Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 57

Chicago Tribune, Monday, February 18, 1985 Section 5 5 'Mean Season' a predictable letdown ABT at its best making it big "The Mean Season" Mini-review: Yellow streak CHractad by Phillip Bono acraanptay by Leon Pladmont band on novd by John Kattanbach; KMographad by Frank Tidy; adltad by Duwayna nham; muato by Lalo Schltnn; praducad by David Foatar and Lawranca Turman; an Orion Plcturaa raktaaa at tha Chaatnut Station and outlying thaalara. Ralad R. THE CAST Malcolm Andaraon Kurt RuaaaH Chrtatlna Connolly Markti Hammgway Alan Dolour Richard Jordan BUI Nolan Richard Maaur AndyPortar Joa Pantollano PhD Wllaon Richard Bradtord i "A i 1 ft 1 I By Gene Siskel Movie critic Ot'a easy to see why the screenplay writer for "The Mean Season" had his name removed from the credits. "The Mean Season" is a promising idea gone infuriatingly wrong. The film's opening suggests that it's going to be a thriller with something to say about journalism, but the movie quickly degenerates into a pointless thrill show that constantly plays tricks on the audience.

Kurt Russell, looking like the poor man's Jeff Bridges, stars as a disaffected Miami newspaper reporter who returns to work from vacation ready to quit and join a smaller paper in Colorado. Presumably he'd rather do backpacking stories than the police beat. Of course and in this movie we're always saying "of course'' a violent crime occurs that man- ages to keep Russell in town for one more story. It's a big story: a serial murder as fresh as today's headlines. Gee, thanks, just what I wanted to see.

Russell's involvement in the story, though, is more than that of a simple reporter. After he writes a front-page report about a young woman being shot in the head, Russell receives a phone call in his Kurt Russell and Mariel Hemingway in "Mean Streets." office. It's the killer, and in what becomes a series of calls, he tells Russell that he plans to kill four more people. The reporter's challenge: Can he still report the story while being a big part of it? First, the journalism issue: It's not that big of a deal because, frankly, this sort of thing doesn't happen very often. Of all the issues one can discuss in journalism today, a reporter's phone contact with a killer isn't one of the biggies.

Try libel, for starters. Try the alleged liberal bias of the press next. You say they may be big issues, but they might not make good movies? Well, they can't turn out to be too much worse than "The Mean Season." Then there's the thriller aspect of the film. If "The Mean Season" spun its story more convincingly around the increasing threat to reporter Russell, it might have worked as a variation on the serial murder in "Dirty Harry." But director Phillip Borsos taking a step way down from his last picture, "The Grey Fox" peppers his film with four transparently fake fright scenes that will have you screaming at him, The first one is a dimwitted parody of "Psycho," in which Russell's girlfriend Mariel Hemingway is taking a showet after her boyfriend has received his first call from the We see a shot of the shower curtain and hear some threatening music, indicating that someone is about to attack Hemingway. That's depressing enough, considering that she was under attack throughout her last film, "STAR 80." But what's more aggravating is that it isn't the killer who jumps Hemingway in the shower.

No, go on, guess that's right Kurt Russell. Now, what's the point of that scene and three others like it that Are we supposed to say to ourselves, "Boy, was I stupid that I screamed?" And is that trick supposed to work more than once, if at all? It can't, because once we know this is the director's big I I By Richard Christiansen Entertainment editor On its two weeks here in the Auditorium Theatre, American Ballet Theatre plays to more people and grosses more money than any other dance company including resident troupes that appears in this city. This season, for example, in the 15-performance engagement that ended over the weekend, the company, charging a $32 top, took in about $860,000 at the box office, an annual gross no local dance troupe can begin to approach. in that sense, ABT is our big dance buck, the company that draws by far the biggest number of Chicago area customers. And what did we get for our money in 1985? We had five performances each of two full-length ballets: a lavish and powerful reproduction of Kenneth MacMillan's dance drama "Romeo and Juliet," and a surprisingly delightful revival of "Coppelia," which gave audiences a taste of good old-fashioned star-turn, show-off dancing.

The other five mixed-bill programs were distinguished only through the premiere of David Gordon's lovely and witty "Field, Chair and Mountain," a piece certain to enter the company's permanent which helped cut down on the number of principals who danced here, also further reduced the limited dance menu for Chicago, eliminating Twyla Tharp's "Bach Partita" and leaving instead what amounted to a rather bland and unvaried lot. The engagement also was marked by the absence of Mikhail Baryshnikov, the company's artistic director and its one sure box-office draw. Still out of shape for dancing, he was in Italy, looking at a new "Swan Lake" staged by director Franco Zeffirelli. CHCAiG'OLANID i I trick, the suspense aspect of the movie disappears. Every time we're led to believe that something has happened, we know that it hasn't.

That applies throughout the film, even to its predictable "sur-, prise" conclusion. The only redeeming aspects of the film are its striking production design by Philip Jefferies a sweltering Miami similar to the look of "Body Heat" and a convincing performance by Richard Masur as the city editor of the film's fictional Miami newspaper. Masur also was memorable as the obnoxious public-relations man in "Under Fire." He has appeared in many other films and TV shows including "One Day at a always looking rather plain, yet creating a completely fresh and legitimate character each time. Any actor who can play a credible city editor and a p.r. man is a fine actor indeed.

''Fast Forward" More entertaining is "Fast Forward," a simply plotted but often joyful dance movie following eight Ohio youngsters in their attempt to win a talent contest in New York City. The two young men and six young women are a dance act, and when they perform a series of contemporary street dances, "Fast Forward" is most appealing. Unfortunately, their dancing is stuck in a predictable yarn about yokels trying to make it in the big city in spite of urban violence, conniving promoters, nervous parents and lovers' spats. "Fast Forward" was directed by Sidney Poitier, who certainly knows how to direct a dance sequence; he doesn't overedit. And choreographer Rick Atwell is to be congratulated for taking street dancing in the movies to a place beyond street-corner head-spinning.

But the story slows everything down. A highlights film called "The Dances of 'Fast Forward would have been better. Rating for "Fast Forward" at the United Artists, Water Tower and outlying theaters) 2Vi stars. SHEAR MADNESS Celebrate our 1000th Performance March 4 Proceeds to the Salvation Army Box-Office 7B6-9120 (Maior CrctM Cards) Ticketror, Mayfair Theatre Blackstone Hofei636 S. Michigan- T0NIT6 AT 8PAA FINAL 8 PERFSI now hry February 23 Qnlvl DAVID MERRICK'S 42nd STREET Directed Choreographed by GOWER CHAMPION 1981 Tony Award Best Musical Mon.

318, Tiics-Sat Eves 8PM; Sat Mats $37.50. S32.50, $20 00. Wed Mais 2PM: $30.00, S25.Q0, $15.00. 1 Tickets at Box Office '8. Tkkctron Outlets Telecrtarge 8 Group Sales: 1-800-233-3123 For Inlo, call: (312) 977-1700 Shubert Theatre.

22 w. Monroe, Chicago. IL DEADLINE FOR MONDAY THEATRE LISTINGS IS FRIDAY AT NQ0N Advertisers call Julie Rzadzki (312) 222-4088 altc af ft. V.f at 4W WW 'PaV VALIDATED REDUCED PARKING 836 N. Michigan 4-B7fW i aaMaTaalaiL' 9 E.

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IMGOR BEST SCREENPLAY fS216 W. LAWHENCE 286-2402 NORTH HARLEM 453-4515 MISCHIEF MEAN SEASON P) TURK 182 Dolby PG-13 6320 N. WESTERN 764-4224 BREAKFAST CLUB "WITNESS Dolby FAST FORWARD PQ i 5635 DbLMUNl 237-8340 AMADEUS 8:00 PG 3ml 2020 SPRING LITTLES 1984 CALUMET CITY, IL 666-3400 WITNESS Dolby MAS APPEAL MRS. SOFFEL 8:00 PG-13. WHEN YOU'VE ONLY COT ONE SHOT AT THE TOP YOU'VE GOT TO MOVE LINCOLN, FULLERTON 348-4123 USE' Kb SEE NEAR NORTH TURK 182 BREAKFAST CLUB DISPLAY AP PQ-13 FAST FORWARD PO BEVERLY HILLS COP SCHAUMBURG, IL 882-1620 MICKI a MAUDE PG-13 WITNESS Dolbv A PASSAGE TO INDIA PO No Barfwln Priw WITNESS BREAKFAST CLUB VISION QUEST BREAKFAST CLUB AMADEUS TURK 182 PG-13 Dolby PQ FAST FORWARD PG TURK 182 Dolby PG-13 FALCON SNOWMAN No Bargain Prlca TURK 182 PG-13 PRIhHHIU GIHQUCt SUCtf Slf 11 I Sound'rac i sum avaii Amf Orv OWf sr ntconost r9rmwwwmAVHMinv -wj, oismboudby mconoswc GOLDCREST INTf RNATKDNAl ItM INVESTORS AN ENIGMA PRODUCTION 'THf KILLING FIELDS'' SAM WAIERSION DR HAING S.

NGOR CRAIG I. NELSON JOHN MALKOVICH ATHOL FUGARD MIKE OLOFIEID EWUCE ROBINSON AdaDted rom The Death and life of iDith Pran' bv 17BTH ft HALSTED 796-1140 A PASSAGE TO INDIA 7:30 PG No Bargain Prlca FALCON A SNOWMAN 1 1 MISCHIEF BLOOMINGDAIE, IL 351-9610 BEVERLY HILLS COP Dolby SvJnev Schonberg In The New Vbrk Times Magazine cauciw DAVID PUTTNAM ikmi, ROLAND JOFFE BEVERLY HILLS COP HEAVEN HELP US MEAN SEASON w. jL.tts a pnrio. weiw I iu to UNITEb ARTISTS CROSSROADS HILLSIDE SO. STRATFORD SO.

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