Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 86

ON Saint Nanny Whoopi sprouts a halo as the magical answer to a widower's help wanted ad. Corrina, Corrina Grade: Director: Jessie Nelson I Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Ray Liotta, Tina Majorino Screenplay: Jessie Nelson Rating: PG; profanity Running time: 115 min. By STEVE PERSALL Times Film Critic ing umbrella. She's here on a mission, ostensibly child care, although involved adults learn more lessons on how to smile. The comparisons go downhill from there.

Nobody will ever confuse Whoopi Goldberg with the Julie Andrews of Mary Poppins fame, and neither will they confuse that Disney classic with Corrina, Corrina, the second stint (after Clara's Heart) for Whoopi the wiseacre as a savior nanny. Jessie Norman debuts with a ragtag version of a spoonful o' sugar movie, in which undeveloped medicine messages go down with an uneasy gulp. Goldberg's residual affection from stargazing audiences should pack them in; few personalities are as easily pegged for box office appeal. We know her appealing jive-honey routine by heart, whether it's cloaked in a nun's habit or 1960s period clothing. Goldberg railing against the powers that be certainly can provide vicarious pleasure.

Which is why it's so dissatisfying to watch Whoopi Goldberg settle for mere movie sainthood. Corrina, Corrina should be a Goldberg-mine of rebellious opportuni- She arrives by bus, not by a magical fly- A Pocketful Of Poses, $79.95 Now through September 10, one small price gets you a Glamour Shots' makeover and photo session (in our wardrobe or your own), a finished 8x10 portrait, two 5x7s, and 16 color miniproofs. You get a big package, for very little out-of-pocket. And you'll love the results. Guaranteed.

Just call for an appointment. -0000 Glamour PHOTOGRAPHY Shots. HIGH FASHION Countryside Mall 726-4427 Tyrone Square 345-2022 Westshore 282-0009 Lakeland Square 859-6466 8 TIMES FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 1994 Things actually aren't that superficial, but Nelson's script, like the sappiest greetingcard commercials, cuts through such distractions as cold realism and credible twists to wrestle our hearts to the ground. Corrina, Corrina doesn't portray this story's key conflicts an isolated child and a budding interracial romance in the 1960s as anything more than an excuse for Whoopi's next annointment. Whatever honesty found in Corrina, Cor- ties, with its tale of an African-American woman asserting herself and falling in love with a white man in the 1960s.

But Norman barely addresses the issue of race, and then only as a cursory postscript. Goldberg's role as Corrina Washington is a stacked deck: college graduate, literate in the musical arts and Gertrude Stein, able to soothe any hurt. She's so much better than everyone else around her that supporting players can only step aside and avoid being blinded by her halo. Manny Singer (Ray Liotta) could use some of pixie dust. He's a recently widowed commercial jingle composer whose grief prevents him from rhyming the word "pudding." He's also an awkward single parent, baking TV dinners and trying to coax words that won't come from the mouth of his reclusive 6-year-old daughter Molly (Tina Majorino).

She's retreated into one of those emotional vacuums in which screenwriters love to indulge, if only for that surefire teary moment when the afflicted child will speak (see Jack the Bear, House of Cards, et al.) A comic montage of Mrs. Doubtfire-style misapplicants falls short of Manny's needs. Star billing alone should have convinced him that nobody but Corrina Washington could enlighten the Singer home. Goldberg is in full Whoopi regalia from her first moments on screen; she has made sass a science, with a smirk that can be equally haughty or ingratiating and an insight bordering on omnipotence. Molly sees the magic right off the bat, but Manny isn't convinced until Corrina tells him to drop the off "pudding" for an easier rhyme.

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PETE BEACH AN Curlew Crossing, ICOT Center, Mile of In Front of Radisson, US 19 Curlew Rd US 19 off Ulmerton 6000 Gulf BId. 789-5526 530-0637 367-9844 rina is uncovered in the performances of Liotta and Majorino, two very different actors who are still searching for their niche. By far, Liotta is the more intriguing case of the two. His memorable screen roles typically essay hard criminals; the psychopathic ex-con in Something Wild or the cokehead mobster in Goodfellas. Whenever he plays it softer, the films either get buried by their own fragility (Dominick and Eugene) or he's a minor distraction (Field of Dreams, Article 99).

Manny Singer is the first chance for Liotta to display a gentler side in a can't-miss project, with all his intensity channeled into eager fatherly love. Liotta subdues the saccharine nature of the screenplay with understatement, a smart move that might have escaped another actor. Majorino simply has the glow, the intangible quality of a movie star. An awareness of herself and what is expected of her radiates every time she appears on screen. She's obviously a well- young actor, yet without the artificial appeal of most child stars; there is much more going on behind that crooked smile and those subtly expressive eyes than usual.

Scenes of Molly's reclusive nature contain a crackle of anticipation, since Majorino's vibrancy can't be completely concealed by a sullen pout. Like Liotta, Majorino's stock should rise after Corrina, Corrina. Both deserve better than playing second violins to "Martyr" Poppins. New Line Cinema WHOOPI POPPINS? Whoopi Goldberg plays nanny to Ray Liotta's widower with a daughter, played by Tina Majorino. 58061 FREE Singles' Dance Every Fri.

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