Harbour City Star from Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada • 6

A6 HARBOUR CITY STAR Saturday, September 12, 1998 MOVIE REVIEW A sweet, jolly rascal of a movie about a girls' finishing school ADMIT ONE McVane with real dignity and humanity. Strike! moves into high gear when the boys arrive from neighbouring St. Ambrose for a dance and choral concert. There's a scene in which one girl intends to lose her virginity but the can of contraceptive foam considerately provided by her boyfriend proves hilariously unwieldy. That's the only instance of a real attempt at sex in the movie, though the girls do spend a lot of time chewing over the subject.

But except for a fistfight, there's no violence, no nudity and certainly no coarse language. Good heavens, no, not spoken by ladies at Miss Godard's Prep School for Girls. Strike! PG Starring Lynn Redgrave, Kirsten Dunst, Gaby Hoffmann, Heather Mattarazzo. Directed by Sarah Kernochan. (O III By Judy Gerstel Originally titled The Hairy Bird (a much better title) and shot last summer around Toronto and in Whitby, Strike! is a sweet, jolly rascal of a movie that may have the industry's most curious audience demographics.

It's a must for 10- to 15-year-old girls and also for their forty- to fiftysomething mothers, aunts and grandmothers. As for everybody else, with a little indulgence, Strike! is an agreeable bit of fluff with a surprising whiff of sophistication. It's a tale about girls at a posh New England boarding school in 1963. The fun is in the writing and in the gaggle of irresistible adolescents, led by Gaby Hoffmann and Kirsten Dunst, ringleaders of a rowdy clique that ultimately rebels when their alma mater is scheduled to merge with a boys' school. It's part Grease, part grown-up Madeline, part junior female Diner.

And it's altogether time somebody made a period movie about a gang of smart, raunchy teenage girls from the right side of the tracks. Veteran screenwriter (Impromptu, 9 12 Weeks) and first-time feature director Sarah Kernochan based the tale on her own adolescence and pre-Sarah Lawrence education at prestigious Rosemary Hall. She recreates with affection and wit what the ear ly '60s were like for upper middle-class young women, when the first stirrings of independence, sexual ripening and society's expectations all collided. The girl's battle cry: No more white gloves! Or, as one of them points out, when you graduate, you get married and you're finished. "That's why it's called finishing she concludes ruefully.

The dialogue is consistently amusing, and Kernochan works hard to find situations that keep us interested, though she's not entirely successful. Some of the scenes and situations are predictable there's only so much you can do in a girls' school. There's the cafeteria, the classroom, the bedroom, the clandestine meetings and the townie boys on the prowl. To her credit, Kernochan takes the time to develop individual characters, and draws winning performance from her young, attractive cast, including Monica Keena (Tin-ka, the rebellious beauty) and Mer-ritt Wever (Momo, the science whiz). Heather Mattarazzo (Welcome To The Dollhouse) adds a bit of edge as the insecure Tweety who regularly throws up.

Nobody called it bulimia then, of course. There's also Lynn Redgrave as the headmistress, who's more than a cardboard figure. Together, Kernochan and Redgrave invest Miss 3NO ilWQV I Da Vinci: A man for all seasons Continued from Page A5 As an architect, he worked on the design for the cathedral of Milan. As an engineer and scientist, he designed weapons of war, studied anatomy and the mechanics of flight. It was da Vinci who designed an automobile in 1493, the year after Christopher Columbus first reached the New World.

It was da Vinci who designed a flying machine in 1508 and a parachute in 1485. He once wrote: "My aim is to construct machines which will enable whole worlds to be moved." Museum chief executive officer says the exhibit is one of a kind. "This exhibit will give visitors the full picture of the life of this genius of the ages. When it's over, all of the components will be dispersed. There may never be another Leonardo show like this one." The Royal British Columbia website can be found at http:rbcml.rbcm.gov.bc.ca National Geographic Theatre will be showing The Magic of Flight which celebrates the greatest ideas of aviation history.

About the Exhibit: The exhibition mirrors the way Leonardo lived: drawing, painting, observing, reasoning, dreaming and experimenting. The diversity of work displayed in over 230 exhibits is a celebration of his genius. In addition to sketches, artworks and facsimile drawings, the exhibition features 25 working models of Leonardo's mechanical studies and interactive multi-media units with over 8,000 photographs. About the Man: Born in the village of Vinci, Italy, in 1452, Leonardo became a Renaissance genius. He was employed as a painter and architect as well as a military engineer.

His interests were even more far-reaching and included anatomy, hydraulics, mechanics, botany and flight, to name a few. Around the age of 16, Leonardo's father sent him to apprentice in the workshop of the famed painter-sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio. There, painting and sculpting went hand in hand with other skills, such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. As an architect, he worked on a design for the cathedral of Milan. As an engineer and scientist, he designed weapons of war, studied anatomy and the mechanics of flight.

Looking back on all his visions, it is clear that Leonardo was centuries ahead of his time. 218 Patsy in rrrc i rm 4 by 72 1191557 from Page B1 a closer walk with patsy cline Get Patsified tonight iv 'A A lw I A musical revue by Dean Regan. Showcases classics like CRAZY, I FALL TO PIECES, WALKIN' AFTER MIDNIGHT and YOUR CHEATIN' HEART. "Oh Lord, I sing just like I hurt inside. -PATSY CLINE September 17 26 Malaspina U-C Theatre A Belfry Theatre production.

Call 754-7587 for tickets Visit our website at http:nanalmo.arfc.comthaatral at Little Texas Nightclub downtown. The band kicks off its first set as musical back up for the Get Patsified! Sing-A-Long Contest Finals, held by TheatreOne. The professional theatre organization is holding the contest in conjunction with their presentation of the musical revue A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline (at Malaspina University-College Theatre from Sept. 17 to 26). Larry Boudreau, band spokesman, says Mystery Train looks forward to performing Patsy Cline's legendary songs for the contest.

Head out and cheer for your favourite Patsy In case you missed it, folks, country's back, and with a vengeance! Shania Twain and Garth Brooks have made country songs the hip tunes in town, and local country bands are basking in the glow of renewed interest. Mystery Train is one such band. The group, comprised of Larry Boudreau on guitar, Bill Dellert on guitar, bass and keyboards as well as lead vocals, Brad Kent on drums and vocals, Oscar Demers on steel guitar and Bob Gray on bass, acoustic guitar and lead and harmony vocals, is a favourite in bars, pubs and at festivals across Vancouver Island. You can see them perform tonight Sporaomf by: Co-Sponor Budg Budget 11 HOTEL SoMon Sponsored radfQME Daly News The StariThe community comes to your doorstep PENCIIMAN TOYOTA BC DIALERS SPOKESPENCIL LOSE re these prices hot orisifjustmerfV Of tfni per month '98 CAMRY CE Ita II W48mo.lease i. OFF ALL IN-STOCK room hum CIS 3F DOWNPAVMENT MONTHLY PAYMENT SO S317 Sl.OOO $294 52.000 $271 $3.300 $248 TREEN GLOVES SAFETY PRODUCTS LTD.

7-1551 Estevan 754-6558 financing OAC Best selling car in North America Power windowslocks mirrors Air conditioning AMFM cassette Tilt steeringCruise control 4 speed automatic transmission ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder RESEARCH '98 RAV4 automatic per month 48 mo.lease 3.8 VOLUNTEERS ARE REQUIRED FOR AN 8 WEEK STUDY, TO BE CONDUCTED THIS FALL EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN DIETARY CHANGES AND NUTRIENTS ON CHILDREN WITH ADHD. DOWNPAVMENT MONTHLY PAYMENT $0 $324 $1,000 $302 $2,000 $279 $3,000 $256 financing OAC Full rime 4VD Hit steering AMFM cassette 1 6 valve DOHG 1 27HP Intermittent wipers P. '0 A I Children must be between the oges of six and fourteen and attending school. Several important physiological tests will be done which will provide parents with data about their children's hearth. Dietary education will also be provided to parents.

All testing and instruction will be free of charge to all participants. This study has been University approved and win be conducted in Nanaimo by Dr. John C. One O. through the TOYOTA BC 02AL Oceanside Functional I i 203- Rood fy Nanaimo, BC rV Phono mm ww corn cPTt tar ssBd Ttw "E0 f- FINE lVT 3 fN frwrot CrmM CwS trnmd tr 80 -nor fnarerq 0C leana enakrrs tr an 9ae mama mm rd tri Mr Sewr Xm '998 wrni tn SJOc 135 tar te -CVx WQ mmm tan VJTOEXCJPCV: iJci Vtm mc actamtrn tn 28 J15 382 tJir7fcrMe Imi tr 1 ir in 1 aHT JCCV 9XC tan tsa nsc trt I 5 5 Xt I 5 ''2Vi in ver mm Ineed pcrens ore csied to concoct re above artr for rro'e rfcrrfyy A ferVed rxr-fcec cf par-cipori5 ere reaured crxt be se'eced cce bess fdslf MB 9C.