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NINE TO FIVE
By Rick Morrison
"Nine to Five," starring Lily Tomlin,
Dolly Parton, and Jane Curtir, ;s back in
the area at several theaters. For those of
you who missed the film the first time
around, here is a review.
"Nine to Five" is a story of three
misused secretaries who take matters
into their own hands in order to change
their miserable working conditions
which are the cause of a multitude of
frustrations.
Violet (Lily Tomlin) is used by the
boss as a waitress, as a gift buyer, and
she is denied promotions which she feels
she deserves. Doralea (Dolly Parton) is
sexually harassed by the boss while she
is in his office to take dictation. Judy
',Jane Curtin) v reaks havoc in the office
copying room and the boss yells at her
for her lack of competence in operating
the machinery.
Eventually the boss, Mr. Hart (play
ed by Dabney Coleman) hurls one too
many insults and the women leave the
office to get stoned to relieve their
frustrations. What follows is a silly,
giggling pot smoking scene where the
women trade ideas on how each of them
would like to do the boss in.
At this point the film's weak charact
er development begins to show through.
This poor character development does
not invite the viewer to empathize with
the three dizzy dames.
Violet accidentally poisons Mr. Hart's
coffee at the office one day. After he is
rushed to the hospital, the gals show up
to check on his condition. Unknown to
them however, the boss was taken to the
hospital because he humped his head on
his desk, not because he drank the
poisoned coffee.
The women mistakenly think Mr.
Hart has died in the hospital emergency
room and they kidnap the body to avoid
the inevitable autopsy which would
reveal the poison. Later, they discover
they have stolen the wrong body and
they find a way to return it to the
hospital.
This body snatching sequence is one
of the many attempts at using slapstick
to move the women through the plot and
humor the viewer about their situation.
This sequence, along with the other
slapstick gags, does not accomplish
either objective very well. The slapstick
is sluggish and only helps to make the
weak story more obvious.
When Mr. Hart shows up for work
the day after the body snatching, the
merry maidens are shocked. When he
threatens to have them arrested, they
make him a hostage in his own home
where they bind and shackle him to the
bedroom ceiling for a couple of weeks.
During Mr. Hart's absence from the
office, the three women take over and
use forged memos to institute new
working conditions which end up im
proving efficiency.
In general, these women have fought
back against a system which has made
their lives miserable. Specifically, they
have fought back against the boss who
has stripped them of their human dig
nity. However, this film does not make
the viewer feel good about the triumph
these women have achieved. They have
reached a temporal victory through
slapstick humor and by behaving like
dizzy dames which the film should find
deplorable but rather supports it.
Additionally, "Nine to Five" has two
important messages to communicate but
both get lost along the way to the end of
this comedy.
First, the most important message,
that the working conditions of some
The Reel World
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women need improvement, is belittled
by the slapstick gags. For example, in
response to the sexual harassment that
Doralea suffers, she fantasizes about
returning the same favors to an equally
unwilling Mr. Hart. This kind of gag
brings no respect to the plight of this
character in her attempt to improve her
life.
Lily Tomlin's character is a poor
example of the leader of the group that
she is supposed to be. One wonders what
the reason is for Jane Curtin's purposely
underplayed, nauseously naive charact
er. One would have to suppose that the
script is at fault here as this is not the
typically strong independent character
that Curtin portrays; the same character
which brings to light various causes or
interests and then demolishes the oppo
sition in the way of those causes.
The second message of the film, that
company-sponsored changes in the
working environment can improve pro
ductivity, is lightly serenaded and comes
almost too late in the film to be
meaningful.
There is some good set design in
"Nine to Five," the best of which is the
deep, cold-looking gray office interior
where the women work. The design and
lighting work effectively to convey an
impression of the company's impersonal
attitude toward its employees.
Finally, only Dolly Parton's hit re
cording of the picture's title song will he
remembered long after the film is
shelved and sold to television, to be
replayed on all-night movie festivals
thirty years from now. Frankly, the
song--like the film--doesn't leave a pleas
ant memory either.
By Shirley Stevens
This film should capture the-atten
tion of next year's Academy Awards
nominating committee for its social .
relevance, dramatic performances, and',
screenplay.
You hat , e to give Paul Newman his
due. He has proven that he is capable of
more than car racing. As an actor he is ,
returning with style.
Among many Bronx dwellers, this
film has generated an understandable
defensive posture about being depicted
in a demeaning fashion. Granted, defeat,
enemployment, and squalor are all pre
sent in the film. But perhaps of greater
significance is the question of how the
Bronx inherited its afflictions. Moreover,
what can be done about the problem.
"Fort Apache" is less an attempt to
exploit the conditions of the Bronx than
it is an attempt to explore them.
By Rick Morrison
The new Jerry Lewis film, "Hardly
Working," is somewhat inappropriately
titled. It should be called "Hardly Fun
ny." The picture will surely be near the
top of the most disappointing films list of
1981.
In this film, Lewis' character at
tempts to evoke sympathy and under
standing for himself, as well as an
occasional laugh. He is an out-of-work
circus clown who is trying to make it in
the "real" world by getting a regular job.
Unfortunately there is no sympathy for
the character, Bo Hooper, and he is
hardly funny.
After losing his job with the circus,
Bo goes to live with his sister who is
living a comfortable life with her hus-
FORT APACHE--THE BRONX
All in all, a very good film
HARDLY WORKING
Thursday, May 14, 1981
0 4.... ( ) 4IMIII. ( )10...( )1110.1 0 ( ) IMO' 0 4=11. 0 0
band and two children. She is the only
person in the film who understands Bo in
his early transition from performer to
person
It is hard for the audience or the
film's other characters to have a feeling
for this man because of the weak
character development in the script,
which Lewis co-wrote. Jr. order to create
more of a feeling for the loss which this
clown suffers when the circus closes, the
script should have shown us more of
what this way of life meant to the
person. This could have made made
some of Hooper's later efforts to find a
job more meaningful and funny.
Although Bo Hooper doesn't hold
many of the jobs he gets very long, we
see him in little vignettes at his work
stations. He is a gas station attendant, a
disco nightclub d.j., a chef at a Japanese
restaurant, and a postman, the job he
almost finally succeeds in holding down.
All of these scenes are essentially
humorless although they had the poten
tial to be very funny. The best scene
could have been in the disco, with its
dizzying array of characters, any one of
whom Lewis (as Hooper) could have
chosen to poke fun at.. He could have
shown just how out of place his character
was, juxtaposed to these "beautiful"
people, but who would work anywhere
just to have a job.
Lewis has filled this film with too
many commercial plugs. It is obvious
that his Japanese restaurant segment is
intended to take place in a Benihana
franchise. He even goes so far as to have
the famous Budweiser Clydesdale-drawn
beer wagon deliver a six pack to him
when he needs something cold to drink.
By Keith N. Gantt
Reesa & the Rooters, a relatively
unknown band from New Jersey who
dares to call its sound New Wave, has
recently begun playing in clubs around
the local area.
Last week, Rumpelstiltskin's of the
Union Deposit Mall hosted Reesa and
the gang. Future dates for the band will
be listed in the Calendar of Events for
those of you who are into M & S. The
reason why this band contacted us here
at the C.C. Reader appears rather
dubious. It seems one of their latest
single releases is entitled "OYTMI." This
fact, when considered together with the
fact of our geographic location, leads me
to deduce that they are trying to take
advantage of us naive academics here at
Capitol Campus.
After previewing the aforementioned
single and its flip side "Ultraman in Surf
Villa," I can only say that I don't think
Personalities...
anynlA NC. Serller
RONALD REAGAN has been making a lot
of people laugh with his off-the-record com
ments, but it has been learned that Reagan has
hired a comedy writer who has been on the
payroll of comedians Milton Berle and Bob
Hope.
Hope reportedly convinced Reagan to hire a
comedy writer to give the bland candidate a
sense of humor. Regan hired Jay Burton, who
is a Democrat but was turned down when he
volunteered to write comedy for Jimmy
Carter.
So now it's Reagan who has the last laugh
On The Beat?
0 4MM 0 411111.. t )
This film offers a Yew good perfor
mances from most of the cast. Its weak
script and storyline are disappointing as
we need more comedy films in this
country than are presently being made.
Perhaps Lewis will try again and be
more successful.
RAGING BULL
By Shirley Stevens
This blunt and bloody biography
on the life of Jake LaMotta, who
succumbed in the boxing ring to Sugar
Ray Robinson, depicts the fighter as a
man of uneven disposition. As a human
being, he is incorrigible, brutal, and
simple-minded. He is also indomitable in
both strength and spirit. Life is not
always kind or easy, but regardless of
the circumstances, -LaMotta does not
necessarily read limited or negative
self-worth into his misfortune. Given his
bullish determination to succeed, he can
readily cast off misfortune and begin to
carve out a new career, even after two
marriages, a terminated boxing career,
and the loss of his brothel's guidance and
affection. His brother was the man who
managed him into the limelight., while at
the same time enduring the endless
indignities inherent in the job of manag
ing a boxer of LaMotta's temperament.
Robert DeNiro has been cast in the
title role, with Kathy Moriarity showing
great potential as his second wife. The
language and action are explicit, yet
they are integral components of this
intense film.
this one will sound better after a number
of repeats. The Rooters handle their.
instruments with all the grace and
expertise of an inanimate object. Their
style indicates--at least to this listener--
an understanding of music theory and
practice worthy of a group holding
Doctorates...or M.D.s (mental
deficients). Their playing could be fur
ther defined as undisciplined and devoid
of talent, or as an exercise in bad taste.
I shouldn't be so hard on them.
Perhaps they haven't begun their music
lessons yet. My only advice to Reesa and
the band would be to ask Bill and Dave
for the definitions of harmony, melody,
and symmetry. Can you help them out
boys?
My advice to anyone interested in
hearing this band would have to be to
see the nearest' psychologist
immediately.
Until next time--D. Capo
C.C. Reader