Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York • Page 21

MM Unnerving Is The Nerve, Rochester's newest radio sensation, worrying rock champ WCMF? 2C 'Pocahontas is going postal SECTION isnt the first time Guyana a stamp that reflects culture outside its borders. 1993, it released a set of honoring famous athletes, whom was O.J. Simpson. The set sparked collectors' j. it: miJ cot comer uusyeor, when Simpson went on trial for murder.

As for the Pocahontas stamps, the verdict is ijccu auuui uicii yiiu- i i atelic value. Andy Hale, who owns McLeoa stamp ana I Coin, 2423 Monroe calls it "negligible." -jkr- L. XI 1 WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 1995 Democrat anft (Chronicle Even Beagle admits appeal may be limited. average person isn't going money out of CD funds and all into this. These stamps to give people a memory they saw, to celebrate times the subject evokes." set is available for $9.95, shipping and handling, Sport Stamps Collectors Association, P.O.

Box 325, Roslyn, N.Y. 11576-0325, or by calling (800) 546-0008, Dept. 109. The story unfolds Visual Studies Workshop Press puts its artists' books and other works from the past 25 years on view. 3C REVIEWS Comics 5C Columns 4C Inside goes out 3C Movies 4C Out About 3C Television 2C -4 ft 4 -r A 1.

I' V. By PATTI SINGER STAFF WRITER In Guyana, the real stamp of approval doesn't come from box-office success, but how popular something is at the post office. And Pocahontas may give all the competition a licking. The South American i 1. 4l republic recently issued nine stamps based on the Walt Disney movie, further fueling the industry that's marketing trinkets associated with the blockbuster hit.

IrfJgiPJ But the postage stamps are the only licensed product endorsed by a government. Printed in $50 and $300 denominations (those are Guyana dollars), the stamps can be used to mail letters from that nation. Guyanese postal officials "try to come out with stamps that will be popular with the general public and collectors," says Harold Beagle of Inter-Governmental Philatelic which is selling the stamps in the United States. Willy still isnt free: He's tethered to the same old storv By JACK GARNER STAFF FILM CRITIC The original Free Willy made a heck of a splash even for a whale. The film took in $153 million worldwide in theaters and then became the second most popular title in the history of Warner Home Video.

Would there be a sequel? Does a whale swim in the ocean? Two years later, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home arrives at theaters with its original cast nearly intact. It also returns with a formulaic story that repeats its predecessor at every possible turn. Only the whale is new, and he's not even flesh-and-blood. Willy is now a quite realistic "animatronic," a robot that presumably responds more readily than a real whale to a film director's needs. Jesse (Jason James Richter) is now 14 and has been adopted by his foster parents, Glen and Annie (Michael Mad-sen and Jayne Atkinson).

But just as family life stabilizes, Glen and Annie -learn that Jesse has a younger half- brother who was recently orphaned. They agree to bring the boy, named Elvis (Francis Capra), into the household. Elvis arrives on the scene with a huge chip on his shoulder, which means Free Willy 2 can retell the same story told in Free Willy. Jesse lost his shoulder chip in the original film, and he's now matured into a likable, amiable kid with a deeper voice. He discovers puppy love and gets his first kiss.

At the end of the first film, the whale made his giant leap to freedom and to the wide-open spaces of the world's oceans. So how, you ask, are Jesse and Willy reunited? Ah, well, that's one of the wonders of movie sequels. Where there's a will, there's a way. Jesse, his parents and his new half-brother take a family vacation in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest. There they meet Jesse's old American Indian friend, Randolph (August Schellenberg), and his cute goddaughter, Nadine (Mary Kate Schellhardt).

Faster than he can set up a pup tent, Jesse discovers that Willy and his whale family are in the nearby cove. Of all the bodies of water in all the world, Willy swims into Jesse's. Of course, the boy and the whale immediately re-establish their rapport. When Jesse tells the animal his natural mother has died, Willy tilts his head and actually seems to sigh in sympathy. The Willy movies get a lot of mileage PAGE 3C 4 7 1 2 This has issued popular In stamps one of i the "The to take throw it are made of a movie the good The plus $3 from i Si.

i a 0 If ii r- itW Warner Bros. Willy 2. In this sequel, the whale is played by a robotic "animatronic" aters Sassy satire on Beverly Hills airheads gets, like, majorly bogged down im jni'-" A bod guys to protect his sister in Free Paramount Pictures Wealthy and witless Pampered teen-ager Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is hard at work in Clueless. Clueless Starring: Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Wallace Shawn, Dan Hedaya Directed by: Amy Heckerling Opens today at: Stoneridge, Towne, Webster, Movietime, Showplace Rated: PG-13, with profanity and social drug use Jack's rating: With 10 as a must-see, this film rates In fry i VPS Mf 'A IE rf) 1 A. Wet Willy 77ie dunks the Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home Starring: Jason James Richter, August Schellenberg, Michael Madsen Directed by: Dwight Little Opens today at: Cine Greece, Brockport Strand, Geneseo Cinema, Movietime, Pittsford Plaza 6, Marketplace, Newark, Showplace, Webster Rated: PG, with mild profanity and violence Jack's rating: With 1 0 as a must-see, this film rates 5 That park sold him in 1985 to Reino Adventure in Mexico.

The cost of Keiko's rehabilitation, transportation and new home is estimated at $10 million. Warner which made the first film for $19 million and saw it go on to earn more than $153 million, has donated $2 million. The McCaw Foundation of Seattle matched that gift. Phillips hopes more funds will roll in when the foundation's toll-free telephone number (800) 494-2537, which translates to 4-WHALES on a touch-tone phone is flashed on the screen during the closing credits of Free Willy 2. Keiko would be the first performing orca to be "retired." In all other cases, orcas have jumped and splashed for audiences until death, which for performing whales comes at about age 18.

Orcas in the wild live to be about 35 or 40. Keiko, at 16, is the second oldest whale currently living in captivity, Phillips says. The oldest is 19. The wait continues for whales liberation fashion makeovers, mall shopping and matchmaking with her best friend, Dionne (Stacey Dash). (Cher's best line: "My friend and I were both named for old singers who now do Initially, Clueless has a ball observing the antics of the various school cliques; Cher's attempts to get better grades by sparking a romance between her debate teacher (Wallace Shawn) and her history teacher (Twink Caplan); the makeover of a curly-haired transfer student named Tai (Brittany Murphy); and the utterly hopeless appearance and attitude of the immature boys in Cher's class.

To its credit, Clueless takes a few daring steps: The stunning Cher is a virgin and not ashamed to admit it, and most drink and drug use is frowned upon (though a few social hits on a beer or a "doobie" are acceptable at parties.) But after so cleverly establishing Cher's world, Heckerling's script meanders into an uninspired romantic merry-go-round. Cher guides Tai away from the unfashionable skateboarder Travis and toward the handsome, more mature Elton. Cher also does everything possible to distance herself from the levelheaded Josh, becoming infatuated with Christian, a GQ-ish fashion plate. Obviously, Tai and Travis are meant for each other, Cher and Josh should get back together, and Christian is gay. We spend far too much time watching the couples struggling to get into proper alignment.

And we wonder why they can't see the obvious. I guess that's why the film is called Clueless. By JACK GARNER STAFF FILM CRITIC he fast-paced satire of Fast Times at Ridgemont High has been slowed to a more conventional pace in Clueless. It's the latest film from Amy Heckerling, the writerdirector who made Ridgemont High a touchstone film about the adolescents of the early 1980s. Clueless updates the high school setting to 1995 and narrows the focus to the wealthy California teens who share a ZIP code and lots of attitude with TVs Beverly Hills 90210.

The first half of Clueless offers hope that the irreverent wit and pointed observations of Ridgemont High have found new life at Beverly Hills High. The new film promises a funny, cutting ride through a certain segment of today's teen scene and delivers the laughs, for a while. But the second half collapses into utter predictability, as the film begins to take itself too seriously. Barbed satire gives way to a pedestrian tale of teenage romance. The result is mildly entertaining, but not what's been promised.

Rising young star Alicia Silverstone, who looks like a teen-age Cybill Shepherd, carries Clueless with a likable performance as Cher, the 16-year-old daughter of a wealthy lawyer (Dan Hedaya). Cher's mother died several years earlier, after complications from routine liposuction. Cher is "way popular" and tuned into all the important issues in life: dating, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS LOS ANGELES In Free Willy 2, Willy the orca has returned to his family in the pristine waters off the rugged Pacific Northwest coast and spends his days splashing about for fun. In real life, Keiko, the orca who portrayed Willy in the first film, still is languishing in a too-small tank in smoggy Mexico City, still suffering from a skin condition and still performing for audi- ences. But if all goes well, one day he may roam free like his fictional cousin.

Work is under way on a new, 2-million-gallon "deep water tank for Keiko at the Oregon Coastal Aquarium in Newport, Ore. Construction could be completed by December. Once transferred there (via 747 cargo jet), it is hoped Keiko will recover from his skin condition and relearn skills needed to survive in the wild, says David Phillips, president of the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation in San Francisco. After that, perhaps Keiko can be returned to the southeast coast of Iceland, where he was captured at about 12 months of age for a Canadian theme park. 1.