Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 20

Nov. 21,1990 Asbury Park Press ill times Minn fpoking up for down By'ClNI ZEMO Pfss Fashion Writer fi' VUULLU ave you heard the forecast for this winter? Or maybe you don wht to know. The Old Farmer's Almanac is forecasting a cold, snowy winter with snowstorms at Christmas afd in early January. The prediction is to a very cold and snowy period from cx "-JLi fll Down garments need special cfere. Story, B12 rrtid-February through the balance of ta winter with snowstorms in the mradle and latter parts of February and early March.

Will you be ready? Better stock up your longies and earmuffs. Better m. The holiday season begins with three films suitable for the whole family "Dances with Wolves," (PG-13), "The Nutcracker Prince' (G) and "Three Men and a Little Lady" (PG). Press Movie Writer Eleanor O'Sullivan offers previews of the three movies which open today. Costner's movie is 'flawed but stunning' Kevin Costner's directorial debut a three-hour-and-10 minute effort called "Dances with Wolves" is ambitious not only in length but in grasp and accomplishment.

It's a beautiful, emotional movie about a cavalry officer who falls in love with the untram-meled land of the western United States, the quiet and graceful life of the Sioux Indians, and with a white woman who has been saved by the Sioux after rival Pawnees massacre her family. Costner plays John Dunbar, a young lieutenant who draws the dubious duty of setting up a camp by himself in the middle of nowhere (actually, South Dakota). In the film's first third it's set in the 1860s Dunbar gradually becomes fond of the wilderness, and, isolated from humanity, makes friends with his tawny beauty of a horse and a wolf he dubs Two Socks. Kevin Costner (left), and a cast of Native Americans prepare for a buffalo hunt in the new film "Dances with Wolves." Sioux. Although Costner doesn't cheat on close-ups of his beautiful face (or his naked body, either), give him his due he lets the camera regularly caress the wonderfully handsome and poetic faces of the Sioux.

I defy anyone to not feel a spiritual affinity for the Sioux after feasting your eyes on Native Americans Graham Greene (Kicking Bird), Rodney A. Grant (Wind in His Hair) and Tan-too Cardinal (Black Shawl); they are wonderfully serene, arresting actors. The final third of the film involves Dunbar's "DANCES WITH WOLVES," starring Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell and Graham Greene, opens today at area theaters. Costner directed from a screenplay by Michael Blake. An Orion Pictures release.

PG-13. (outof4) After much hemming and hawing, Dunbar is befriended in the second part by the Sioux, a proud but gentle people who teach him their ways and eventually make him an honorary romance with Stands with a Fist (Mary McDonnell) and here again, Costner shows a degree of maturity and judgment that is almost shockingly un-Hollywood-like. Ms. McDonnell is a lovely woman, but she's a woman lines, crinkles around eyes, at al. Her seasoned personality gives the couple's relationship depth and persuasiveness.

This is no teeny-bopper goof. In the film's last section, Costner errs by lay-' See COSTNER, page Bl 2 'Baby' and sequel grow on you side from its clumsv title. A "Three Men and a Little Ladv" "THREE MEN AND A LITTLE LADY," starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson and Nancy Travis, opens today at area theaters. Emile Ardolino directed from a screenplay by Charlie Peters, Josann McGibbon and Sara Pariott. Rated PG.

A Touchstone Pictures release. (out of 4) are the three men singing Mary a "lullaby" rap style; Danson primping and prancing in narcissistic overkill; Ms. Travis telling off Selleck for. being such a lug; Fiona Shaw's show-stopping performance as the headmistress of a Dickensian English girls' school; the hulking Selleck jammed into a tiny fofeign car, which bounces around the English, countryside like a yo-yo, and a snooty party to beat the band in Edward's baronial heap of a house. i A nutcracker and a mean rat have it out in "The Nutcracker Newest 'Nutcracker' f.

spirited, wholesome could hardly be more of a pleasant surprise. Although more rooted in TV slickdom than true screwball comedy, the movie is nevertheless light on its feet, sophisticated when needed, and blessedly fresh. Picking up from the first installment of three years ago "Three Men and a Baby" this far better film joins the three men Tom Sel-leck, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson (who nearly steals the movie) as they continue their paternal ways with Nancy Travis' daughter, Mary (the delightful Robin Weis-man). All five share a smashing pad in New York, until a crisis threatens to wrench them apart. The problem? Sylvia (Ms.

Travis), to put it indelicately, is horny. She presumably hasn't shared a physical relationship with a man since Mary's conception (via Danson's playboy, Jack), and she's overdue. She also wants to marry and have more children, and her stage director, an Englishman named Edward (Christopher Cazen-ove) is more than obliging. This will break up the rather unconventional gang, as Edward wants to move wife and adoptive daughter to England. Action is clearly needed.

Director Emile Ardolino adroitly juggles the various elements of this diverting comedy so that you accept without resistance that Peter (Selleck) secretly pines for Sylvia, who really does have a mad thing for Peter, but wilts under Edward's persistence and Peter's inertia, while Jack and Michael (Guttenberg, with the least to do) run interference for Peter. Selleck has never been so warm and appealing; he dumps that dopey et us be thankful for small fa- vors. "The Nutcracker Prince" lacks animation that will turn your head, and oddly, some of the Tchaikovsky music has been converted to yfep k) SI .1 "vocals, but on balance, there is the bona fide Tchaikovsky "Nutcracker" music and a charming story. For background: The scenario is Cblor-spiked down jacket with hidden hood in the collar. Brambilla Fiance.

Macy's. $200. about warming up to a down garment? Jf you've never owned down outerwear, you're in for a pleasant surprise. Voii'll be warmer, drier and more comfortable than ever before. Light a fluffy down clusters are what keep dks, geese and other water fowl wfcrm.

In a garment, thousands of down clusters intertwine to form tiny air: pockets that trap the air. These packets act as a natural insulator and maintain perfect body temperature. Ni more heavy bulk and chilling wjnds. Just incredibly lightweight warmth. jDown has the ability to "wick out" of draw perspiration from the body, which helps keep in the warmth.

It al-S(J is naturally resilient. Down is the oe insulation that breathes so you're comfortable in a wider range of temperatures. IThere are those who hesitate to wear dfwn because they feel they look like th chubby Michelin tire man. Also, be prepared for dirty looks if you try to stjiff a down coat in an airplane's overhead compartment. But down can only be made just so flat before it loses some of its insulating: qualities.

Different types of such as the diamond pattern, dqn't lessen the comfort effect, but they do help give a smaller appearance; Some garments may look more trfra because they are flatter, but they arf for severe weather. Vests often have le-s down and are perfect for spring or fall. JDon't think you've been sold a lemon jf you see feathers peeking through of your down jacket. A garment labled as "down" can legally havle some feathers in it. The Federal Trade Commission limits small feathers to 20 percent.

Be wary of any garment labeled "eiderdown." Eiderdown comes from the elder duck, which lives near the Arctic Ctryfe. But it must be gathered from thpider ducks' nests; consequently thsupply is very limited. Genuine eiderdown costs more than $400 a pound. If -you're convinced that a down coat "or jacket is for you, how do you go; about selecting one? first thing to look for is the As a rule, the smaller the stitches, the better the construction. If the stitching compartments are too large; the down which was previously flat will shift to form lumps.

It's the quilting which keeps the filling from shifimg too much. However, this shift-ingjmay occur in normal wear, in dry cleaning or in home washing. The covering should be tightly woven to keep thefilling where it belongs: inside. check the down's loft, or thickness The more loft, the warmer you wiJ) be. Brambilla France USA, a company with its own label, also does a lot of private labels The Gap, The Great Outdoors and Banana Republic among them.

It specializes in American; down outerwear with European flak. The look is "streetwear-smart," combining high fashion with function and. capitalizing on the insulating qualities of down. IA11 the designs come from Paris," said Arthur J. Viente, vice president of Brambilla sales.

"We Americanize See DOWN, page Bl 2 based on E.T.A. Hoffman's "The Nutcracker and the Mouseking." "THE NUTCRACKER PRINCE," featuring the voices of Kiefer Sutherland, Megan Follows and Mike MacDonald, opens today at area theaters. Directed by Paul Schibli from a screenplay by Patricia Watson. Rated G. A Warner Bros, release.

V2 (out of 4) ra, in a romanticized version of the English countryside. One of this animated film's lovelier moments guests at the little girl's home twirl in the night actually features music from Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" rather than "The Nutcracker." Oh well. This is a gentle, good-natured film that nevertheless has darker overtones; the little girl's dreams could be See 'NUTCRACKER', page B12 which tells the story of a little girl (voice of Megan Follows) who joins a toy nutcracker (voice of Kiefer Suth From left, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson and Tom Selleck in a scene from "Three Men and a Little Lady." erland) for an exciting adventure in the Land of the Dolls. The nutcracker must defend him self, the other dolls and the little girl (shrunken for the adventure) against the terrible Mouseking (voice of Mike MacDonald), a slobbering. high-pitched whining and settles into a solid, convincing portrayal of a man afraid to fall in love.

He and Ms. Travis maintain a steady secret yearning for each other, which makes for a neat contrast to the funny material. Among the film's best moments I particularly liked Danson's impersonation at the film's climax, as well as Sheila Hancock, who plays Sylvia's crusty mother, commenting "You can't swing a dead cat around the English countryside without hitting a vicar," and anything the natural, enchanting Robin Weisman did. greedy cretin. The action is set in the big and inviting home of the girl, Cla- Prices and travelers take off for the holidays By MIKE SANTE Knight-Ridder Newspapers ASHINGTON Gasoline prices may be up, but Diana percent since Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug.

2. For many it was the first time they had to consider the consequences of the Persian Gulf crisis and an economy that may be slipping into a recession. But while "more people are looking at their vacations to economize," according to Jerry Cheske, a spokesman for the American Automobile Association, "indications are that people will still vacation." Many Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday travelers bought their plane tickets months ago, avoiding most of this fall's fare hikes. Others seem resigned to digging a little deeper into their pockets. "How would you feel if you didn't go and three months down the line Congress decides to let President Bush declare war on whomever?" Ms.

Scott said. "That means you would have one less special memory that could help you get through a really tough part of life." to Denver, for example, is now $152 less than half as much as the least expensive airline ticket. As a result of all that, the most popular winter vacation spots are not reporting any big fall-off in advance res-ervations. Florida tourism officials expect about the same number of tourists to vacation in the Sunshine State this -holiday season as last year, while bookings at Rocky Mountain ski re-; sorts are up 1 5 to 20 percent. But Tom Waits, executive vice pres- ident of the Florida Hotel and Motel Association, said, "the entire industry is looking with a great deal of caution and concern at the economic trends we see, knowing that vacations are the first thing to be cut." Once the holidays are over, David Swierenga, an economist for the Air, Transport Association, expects flying "to be on the decline for several months because of these price That may be one major reason why one out of every 10 Americans will be going out of town this week: About 22.5 million Americans will travel at least 100 miles from home in their cars over the Thanksgiving holiday, a 3 percent increase over last year, according to the AAA.

If that trend continues, 30 million travelers will take trips by car during the Christmas and New Year holidays. About nine million Americans will fly during the seven-day Thanksgiving holiday period that begins Tuesday, about the same as last year, according to the Air Transport Association. The airlines expect another 23 million travelers during the 1 7-day Christmas and New Year's holiday period that begins Dec. 19. The busiest travel days of the year will be the Sunday after Thanksgiving and Dec.

21 and Dec. 22, when 1.6 million people are expected to fly. Amtrak is expecting 525,000 passengers to board its trains over the seven- day Thanksgiving holiday, about 2 percent more than last year. Cheske said higher prices at the gas pump wouldn't keep holiday travelers from driving because "gas prices are generally a very small portion of your travel budget." It will still take only $6.90 worth of gas to drive 100 miles if your car gets 20 miles to the gallon. That's just $1.65 more than before the Persian Gulf crisis began.

The increase in airline fares reflects a 75 percent increase in jet fuel since the Persian Gulf crisis, and fuel is a major expense for any airline. A good example is the round-trip fare from Chicago to Denver, which has risen from $248 last November to $280 in July and $325 this month. More travelers may opt to go by train because they're far more fuel efficient than planes and Amtrak hasn't been forced to raise its ticket prices. The national rail passenger system's cheapest round-trip fare from Chicago Scott is still planning to take her two Girl Scout troops on a camping trip this holiday season. "We don't like it," Ms.

Scott said, recalling how she recently paid more than $1.40 a gallon for gas. "But you can't put your life on hold because gas prices are higher." With the holiday travel season underway since yesterday, more travelers than ever are expected to hit the road for grandma's house or that family vacation to Florida or the ski slopes. But many of the 32 million Americans traveling this week thought long and hard about whether to go ahead with their Thanksgiving trips. No one who has been to a filling station or travel agent recently needs a reminder that gas prices are up 27 percent and airline fares have risen 15.