The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 6, 1987 Page: 13 of 20
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THRESHER Fine Arts Friday, November 6,1987 13
Latest Yates film imitates courtroom dramas
Suspect
Directed by Peter Yates
If I had to compile a list of the worst
films I've ever seen, the film listed
right behind Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band would be a shlock
sci-fi flick called Krull. It was one of
those sword and sorcerer films that,
simply put, was a cinematic abortion
of the highest order. The best that
could be said for the movie was that
the video game based on it was pretty
good.
The reason that I even bother to
mention such a sordid movie is that
the man responsible for directing it is
none other than Peter Yates. This is
the same Peter Yates that directed
such great films as Bullitt, Breaking
Away andThe Dresser• He has obvi-
ously recovered his senses and has
returned to his true form.
His latest project is Suspect and it
stars two of thehottestpersonalities in
movies this year—Cher and Dennis
Quaid. Cher was the standout in a trio
of starlets in The Witches of Eastwick
and Dennis Quaid gave the flat-out
best acting performance of the year
for his ro le in 77te 5 ig Easy: Saspect is
not as good as either of these films,
but it is still commendable.
Cher stars as (Catherine Riley, a
Washington D. C. public defender
who is quickly burning out on her
career. Her spirits are not raised when
she is chosen to defend a derelict who
is the prime suspect in a murder case.
In fact, this case is a major nuisance to
most people concerned.
Eddie Sanger (Quaid) is a hotshot
young lobbyist who is called into jury
duty for the case. The last thing he
needs is to serve on jury duty. Al-
though he has pressing commitments
on Capitol Hill, he takes an interest in
the enigmatic Riley and decides not to
find a way out of serving his govern-
ment.
What ensues is basically another
courtroom drama. Now that lawyers
are back in fashion there have been a
lot of these films, but Suspect falls
somewhere in the middle as far as
actual courtroom drama is concerned.
To Kill a Mockingbird, Anatomy of a
Murder and The Verdict still stand
out as the best of the genre.
The more recent Jagged Edge
manages to run circles around Sus-
pect, primarily because Suspect fea-
tures segments of sheer boredom
spaced between moments of shame-
less plagarism, such as a stolen scene
from Mockingbird involving a tactic
to show if the defendant is right or left
handed.
One would think that if the court
scenes aren't that spectacular, then
the film must not be so hot either.
Thankfully, Cher and Quaid manage
to both turn in very credible perform-
ances which keep the story from sink-
ing to its own level. I was actually
disappointed that Quaid didn't have
more screen time, because I feel he is
one of the best actors around.
There is one other slight problem
with Suspec/. It is simply not possible
to solve the mystery with the clues
presented. The movie doesn't play
fair with the audience, but still Cher is
able to wrap up the entire case in a tidy
ending which, if you take a close look
at the facts, would probably not hold
up in court if the guilty party hadn't
confessed to Cher's accusations.
Scriptwriter Eric Roth can be raked
over the coals for his plot, but he does
do a good job of providing interesting
dialogue between the two leads. For-
tunately for all parties concerned,
Roth's ending didn't come from as far
out in left field as No Way Out.
I have taken the Fifth Amendment
when deciding not to reveal any of the
plot simply because that wouldn't be
very sporting, but I still challenge
anyone to guess the guilty party (with
valid evidence) before the movie
ends.
Suspect is a good movie when
compared to a film like Legal Eagles,
but up against the best courtroom
drama movies, it seems to be highly
objectionable.
—David Nathan
Mayer conducts Rice anniversary concert
Rice University celebrates sev-
enty-five years of classes this fall, and
for this special occasion the Shepherd
School Symphony Orchestra, the
Rice University Chorale and Maestro
Uri Mayer are presenting a gala con-
cert at the new Worth am Center on
Wednesday, November 15 at 8 p.m.
Works by Verdi and Shostakovich
Medieval play Tuesday
Rice's active Medieval Studies
Club and the German and Slavic
Studies Department have joined
forces to produce another unique
Teutonic Production, this time a
reader's theater format show of the
medieval nun Hroswitha von
Gandersheim's Callimachus and
Papnutius. Hroswitha's lively plays,
written initially in Latin but per-
formed this semester in English trans-
lation, treat tradition-honored themes
such as religious doctrine, adultery,
prostitution, and spiritual growth.
A preview of the show bears out
the contention of the director, Ger-
man and Slavic Studies Professor
Susan Clark, that there is much to be
found in plays written centuries ago
both in entertainment and educational
value. The players, who are dressed as
nuns, manage to convey words of
wisdom as well as to find humorous
renderings in many of the lines, and
science-engineering students as well
as musician-types will enjoy the dis-
putations about number and order.
The actors are drawn from all levels of
German and medieval studies, from
freshmen to seniors, and from all dis-
ciplines.
Moreover, as in every Teutonic
Production, the tradition of the unex-
pected surfaces; the signature Teu-
tonic Pig, which has appeared in pro-
ductions since 1981, shows its ugly
plastic body randomly.
Callimachus and Paphnutius will
be performed in English translation at
4 p.m. on November 10 in the Farns-
worth Pavilion in the Ley Student
Center. There is no admission charge.
Further information can be obtained
from either Susan Clark (German and
Slavic Studies) or Gaciela Daichman
(Spanish, Portuguese, and Classics).
Are you considering professional school?
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
JOHN F. KENNEDY
SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT
Is Looking for Future Leaders in Public Affairs.
u ■
Come Learn About Harvard's Two-Year Master's
Program in Public Policy, Leading to either
the Master in Public Policy or
City and Regional Planning Degree.
JOINT DEGREE OPTIONS AND CROSS-REGISTRATION
OPPORTUNITIES WITH OTHER SCHOOLS
MEET WITH A KENNEDY SCHOOL REPRESENTATIVE
DATE:
TIME:
LOCATION!
Mon., Nov 16
1:00 ■ 2:00 and 2:15 - 3:15
PLEASE CONTACT YOIJR CAREER PLACEMENT
OFFICE FOR THIS INFORMATION
All Students, All Majors, All Years Welcome!
will be performed.
Uri Mayer, the Music Director of
the Shepherd School Symphony Or-
chestra, also holds a position as the
Music Director of the Edmonton
Symphony Orchestra. He was born in
Rumania and was raised in Israel,
where he studied viola. Leonard
Bernstein and Leopold Stokowski
encouraged his interest in conduct-
ing. In 1970, Mayer received a post-
graduate diploma from the Juillard
School of Music with a double major
in viola and conducting.
The members of the Shepherd
School Symphony and the Rice Uni-
versity Chorale have worked very
hard with Mayer to ensure that the
gala concert will be a success. Hope-
fully, the Shepherd School will re-
ceive the support of the students and
Uri Mayer conducts the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra
faculty, so come to the gala concert
and show your support for Rice Uni-
versity. Admission is free and bus
transportation will be provided for
Rice students in the Allen Center Lot
at 7 p.m. Return transportation will
also be provided.
—Jasmin Bey
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Raphael, Michael J. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 6, 1987, newspaper, November 6, 1987; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245677/m1/13/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.