The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 40

D6 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17. 2001 NA LOS ANGELES TIMES A Pleasant but Predictable 'Ballad5 From the Old West 'Princess the Marine5 Short on Romance Television Review cJ in the woods and a blustery preacher (Robert Pastorelli) "mining for souls." Equally stubborn, the spirited Lucy and God-fearing Arvella don't always see eye to eye, but they close ranks when the going gets toughest. The coarse, grubby miners aren't colorful, but Lucy is an appealing protagonist who sustains our interest. Malone is in good company with Close (in spite of the character's distractingly dark brown hair) and Pastorelli, who predictably unite as the plot progresses. Meanwhile, director Jeremy Kagan makes the most of the nice scenery on the film's location in Park City, Utah.

"Ballad" certainly won't make you sing, but it's palatable entertainment. "The Ballad of Lucy Whipple" can be seen Sunday on CBS. The network has rated it TV-PG-L (may be unsuitable for young children, with an advisory for coarse YYly' Television Review By STEVEN LINAN TIMES STAFF WRITER In movies with Jena Malone, the least one can expect is a persuasive performance. And that's just what you get Sunday evening from the talented young actress Out of Carolina," in her latest entry, a CBS frontier drama titled "The Ballad of Lucy Whipple." She plays California, the bright, book-loving 13-year-old daughter of Glenn Close's Arvella Whipple, a rigid Massachusetts widow running a boardinghouse in Lucky Diggins, a dusty mining town, circa 1850. The missus, you see, named her young'uns (including Butte and Prairie) after things she likes out West.

California hates her moniker to the extent that she changes it to Lucy on a whim one afternoon. In Christopher Lofton's serviceable, character-driven adaptation of a book by Karen Cushman, Lucy encounters a troubled family man (Dennis Christopher), an illiterate girl (Olivia Burnette) living liiriiimnfiiriiiriMiitHiiii By STEVEN L1NAN TIME dES STAFF WRITER I I he Princess the Ma Ti rine," NBC's fact- based tale of the serviceman who smuggled an Islamic woman into the United States, never approaches royalty. In 1999, Princess Meriam Al-Khalifa (Marisol Nichols), a member of Bahrain's royal family, was a restless teen living a life of luxury in her Persian Gulf island nation, where she felt like a prisoner in her own home. Jason Johnson (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) was a devout Mormon from Las Vegas who believed in his country, true love and always following the rules. Were these crazy kids made for each other or what? To make a long and rather un-involving story short, Meriam defied her family and conservative culture by seeing Jason on the sly, unaware she was being followed by the secret police, which spilled the beans to her angry, humiliated mother, who declared, "No man Starring in "The Princess the Marine" are, from left, Marisol Nichols as Princess Meriam Al-Khalifa, Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Jason Johnson and Iona Morris and Lennie Loftin as INS agents.

carrying out their perilous plan, but that danger doesn't come across in the underwhelming script by Ronni Kern. And because we know the well-chronicled outcome, there's minimal suspense despite the effort from director Mike Robe. Nichols, a Latina appearing in the Showtime series "Resurrection portrays Meriam as a dewy-eyed, love-struck schoolgirl Against All Odds, Sirr Parker Pursues His Sports Dream. NOW PLAYING AT THEATRES EVERYWHERE! Television Review ByLYNNE HEFFLEY TIMES STAFF WRITER An absentee father, an unstable, substance-abusing mother; bleak poverty, the constant threat of gang violence, the easy availability of drugs: Can a good kid's dreams survive all that? Sirr Parker's did. "They Call Me Sirr," an outstanding "Showtime Original Pictures for All Ages" film, is based on the coming of age of NFL player Sirr Parker, his life in South-Central Los Angeles, his hard-won academic success and doesn't conceal a deep concern for kids with promise.

As Sirr, Scott gracefully balances strength and vulnerability. Other standouts: Novie Edwards, finding the fragility in Sirr's addicted, child-abandoning mother; Jackie Richardson, her expressive eyes showing the emotional toll of a strong grandmother's struggle to keep her grandchildren together; Doron Bell Jr. and Chris Collins, surprisingly believable as a pair of altruistic, gang-banging cousins who are fiercely determined that Sirr will make it. Even if this bio-pic wasn't based on someone real, the story Adventurous Perla Batalla Taps Her Classic-Rock Roots 9 STEPHEN OLDEN, THE NEWYORKTIHES i "NO ACTOR IS BETTER SUITED THAN MR.HARRISTO PORTRAYTHE A RIVETING BLEND OF PENT UP PASSION NBC who cries (a lot) when not staring dreamily into Jason's eyes. And she never strikes any genuine sparks with Gosselaar, who seems handcuffed by his limiting role as all-around Good Guy.

"The Princess the Marine" can be seen Sunday on NBC The network has rated it TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 14). of a young man who perseveres against dire odds, takes responsibility for himself and others, cares about people and works hard toward attaining a goal would be a worthy subject for family viewing. But worthiness doesn't guarantee watchability. It is producer, writer and director Robert Munic's skill as a storyteller, and the integrity of his excellent cast's performances, that transcend stereotypes and give this poor-kid-makes-good story its resonance. "They Call Me Sirr," Showtime, Sunday.

TV-PG. AFUITEONAMS fftTX U) HMK I tWO RIHI HM iHUITfALlH DUKWI MMK FMEDUWi DMtm 0 IWIMMMT LISA WN7LH JUHIU MKTHIIUIIUKHII Sony Ptrrmis classics i will want you!" Did that stop Romeo and Juliet, um, Meriam and Jason? Surely you jest. After exchanging numerous letters with Meriam through an intermediary at the mall, Jason eventually manufactured forged military documents that enabled them to flee her homeland. In truth, the couple may have encountered enormous difficulty his rise to national fame as a high school football phenom fame that led to his dream come true: a college scholarship (Texas no less) and a pro ball career. Parker is still in his early 20s and, signed by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1999, he's not a big-time NFL star.

But celebrity isn't the point "it's the journey," as Sirr's high school coach says to his players during practice. "The Green Mile's" Michael Clarke Duncan stars as the inspirational coach. Heading the cast with Kente Scott, who plays Sirr from ages 14 to 17, Duncan gives an emotional performance as a man whose drill-sergeant exterior teners over age 35. Listen to folky Batalla epics such as "Eternity" and "Turtle Island" and you hear a Chicana Joni Mitchell, a gutsier Joan Baez, an idealistic artist who's absorbed Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" to its last drop of rustic perfection. Batalla's music caresses with its harmonies and gentle rhythms, then draws you in with an unexpected chorus or an unusual melodic resolution.

But above all, she is a born storyteller with a rambunctious sense of humor. When she told an amusing anecdote about stopping on Highway 126 to get doughnuts for her daughter, the dimly lit Largo seemed to be flooded with sunlight. ERNESTO LECIINER -1 -g y-' AINU UNLtAdntU rt1T5IV.ALI I MAKKIs AND HARDEN RECALL THE ELECTRIFYING CHEMISTRY OF MARLON BRANDO AND UIO DELTOBO fifJOSU IRE MS SCREEN 6EMS presents in association with in rmiitHi STRONG VIOLENCE. LANGUAGE, SOME NUDITY 1 1 ef.ar Pop Music Review Perla Batalla is the kind of artist Peter Gabriel would fall in love with. Comfortable in both English and Spanish, proud of her mestiza heritage, musically adventurous and accompanied by impeccable performers, Batalla would make a fitting addition to Gabriel's Real World record label roster.

On Thursday at Largo, where she played songs from her inde-pendendy released new album "Heaven and Earth," backed by her five-piece band, the singer who for many years was a backup vocalist for Leonard Cohen, one of her mentors displayed musical roots steeped in the kind of classic rock that taps the memories of lis KIM HUNTER IN 'STREETCAR'. THE PLEASURE OF WATCHING THESE TWO SUPERB ACTORS PLAY FIGURES OF BRAD PITT lAK SKERBED6U JASCN STHTHAM ft i limn in liflll lsoywpmcit aw rvr sounorwxt SCREEN OEMS sony.comsnatcb "FUNNY AND SEANCONNERY MAGNIFICENT." PH Trann, ROUJNC STONE The Best Pictures Of The Year! i ft SUCH STATURE IS ENORMOUS." ROGER EBERT, EBERT ROEPER AND THE MOVIES 4 "TWO BIGTHUMBS UP! ED HARRIS' TRIUMPH AS AN ACTOR AND AS A DIRECTOR." 'I KENNETH TURAN, LOS ANGELES TIMES "HARRIS' PERFORMANCE ISTHE BEST OF HIS CAREER. AND THAT'S SAYING I A LOT! SHOWS ART BEING MADE IN AWAY I TUAT'C AC EVriTIM? AC IT'C CVCD DCCM I I I Inl JHJtAVIIIIlVMII LTLIULLI1 ON SCREEN. AMY MADIGAN IS SUPERB." ON SCREEN. AMY MADIGAN IS SUPERB, hi mMmmtMmimmimMmm liOW PLAYING ATTHEATERS EVERYWHERE OR THEATER AND SHOWTIME INFORMATION CHECK YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS.

jjf lit-'' AMlW a for: a sa lu IS One vr Jk IX. J'' Of Sean Connery In A Career-Crowning ED HARRIS- MARC1A GAYIHaRDEN 1 1 TT TT TkT II itJJJLLJ mm i CD Trftrli if lmVM.izwmixmm i tit! TOlDCr IDKAWH IUWUHMI1.IBC'I JMfUCHKiU KMmuaaCiUUTERQQUf em MTHRYH HWOf MOWCTDII KM 'JACKSON POiLUOl- UKnKJW IT STEVM PERFORMANCE. NEWCOMER Rob Brown Excels Performance. Newcomer A BEAunFULiy Spun Story." Rkhaid Roeper. EBERT ROEPER AND THE MOVIES FINDINti JDCT JOWIKUn I1HM KfillTUOn oimimi NWUI uHtuUHt milt MWtl tOUWUI II BAMUA IWWH 8JSi.iHSWll(le.JuliSFMasmm umimnmcKsKTIRM nAin aBJCSfRI Uim o(Fir mwailHttDKNU UH (Q, if, AN C-Ol I iua I ti mjomdasacuom (Say FORRESTER.

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