Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 76

MMSTMNS'S WESTERN THE HI Purchase 2 Beverages Of Your I Choice And Get 2 Early Bird Thi Best ol MM Wetl Shop at the store with the area's largest selection of Top Brand Boots, Jeans Western Wear. MEN WOMEN CHILDREN M-F Sat. 9-6 605 1 -54th Ave. No. Dinners For Only Choice ot Fried Haddock, I New Bedford Sea Scallops, Fried Shrimp, Baked Boston IScrod, Maryland Style Crab Cakes.

Fried Oysters or $1195 I DINE-IN OHVt PRESENT COUPON St. Pat 544-6730 I Ipswich Belly Clams. Dinners BEFORE ORDERING include French Fries and r-Singles Dance!" Coleslaw. I I May ik combff othar ofttr. I Exp.

13093 P.W.P.lrlembershlp Drive May 22 8:30 P.M.-12:30 A.M. Treasure Island Auditorium 120-1 08th Ave. Membership Drive Picnic Seminole Park May 23 11 AM-5 PM CALL 866-9952 I NIKKI'S CLAM SHACK 665749th St Pinellas Park I d. C00.7140 $st lift! Columbia Pictures NEW TALENT: 24-year-old Robert Rodriguez, right, directs Carlos Gallardo in El Mariachi. ariachP Rroves 'EM money isnt weighing This blue-light-special thriller reassures us that a big budget doesn't equal good cinema and nets the director a Hollywood deal.

MOVIE REVIEW El Mariachi Director: Robert Rodriguez Cast: Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez, Peter Marquaidt Screenplay: Rodriguez and Gallardo Rating: violence, profanity, sexual situations Running time: 84 min. By STEVE PERSALL Times Film Critic blue-light special by Hollywood's bloated standards. Rodriguez, who now has a two-year development with Columbia and a $5-million budget for a sequel to El Mariachi, has a wonderful eye for sharp editing that conveys the danger of his hero's situation. The anonymous mariachi musician (Carlos Gallardo) wanders into town looking for a nightclub gig and falls in love with a cantina owner (Consuelo Gomez). At the same time, a hit man (Reinol Martinez) escapes from jail and returns to town, looking for the kingpin (Peter Marquardt) who owes him revenge and a fortune.

Both men carry black guitar cases the mariachi's containing his guitar and the hit man's loaded with weapons. A switch of the cases and a city-wide case of mistaken identity ensues, with a hail of bullets, several extended chases and a distinct lack of character development that doesn't aid the actors. The star of this show, however, is Rodriguez, who handled everything in it with kinetic energy and an eye on the bottom line that should make the studios blush. El Mariachi is a flawed revelation of a talented new filmmaker. Let's pray that he doesn't get corrupted by that big-money deal with ARTWORKS IN THE PARK AN EXCLUSIVE SHOWING BY MAJOR ARTISTS BEN ARIEH LAKEFRONT PARK ON LAKE TARPON, LANSBROOK, PALM HARBOR SATURDAY SUNDAY MAY 22 AND 23 10 to 5 Come join us for fine art, live jazz and a picnic lunch on the banks of Lake Tarpon during the first annual Art Works In The Park festival in Lansbrook.

More than 30 selected master artists will present the most ie it's rather manic and repetitive but it is a tribute to the ingenuity of a motivated artist, a 24-year-old Austin, Texas resident who sold his body to medical science to raise money for his film. Rodriguez also spent that time in a research hospital writing the threadbare script and assessing his movie-making assets, which totaled one borrowed camera, a school bus, two bars, a motorcycle and a pit bulldog. A 14-day shooting schedule allowed time for one-take scenes and synchronizing the sound by hand. With only one exception, the cast were Rodriguez's friends who worked for free. One note: The version of El Mariachithat is making the art house rounds has been upgraded a bit.

Impressed by the film's showing at several festivals, Columbia Pictures kicked in $500,000 for better sound, subtitles and professional-looking credits. That's still a In order to fully enjoy Robert Rodriguez' caper chase El Mariachi, keep one monetary figure in mind: $7,000. That's how much rather, how little Rodriguez spent to create this fast-paced drama of mistaken identity and bloodshed, set in a sleepy Mexican town in the near future. For the price of a typical catered lunch on a Hollywood set, Rodriguez fashioned an admirable thriller that should be required viewing for aspiring filmmakers and movie moguls. Film students will be reassured that their dreams of low-cost, high-quality cinema is possible.

The "players" might realize that their screen dreams don't need to cost a fortune. El Mariachi isn't a great mov- ii I f4B UNSBR00K tampa an innovative art in west Florida. Enjoy picnic lunches prepared by Bella's, Nature's Food Patch and Bon Appetit and live jazz by Common Ground. Everyone Is welcome! Admission is free. 12 TIMES FRIDAY, MAY 21, 1993.