St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 95

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 1988 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 3F BILL McCLELLAN REVIEWS FILM British, American Humor Melds In 'Wanda'! The Real Winners In Tuesday's Election ate A- If 0, V. 4. dy groups as "Beyond the with Dudley Moore and Peter Cooky to the Monty Python group, wbict includes Cleese and Palin. The American zany comedy lias a similarly long and distinguished history, and in "A Fish Called the two forms work well togethei i Cleese and Kline are major sons that "A Fish Called Watfda' succeeds as well as it does.

Both bring a lot of life to a couple of near-! stereotypes: the very bright Brifjsh-j er undone by his underutilized emoi tions and the volatile Amerftanj undone by his underutilized brains. And Jamie Lee Curtis, as one ot the movie's two Wandas, carries on delightfully with both of them while keeping an eye out for herself. She reminds us once again of what a good comedian she has become since her escape from slasher films. She also reminds us of just how fine and unpretentious and underrated (and triumphantly American in style) was the actress Curtis seems, much influenced by, her mother Janet Leigh. (At the Galleria, Northwest Square, Ronnie's, St.

Clair, Union; Station.) "A FISH CALLED WANDA" Rating: (language). Running time: 1:48 By Harper Barnes Post-Dispatch Critic at Large THIS is one of those well-constructed dark comedies that sneaks up on you. For a while, you are not quite sure what to make of it, but about halfway through you discover it has been tickling you in the ribs for quite a while. Then it starts evoking belly laughs. In "A Fish Called Wanda," a highly unlikely British-American gang of four steals some jewels in London.

Then they begin double-crossing one another to get the swag. Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis are the American thieves and Michael Palin is one of the British thieves (the other, played by Tom Georgeson, spends most of the movie in jail). John Cleese, who wrote the script, plays a British lawyer who becomes entangled in the case. The comedy in "A Fish Called Wanda" is both zany and droll, an unusual combination that must be partly attributed to the British- 1 Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline in "A Fish Called Wanda" American mix in the cast and production of the movie. The producer is Michael Shamberg, a graduate of Washington University, and the director is Charles Crichton, a veteran British film maker.

Crichton directed the 1951 classic "The Lavender Hill Mob," and you could undoubtedly trace a comic, continuum from it and other Ealing comedies of the late 1940s and 1950s, starring the young Alec Guinness and the even younger Peter Sellers, through such British come NOW that the dust has settled, let's take a look at the election results, and give out some awards. Jo Roddy Award: This award is named for C. Jo Roddy, the ghost candidate who filed against Joseph Roddy in the Democratic primary for circuit clerk in 1981. Although Jo did not campaign and would not talk to the press, she received more than 2,200 votes. Joseph Roddy lost, the primary by less than 1,000 1 votes.

This year's co-winner of the prestigious award is Bernard Edwards, a lawyer who has done legal work for the office of the city treasurer, which is headed by co-Jo Roddy Award winner Larry Williams. When a lawyer named Leslie Edwards filed to oppose Williams in this week's primary, Bernard Ed- wards hustled over to the election board and declared his own candidacy. Insiders say Bernard was pressed into service only because Williams did not know anybody named Lester Edwards. Sore Loser Award: This goes to Leslie Edwards, who complained about Bernard Edwards splitting the Edwards vote. If she were smart, she would have had a friend named Williams run in order to further confuse the voters.

When system is really clicking, the ballot looks like a phone book. Chief Camp Award; This award is named for the late Eugene Camp, the former police chief who set standards for honesty, if not selflessness, when he ran for mayor a couple of years ago on the platform that the city owed him overtime money that it was refusing to pay. This year's, winner of the Camp Award is Barbara Vires, an unsuc- i cessful candidate in the Democratic primary in the 3rd Congressional District. In her campaign, Vires said that one of her legislative priorities would be correcting "inequities" in the tax overhaul law, especially those relating to retired public etn- Lauper Is Delightful In Silly Enjoyable Comedy "VIBES" Rating: PG. Running time: 1:40 genbaufn, a Democrat who last year moved into the 2nd District in order to run against an incumbent Republican.

The founding fathers might not, approve of this sort of thing, but the real-estate agents must love it. Let's hope the candidates can meet a few of their constituents before the general election. Clean Campaign Award: This goes to my friend and fellow columnist Blanche Hamilton, who writes for the Evening Whirl. She ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Louis Ford for the Missouri House of Representatives. As a columnist, Blanche had ample opportunity to write nasty things about her opponent, but she refused to do it.

Well, there was a story in the July 12 issue with a headline that said, "Louis Ford Wanted By Police!" And in the July 19 issue, there was a story about an argument between Ford and Blanche, in which Blanche said, "In a world dominated by drug addicts, I can only say that this is what I would expect of a drug-crazed person." And there was a story in the July 26th issue that started like this: "A letter received by the Evening Whirl said that LOUIS FORD is a coward and a bully, and gets insane when opposed." But other than that, Blanche ran a good clean campaign. As a fellow columnist, I'm proud of her. Lifetime Achievement Award: This goes to Alderman Jlmmie Matthews, who became the first alderman in city history to be removed from office through recall. Although Matthews will go down in history as a less-than-one-term alderman, he managed to say, and do, more goofy things in the short time he was on the board than most aldermen can say, or do, in a lifetime. On behalf of all reporters who cover City Hall, I can only say, "Thanks for the memories, and we'll see you in court." Matthews is awaiting trial on charges stemming from the time he helped a suspected thief escape from citizens who were holding the suspect for police.

This was part of Matthews' revolutionary anti-anti-crime patrol. Jimmie Matthews Award: This award will hereafter go to the politician who says the dumbest thing on election night. Our inaugural winner is Karen Schafer, the Democrats' state chairperson. When James Askew, a truck driver, defeated a former state representative in the race for secretary of state, Schafer was obviously unhappy. "He's the best truck driver we've ever had on the ticket," she whined.

What's wrong with truck drivers? I thought the Democratic Party was supposed to be the party of the working person. Even if the party bosses have contempt for working people, it's not wise to show that contempt in an election year. Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (yes, Virginia, there really is a Babaloo Mandel) hadn't tried a little harder, been a little more imaginative or just written more lines for Cyndi Lauper. The singer makes her movie debut in "Vibes," and while that's an event that hasn't caused much bated breath, she's delightful, with a raunchy attitude in a New York accent that goes perfectly with her short hair and shorter skirts. As a matter of fact, she's the ideal female version of Charlie Chaplin's little tramp, using a more contemporary definition of tramp.

Speaking of debuts, it's also one for director Ken Kwapis, a Belleville native doing his first major film and coming through with honors, Working with a pair of practiced and consum-; mate actors in Jeff Goldblum and Peter Falk.i Lauper holds her own at every moment(Jand! when the three are on a roll, usually when Faty isj talking, they're wonderful. i We begin in some South American mountams, with a search for an ancient treasure and-dhe discovery of a. powerful, and fatal, strange blue, light that blocks the entrance. Cut to New York, and a conference of vari-j ous psychics. Lauper has an otherworldly, mental See MOVIES, Page 6 By Joe Pollack Of the Post-Dispatch Staff WHEN it works, which is most of the time, "Vibes" is a delightful spoof of ESP, psychics and spiritualists, the Indiana Jones stories and any sort of boy-girl tale.

When it doesn't work, it's tedious and trite. It scores about 70 percent, a pretty good percentage, but it made me ache that writers Lowell 'ployees such as herself. This had to do with the elimination of the three-year recovery period on tax- paid pension contributions. I don't pretend to understand the tax code, but I admire a candidate who is upfront about wanting to rewrite the tax laws to give herself a break. The Traveling Man Award: When the founding fathers first came up with the idea of represen- tative government, the idea, I pre- sume, was that a citizen from the district represented would run for office.

But now, in this era of professional politicians, we have the spectacle of politicians running around trying to find a district from which to run. Our co-winners are Thor Hearne, a Republican who recently moved into the 3rd Congressional District in order to run against an Incumbent Democrat, and Bob Fei- Now, buy a new 1 -mK festand save enoush' save 50 bra THE CHOICE IS YOURS Off 09? 001X1 HOOf too. Lenses Frames Getupto $100 back! When vou buv an Armstrong floor for your kitchen, you can save as much as $100. And lali that could be enough for a new bathroom floor. Choose from over a hundred designs and colors in four top-quality Armstrong floors-Designer Solarian? Designer Solarian II, Regal Solarian or Glazecraft Tile.

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