Jeanine Noce, A & E Editor behrcollS @ aol.com The Bachelor’ has the ladies screaming, ‘Pick me, pick me!’ by Autumn Brown contributing writer ABC received a warm welcome into the reality TV family with its new hit primetime show “The Bachelor.” For six weeks, one hunky matrimony- jase,. . jnnon at -ire a time with their potential husband-to-be Alex. minded bachelor has to decide out of 25 attractive women who will be “the one” he marries. Basically, it’s an ar ranged marriage, TV style. Alex Michel, a.k.a. ‘The Bachelor,’ is a 6-0, 31-year-old Stanford and Harvard educated management con sultant who presents himself to the public, as the hunter, while the bachelorettes stand as his prey. The single women are granted the unique opportunity to find true love. The girl's lifestyles range from being a Hooters waitress to an attorney. Even though there is a strong sense of vari ety, they all hope to find Mr. Right. During the first episode Alex se lected 15 women out of the 25. They then moved into a plush Malibu sea side home to live together for the re mainder of the series. After going on dates and spending quality time with each of the remaining ladies, each epi sode closes with the bachelor present imo on ing roses to the “special women” he wants to stay for the next show. Of ten times those “unspecial ones” leave with mascara running down their face from tears of sadness and jealousy. In following episodes, the bachelor will narrow the field of 25 down to the elite eight, the final four, and lastly, the one. As the ladies fawn and lust over Alex, they visualize him as a prize to be won. In his own mind, Alex weeds out his own prize from the would-be soulmates. Along with the bachelor, the women also believe that they are ready to take the marital plunge, but don’t feel like they have the time to date in the real world. The show, which received a vast va riety of reviews, still leaves viewers wondering why 25 women would hu miliate themselves on national televi- “1 can’t believe how desperate these »se ceremony to spend way to women are. Who in their right mind would embarrass themselves like that, especially on TV?,” said sophomore Roxann Fraser. Although “The Bachelor” may look like another pathetic take on people demanding their 15 minutes of fame, viewers won’t be disappointed. What else can you expect when you have 25 single women fight over one man? Due to the show’s success, ABC is seeking both eligible bachelors and bachelorettes for a second season. Tune in Monday nights at 9 p.m. to see which lucky lady Alex selects to marry. AKT3& Friday, April 19, 2002 Critic’s critique by Daniel J. Stasiewski Watch out while Changing lanes’ No matter how minor, a car acci dent always adds a little stress to your life, There’s the immediate adrenaline rush, the nervous exchange of in surance information, and the ex pected monetary headaches, but the tension usually subsides. In that re spect, “Changing Lanes” is a lot like a car accident. Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson’s simple fender bender turns into a pile-up of moral and ethical conflicts and sets the pace for a tense but ultimately deflated thriller. Gavin Banek (Affleck) is a young, ambitious Wall Street law- ‘Changing Lanes’ is a story on what happens one yin New York when a young lawyer ai nessman share a small automobile accident on F.D.R. Drive, which escalates into a feud. yer. When his boss (and father-in law) entrusts him to present a criti cal file to the court, Gavin doesn’t hesitate. He gets in his posh car and speeds to the courthouse. Headed to the same place is Doyle Gibson (Jackson), a recov ering alcoholic and struggling fa ther. At the courthouse, his wife is set to claim full custody of their children, but Doyle is confident his plan for a new life as a family will change her mind. When Doyle is run off the road by the rushed Gavin, Doyle’s car is totalled. Gavin, determined to make his ap pointment, leaves Doyle at the side of the road, but he also leaves the file. Doyle, with file in hand, shows up at the courthouse just in time to by Daniel J. Stasiewski staff writer see his wife get full custody of their children. On the other side of the building, the judge gives Gavin un til the end of the day to find the cru cial file. Gavin’s hit-and-run comes hurling back at him because Doyle isn’t giving up the file without a fight. At first glance, “Changing Lanes” seems like it’s just that in evitable road rage movie. True, road rage will probably become the focus of an action/thriller for some TBS original, but “Changing Lanes” isn’t even a start for the hot topic. Instead, the little car acci dent is used to transform the film’s considerable moral dilemmas into high stakes game of tug-of-war. Leading the charge in the back and-forth battle is Jackson. Jack son is spectacular as the desperate father being pushed closer and closer to the edge. His performance is extremely emotional, hot-wired, and, most importantly, human. Di vorce and alcoholism are two of the simplest ways to develop a charac ter, but Jackson’s role is more pow erful than that. The Behrend Beacon In contrast to Jackson’s affecting performance, Affleck is oddly im passive in what looks to be a very emotional role. Affleck played a much better young urban profes sional trying to set things right in “Bounce” (where he was the alco holic), but his performance in “Changing Lanes” is solid enough to depict the stronger of the two characters. Affleck’s character faces the real moral and ethical struggles. In an ironic twist, it’s often immorality that pushes his character. His mis tress, played by the marvelous Toni Collette, is the voice of sanity while his wife eftcourages his indiscre tions. Blackmail also turns out to be a solution to his problems. Even though Affleck doesn’t necessarily give a breathtaking performance like Jackson’s, the character is too fc * * amazing and complex to disappoint. In the end, the constant tug-of war between the unexpectedly bit ter enemies just evaporates. It’s as if both let go of the rope hoping to give the other an empty win, but the rope just falls limp. I’m sure I would be more annoyed by its pre dictability if this film ended with a bang, but the cheerfully quiet end ing just doesn’t fully utilize the massive buildup of tension. While some additional jerking around could have been done, the climax turns out to be a safe but pleasant stop for “Changing Lanes.” ★ ★★ out of 4 Page
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