The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 83

niir-. rr i uriiiMM nt in im -yr I SECTION ftcilanlaSauntal the Atlanta constitution FRIDAY. AUGUST 1. 1986 fi P-H 5 rJl ff fl 'lavs an OMOVIE REVIEW By Scott Cain 1 Staff Writer i 2 si ll "Howard the' Duck" has every- thing money can buy except fua. i i In making the transition from comic-book page to the silver screen, Howard, lost his pizzazzv His swagger is gone, replace by trembling and-1 He's more Woody Allen than Woody Allen.

As he gets into one deadly scrape af- 4 ter another, you feel that there is no hope for his survival" The opening sequences; in which Howard tries to make Sense MOVIES -it" 'V v' f- 'police are trigger-happy. None1 of them knows how to brake an aut mobile. Given half an opportunity, they will run off any highway. (In the background are the tallest mountains ever seen in Cleveland.) As a cinematic creation, Howard works, but wildly different re- action to him doesn't When Howard walks down a street he looks like a radio-station mascot How, to explain a woman who screams when she sets eyes upon him? Miss Thompson, seen last year in "Back to the Future," has charming moments as Howard's only friend. In the funniest scene, she pretends to be turned on and threatens to make love to him.

Jeffrey Jones, who plays the unlucky scientist made a deep im- pression as the emperor In "Ama- deus." Since then, he has fallen on tough times. In "Ferris Bueller's; Day Off," he had the year's inost i humiliating role as a crazed princi- pal willing to go to any lengths to 1 catch Ferris in the act of playing The High Museum's tribute to moviemaker Orson Welles continues at 8 p.m. Saturday with "A Touch of Evil." Rich auditorium, 1280 Peachtree St. The Screening Room theater, 2581 Piedmont Road N.E., is launching a tribute to John Huston. "The Maltese Falcon? and "Prizzi's Honor" are showing through Sunday.

'-of suddenly' finding himself on I ART iarui, migm nave worKea oetter' sin another, -more sentimental mov- ie The scefies, morosely establish' the concept the hopeless1 outsid- The 'in'alfunctioning of i 'laser'1' njachine id Cleveland causes How-: ard to be transported from his liv-' ing. room on, another planet to Earth, where he lands unceremoni- ously in an alley and is immediate-V i ly set upon by a gang of punks. He escapes, from them, only to be at- tacked by an irate bag ladw He nooKy. His role in "Howard the Duck" rwinirpa him ta rin a mas. Clay works Gallery features paintings by Athens artist Richard Olsen.

Opening reception tonight, 7-10. Through Aug. 23. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays.

Free. 1131 Eu-' did Ave. 525-2529. Nexus Press hosts a publiction party and book signing for "(Ho Go)2 It," a book by Atlantan Ruth Laxson. 7 tonight 608 Ralph McGill Blvd.

gets away, only to be 'menaced by 1 a gang of motorcycle Seeking refuge a garbage -can, he -witnesses an ugly encoun" ter between Beverly, aXrock, siqger, (played! ty Lea and' two thugs. He comes to her rescue and, in gratltuder she invites him: 'HOWARD THE DUCK's The film stars Lea Thompson as a vocalist in an all-female rock band. sive amount of eye rolling as the Dark Overlord takes control of his i body. You feel sorry for Jones, go-: through undignified screechings and contortions. His predicament makes you wonder; not for the first time, if acting is a suitable profession for a grown man.

1 "Howard the Duck," A comic fantasy, based on the Marvel; Comics character. George Lucas, was executive producer. Willard Huyck directed from a script he: wrote with producer Gloria The film, rated PG, has a huge amount of violence in view of the mild rating. The dialogue contains a few bawdy words. the.jnachine.to turn.hamehe,snecial-eifects,.company.

Industrial fluff- moves' into "Aliens" country. There are chases galore. The pursuit of one duck becomes an urgent matter for dozens of lawmen. (This is the silliest operation since the Army and Air Force chased a harmless boy in "D.AJLY.L.")!The must defeat the scientist's demqnsj- Light Magic, into an effort to ir At this point, the story has obscure the plot They trot outdated far. out of control.

A harmless ser beams galore and monsters fantasy has turned into a night- that look like gigantic, scorpions, marish science-fiction extravagan- The scientist has a tongue five feet za. Executive producer' George ILu- long and eyes that shoot killer-' cas put the wizards at i.his beams grim stuff. What becan discover the cause, of Jus un- planned, intergalactic trip, A scientist (Jeffrey Jones has a second, accident with the laser machine, and he begins turning into a monster called the Dark Overlord. Before Howard can' use 1 Df 1 1 lfe V3ona Lisa' 4 1 1 finds love meuians makestopiatr Center Stage EVERLY BROTHERS: At Chastain tonight and Saturday. By Gerry Yandel 1 MUSIC V'The alumni' list frbih the "Second City Comedytroupe reads' like a ''Who's Who of Ha Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray; Brian Gilda Radrier, John Belushi, Jim BelushX Joan Rivers, George Wendt, John Candy the list-goes on.

1 Don't look for, any 'of those stars among the SC. Touring Company; at Cen-' Stage tonight though. These. troupers. arent big names 'yet 5 is I But, given the track record of the 26--i' -'year-old- organization, Ron West, Will The Everly Brothers will be at Chastain Park for shows at 8:30 tonight and Saturday night.

Tickets, are available at the Woodruff Arts Center box office, Peach-tree and 15th streets. 892-2414 to charge by phone. Vh Anita Baker will sing Sunday at the Fox Theatre during a 7 p.m. concert Tickets, $14.75 and $16.75, are available at all, SEATs outlets and the Fox box office. 881-1977 to charge by phone.

i Bittersweet 1 MOVIE REVIEW By Eleanor Ringel Film Editor Any movie that starts out with Bob Hoskins on camera and Nat King Cole on the soundtrack is already way ahead of the game, and "Mona Lisa," a brutal, rueful film-noir fairy tale, never loses Its early lead. This bloody wonderful British film is The Frog Prince as told by Damon Runyon, but a nasty, unexpected '80s twist George' (Hoskins) is a minor-league thug who's just spent seven years in prison, having taken the fall for his. petty criminal boss, Mortwell (Michael Caine). Now that he's out George wants back in, and Mortwell played to pasty-faced perfection by Caine comes up with an odd job of sorts. George is assigned to chauffeur Simone (Cathy Tyson), a high-class hooker whose assignations take nefttf jtonier parts of town; 1 At first the two don't exactly mesh.

She is tall, black, elegant; he is squat, white, vulgar. When she gives him money to buy something more Ginger; Sean Masterson, Tim O'Malley, Holly Wortell and Noel Bou-Sliman who will be Derforminr hereM have a 1 DANCE i.vh'- Ai fair shot at stardom. In fact, Ms. Bou-Sli- -man has a part in the movie ''Nothing in Common," along with JO members Second City. vThe touring company is actually one section of an eight-part organization that -V is based in Chicago and has a sister club jft' 1 Sarah Irwin and-Timothy Wik son, two independent choreographers in town to give workshops at J.

Arc and Company studios, will begin their "shared performance" it the MARTA Square in Decatur and will move from there into the nearby studio. Saturday at 8:30 p.m, $4. 373-4154 or 8P See CITY See MONA 7P SECOND CITYi The touring company will perform at Center Stage tonight. i'i'f 1 i I THEATER about Common Nothing nothing in common 1 1 1(51 i' 11 S(ft WWV! MOVIE REVIEW At the Alliance Studio Theatre, Tom Key performs "The Revelation of John," a solo dramatization from the Bible. (15 Fridays-Sundays.

Ventriloquist Todd Stockman performs a funny show for adult audiences at the Center for Puppetry By Eleanor Ringel Film Editor. Arts through Saturday. $7. "Nothing In Common" strives for something un- attempts, the' sameomedy-into-tragedy jackknife pulled off by "Terms of Endearment" To i swim-meet vernacular, I'll give it a 10 for degree jf difficulty and a 7 for execution. -xf'BuLTU gladly hand Jackie Gleason a 10 for his portrayal of a cantankerous, callous, hard-to-love Dad, and Tom Hanks an 11 fori his high-energy performance as a hotshot adman who learns there are some situations that can't be handled with a clever'; quip, The situation in this case Is a pair of aging, newly vulnerable parents who suddenly need their son the most just when he, needs them least As Hanks jokes in one of the' film's most cuttingly honest mo-ments, "I thought I'd grow up, I'd be a success, I'd have a mansion, my parents would visit, they'd say 'What a nice mansion', and they'd go away and die." David Basner (Hanks) is a success a wise-guy 'whiz kid who's just been made creative director of an "Taming of the Shrew" is winning laughs at the Georgia Shakespeare Festival under the big white tent at Oglethorpe University.

"Tomorrow Today," a festival of experimental work, continues at Nexus Theatre. This weekend's offerings-include "Shades of the Pomegranate" by Atlanta actress Stephanie Astalos Jones, who plays seven characters in 35 minutes. $4 for senior citizens and artists. 688-2500. Cabaret entertainer Libby Whit-temore lets the good times roll in her one-woman, musically varied show of songs and informal chitchat at Upstairs at Gene and Gabe's.

$12.50, $9.50. 892-2261. i 1 1 illlMllllWaWMWMWMMWIWM See COMMON 4P 'liOTHIJiQ IM COttMOil'i Jackie Gleason portrays a hard-to-love dad and Tom Hanks plays his hotshot son..