that extreme discipline is needed.
Written by a former teacher (Scott
Yagemann) for seven years in the Los Angeles
public school system, "187" shows
evidence of all-too-real-life events and
built-up frustrations. Though filled with insights,
the film's episodic nature means
"187" falls short: Its intent seems to be to
leave beneficial impressions on a school-age
audience, but it makes its points too intellectually.
It's a pyrrhic victory, benefiting
the high-minded filmmakers but leaving the
audience a casualty.
Dwayne E. Leslie
THE WINNER •••
Starring Vincent D'Onofrio, Rebecca
DeMornay, Delroy Undo and Michael
Madsen. Directed by Alex Cox. Written
by Wendy Riss. Produced by Kenneth
Schwenker. A Live release. Drama.
Rated Rfor strong language, along with
some violence and sexuality. Running
time: 90 min.
Quirky and stylish, "The Winner" is yet
another entry in the neo-noir genre. What
distinguishes it from its brethren is its emphasis
on character and leisurely
pacing,
rather than a labyrinthine plot or visual
pyrotechnics. It's a highly stylized film;
making the most of its Vegas locations, it
nonetheless makes the city look unreal.
Philip ("The Whole Wide World's" Vincent
D'Onofrio), the story's man on a winning
streak, lives in a so-new-it' s-raw
housing development, creepy in its suburban
banality. It's not a vision of Las Vegas
audiences have seen before. The strong
cast—all character actors par excellence
breathe life into nightlife types that could
easily have been cliches.
D'Onofrio is fine playing a man so decent
and unassuming he seems like a dimwit,
and Rebecca DeMornay makes a compelling
lowlife. In the last act, "The Wirmer"
takes an odd left turn into surrealism, a move
that perhaps played better on stage (the film
is based on Wendy Riss' play). Still, the
movie is well worth a look for its coherent
and original vision of the American obsession
with luck, glamor, riches, violence and
true love. Cathy Thompson-Georges
GOOD BURGER •••1/2
Starring Kenan Thompson, Kel
Mitchel, Abe Vigoda and Sinbad. Directed
by Brian Rabbins. Written by Dan Schneider
and Kevin Kopelow & Heath Seifert.
Produced by Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins.
A Paramount release. Comedy.
Rated PG for language, some comic violence
and mild sex-related humor. Running
time: 95 min.
"Good Burger" is fat with laughs, good
for your heart, and the film introduction of
cable network Nickelodeon's two most popular
young stars: Kenan Thompson ancfKel
Mitchel (of "All That" and "Kenan & Kel"),
a sensational comedy duo the likes of which
haven't been seen since Abbott and Costello.
As directed by Brian Robbins, in big,
bright close-ups, Kenan and Kel breathe
heart and soul into this tale of virtue winning
over all, and false friendship becoming real.
Presented in association with Nickelodeon
Movies, "Good Burger," a Tollin/
Robbins production, is a tasty serving of
quality family fare. Jokes are built on Ed's
wild leaps of mind: When offered a bribe,
"How does $10 sound?", Ed crinkles a tenspot
to his ear. Tender moments with
Shaquille O'Neal and an exceptional dance
sequence with George Clinton stand out,
and the score jams. — Karen Achenbach
AIR FORCE ONE ^^1/2
Starring Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman,
Wendy Crewson, William H. Macy and
Glenn Close. Directed by Wolfgang
Petersen. Written by Andrew W. Marlowe.
Produced by Wolfgang Petersen, GailKatz,
Armyan Bernstein and Jon Shestack. A
Columbia release. Action. Rated Rfor violence.
Running time: 120 min.
Yet another tired "Die Hard" rehash
wrapped around a ridiculous premise, "Air
Force One" nevertheless stays aloft for the
better part of its two-hour running time
thanks to the diversionary skills of director
Wolfgang Petersen ("In the Line of Fire")
and some superb acting from Harrison
Ford. In the end, however, as is increasingly
the case with Hollywood action pictures,
credibility is stretched too thin for even the
best of talents to salvage this story of an
American president (Ford) hijacked by terrorists
led by the usual genre psycho ("The
Fifth Element's" Gary Oldman).
Although the interior of Air Force One
might not exactly compare to his World
War II "Das Boot" U-boat, Petersen does
manage to sustain the film's suspense and
intensity well beyond what its premise merits.
Ford, likewise, appears so believably
presidential that even fistfuls of action-film
cliches start to seem fresh. But Oldman adds
another over-acted villain to his c.v., with
temperamental exclamations of "Shaaaht
aahp!" and repeated lectures on the lost
glory of "Maaahther Raaahsia" verging on
comedy. Also, as the film winds to a close,
claustrophobic tension once again gives
way to overblown digital effects and outlandish
set pieces enough to make Ford
yearn for the calmer days aboard the Millennium
Falcon. Wade Major
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