University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 77, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 15, 2000 Page: 2 of 6
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University Press • Friday, September 15, 2000 • Page 2
Let’s get this out of the way, right off
the top, to avoid speculation: Gwyneth
Paltrow actually can sing.
She and Huey Lewis (without The
News) have some nice harmonies when
they perform Smokey Robinson’s
“Cruisin’” during a karaoke contest in
“Duets.”
Unfortunately, that scene is one of
the few bright spots in this flat, unfocused
film, and it doesn’t come until nearly the
end.
“Duets” follows several lost souls
across the country who find empower-
ment, redemption, freedom, you name it,
when they sing onstage at karaoke bars.
It’s actually an intriguing subculture of
society. A documentary about real peo-
ple who perform on the karaoke circuit
— who live for the thrill of being a star
for a few minutes — would have been
more interesting. Instead, we have a
bunch of actors singing with varying
degrees of success; playing two-dimen-
sional characters headed toward the
Grand Prize Karaoke Contest in Omaha,
Neb.
Paltrow plays Liv, a Las Vegas show-
girl. When her mother dies, the father
she never knew shows up to pay his
respects and guess what, it’s Lewis as a
guy named Ricky Dean, who hustles his
singing skills like a pool shark at karaoke
bars.
OK, maybe Lewis is old enough to
play her father, but he looks nothing like
Paltrow. And when each of them realizes
they are related, their reunion is neither
tearful nor angry. Both actors just look
confused, like two students in a drama-
class improvisation session who can’t fig-
ure out what to do next.
Then we have Todd (Paul Giamatti),
a downtrodden traveling salesman who
has grown tired of his middle-class, tract-
house existence. One day, he gets in his
car and drives aimlessly. And at a hotel
bar, he discovers the magic of karaoke
and is reborn.
Later, he picks up a hitchhiker
named Reggie (Andre Braugher), an
escaped convict with “the voice of an
angel,” the film’s production notes say.
They also perform a duet (hence the
title) of “Try a Little Tenderness.”
Our final pair is Billy (Scott
Speedman from the WB television series
“Felicity”), a cab driver who catches his
wife cheating on him with his business
partner, and Suzi (Maria Bello of
“Coyote Ugly”), a West Virginia waitress
who dreams of stardom. He agrees to
drive her to the karaoke contest in his
cab because he has nowhere else to go.
(These two don’t perform a duet.
Speedman says he can’t sing, although
that didn’t stop anyone else in this
movie.)
There’s no plot, really. We meander
from one karaoke bar to the next in great
anticipation of The Big Contest (sort of
like The Big Game in sports movies).
Pretty much every scene feels contrived,
including a bar fight where people break
beer bottles over each other’s heads and
Paltrow gets to throw a chair at someone.
Todd and Reggie get into a gunfight
with a convenience store clerk in Kansas,
which adds nothing to the story. But it’s
fun to shoot at glass refrigerator doors
and bags full of carbohydrate-laden
snacks.
Paltrow’s performance may be the
most confusing part of all. She’s sup-
posed to be a dingy blonde, but she walks
and talks so awkwardly, she could be a
teen-ager going through puberty.
This is troubling because:
a) Gwyneth Paltrow has tremendous tal-
ent and presence.
b) Her father Bruce Paltrow directed and
co-produced “Duets.” Was he watching
the same movie as the rest of us?
There are too many characters, sub-
plots and themes going on at the same
time, so it’s hard to connect with any of
them. Is the movie an indictment of our
homogenous, middle-class society? Is it a
buddy-road flick? Or is it just straight-up
musical entertainment? It tries to be all
these things and succeeds at none of
them.
“Duets,” a Hollywood Pictures
release, is rated R for language and some
sexuality. Running time: 112 minutes.
By Christy Lemir
The Associated Press
“Both actors just look confused,
like two students in a drama-class
improvisation session who can’t
figure out what to do next.”
Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis star in the
Hollywood Pictures comedy/drama “Duets."
©Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. All rights reserved
Health center-
Continued from page 1
I could go.”
Warner remembers many situ-
ations like this.
“There were some students
that were so sick I just did not feel
comfortable, as a health profes-
sional, turning these people away.
One student we gave sample med-
ication to because he was just so
sick. So, in essence, even though
we did not see this student, we had
to break the rules of the board of
regents.”
During this past mini-session,
the health center had to turn away
74 students who were just trying to
make it during the short period of
time between summer II and the
fall. During that same time period,
the health center saw only 21 stu-
dents who were eligible to receive
service.
“The numbers are certainly an
issue,” Johnson said. “This seems
to be something we should ad-
dress. What it comes down to is
what the students think. I haven’t
heard anything yet. If this issue
were to be brought to me through
the SGA (Student Government
Association), then I would have no
problem presenting it to the
University Executive Council.”
The council is the body that
presents policy to the board of
regents, and that is where the
change could take place.
“All issues have to go through
the system, and I think it is a very
good system,” Johnson said.
Another student, who asked
that she not be named, missed her
Depo-Provera (birth control) shot
because it just happened to fill
during the summer mini-session,
and she was not enrolled.
“They are the ones who sched-
uled the shot, and put me on the
plan,” she said. “So they should
have to give it to me. It’s not like
I’m not a full-time student.”
Warner said that she agreed
with the girl who did not get her
shot, and that she believes that stu-
dents should initiate a change in
the policy.
“I have told those we have
turned away to call, write, and talk
to Dr. Johnson — talk to the
Student Government.
“But it doesn’t seem anyone
has followed up on that,” she said.
Career center-
Continued from page 1
positions in their field,” Grace said.
“We bring a variety of companies
to campus that are interested in
interviewing our students in the fall
and spring semesters. We also per-
form testing for graduate school. If
you want to go to law school or
medical school, we give those tests
as well.”
A brief list of the companies
coming to Lamar in October
include MCI, BP Microsystems,
Melton and Melton, Duke Energy,
Enterprise Rent-a-Car, General
Electric, Price Waterhouse and the
Texas State Controller’s Office.
The career center is located in
102 Galloway Business Building.
The office is open Monday
through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m.
Students who have conflicts
with these hours may set up special
appointments by phoning 880-8878.
Letters to the Editor
The student management of the University
Press welcomes letters to the editor from .
our readership. See policy, page 3.
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Cobb, Joshua. University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 77, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 15, 2000, newspaper, September 15, 2000; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth500724/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lamar University.