The Toronto Star from Toronto, Ontario, Canada • 71

I SUNDAY STAR, JULY 1, 19MG3 Hanks is life of Bachelor Party HEDMP.ERIAlROOMiPRSENTS Finger of suspicion: Tawny Kitaen is warning fiance Tom Hanks not to havq too good a time at his Bachelor Party. She needn't worry. Neither Hanks nor the audience does. You wont miss anything if you skip this party it gives party poopers a good name. Burt Reynolds runs on empty in his retreaded Cannonball II Movie reviews Bachelor Party A comedy from 20th Century-Fox rated Restricted, starring Tom Hanks, Adrian Zmed and Tawney Kiiaea At the Uptown Back-stage and other theatres, By Rob Salem Toronto Star Bachelor Party, the libidinous new comedy that opened on Friday at the Uptown Backstage, is just about everything you would expect it to be.

Fortunately, there's a little more to it than that Teen-market sex comedies are a safe bet these days, both for the studio and the public. For the studio, it is an almost surefire way to make big bucks from a miniscule investment And the audience can be sure that, even if the script is atrocious, there will be enough vaudevillian sight-gags and sopho-moric sex jokes to get them through. But good teen market comedies seem to have something else in common. It is a central character (usually the protagonist and invariably male) who is easy to identify with, not because hes vulner-' able or attractive, but because he's effortlessly funny, a sort of gonzo Everyman. There are three actors who have this character down to perfection.

At the top of the list is Bill Murray, who established all the conventions in films such as Meatballs, Stripes and Ghostbusters. Then comes Michael Keaton, who did it to perfection in Night Shift A smash in Splash And now theres Tom Hanks, who sprung full-blown from the sitcom Bosom Buddies to play it in Splash. and in Bachelor Party. The plot is summed up by the title a bachelor party is being held for the prospective groom. His buddies want to make sure he has a good time (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) and his wife-to-be (Tawny Kitaen) wants to make sure he doesnt End of story.

Except that Hanks version of the gonzo Everyman is particularly infectious, an oasis of calm, controlled insanity in the midst of drooling juveniles, sniggering neanderthals, bouncing breasts and cardboard WASP stereotypes. You cant help but like the guy, especially when he refuses to take part in the sleazy and patently sexist celebrations. Of his buddies, only Adrian Zmed (TJ. Hooker partner) is the least bit likeable. The rest are ust recycled characters stolen iom other movies.

Of course, as the party proceeds, mistakes are made and complications ensue, and when its all over a dead donkey is found in the elevator of a posh hotel Hanks, thankfully (or is that is never off-screen long enough to let this stupidity get too far out of hand. One can only hope his next vehicle will have some redeeming qualities other than his own. Dear Burt: You dont know me, but I thought I would write to you anyway. You see, I have this problem, something only you can help me with. Although weve never met, I have it on good authority that youre a nice guy.

So I know you wont take this the wrong way. Burt, I want you to do a favor A SIZZLIN' MUSICALON SKATES CONCEIVED PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY BARTON G. WEISS AND BRIAN R.MATHE THE BEST ENTERTAINMENT VALUE IN TORONTO SHOW TIMES: 9:00 P.M. FRI. SAT.

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as bickering conmen. (Maybe I'm being a little hard on Needham Dean and Sammy wouldnt be funny in any movie.) And you, Burt even you get short-changed, and youre supposed to be the star. Needham has dressed you in the ugliest costumes known to man your gut hangs out of your coveralls and those hideous yellow-tinted sunglasses make you look 20 years older. And worse, he hasnt given you any of the customary stunts or one-liners you do so well. Sinatra, your big guest star, can afford to do whatever he wants.

But face it, Burt, your options are dwindling. I suspect that under that toupee and makeup you're starting to resemble a middle-aged accountant Those Jackie Gleason roles are just around the corner. So take our advice, Burt we only want the best for you. The next time Hal Needham says, Hey, old buddy, Ive got a great idea for a movie," get on the next plane before he can tell you the title. And if that title has a Roman numeral at the end of it run him over with your Trans-Am.

Its for your own good. Yours sincerely, Rob Salem Cannonball Run II Comedy sequel from Warner Brothers rated Parental Guidance, starring Burt Reynolds, Shirley MacLaine, Sammy Davis Dean Martin, Dom Defuise, Frank Sinatra, etc. Directed by Hal Needham. At the Hyland, Eaton Centre and other theatres. will go to see whatever youre in.

But a few more like Cannonball II and youll be considering offers to do a Dan August On Gilligan's Island TV reunion. We used to trust you guys. Hooper was kind of fun, Smokey And The Bandit was more of the same and Stroker Ace, well, we understood that your friend, Loni Anderson, had her show cancelled and needed the work. But the sequels, Burt! What is it with these ridiculous sequels? Cannonball is cut from the same tattered cloth as Smokey a tiresome retread of a successful premise with a few uninspired frills thrown in so we can tell the difference. For Smokey II, you got an elephant For Cannonball II, you got Frank Sinatra.

Youre not fooling anyone. Okay, okay Dom DeLuise can be very funny. But not in this movie. No one could be funny in this movie, with its script cribbed hastily from the pages of Mad magazine. Not Shirley MacLaine and Marilu Henner as bogus nuns, not Tim Conway and Don Knotts sion into your private life, but It's important to us to know who youre sleeping with), and this is such a teeny We want you to stop hanging around with that Hal Needham guy, the one who directed you in Hooper, Smokey And The Bandit and Smokey II, Stroker Ace, Cannonball Bun and now (shudder) Cannonball Run II, which opened here on Friday (at the Hyland and a few other theatres, in case you happen to be in town).

Burt, we wouldnt lie to you the relationship is not working out The movies are getting worse, fella, and this new one is almost as bad as Smokey And The Bandit III, which you and Needham had the foresight to avoid like the plague. Youre not Jackie Gleason, you know. Youre a big star. People CPM II WiNWHIW WWCKIWilVBNUMIt Sixties rhythm blues singers cast a Big Chill over the Forum Shaw Playlets Come and enjoy a light lunch and a smorgasbord of sparkling Lunchtime Theatre at the Royal George Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Choose from our tasty lunch snacks and take in our "Festival within a Festival.

A FESTIVAL WITHIN A FESTIVAL THE FASCINATING FOUNDLING by Bernard Shaw Shaw's humorous wit is Stated at the Lord iancellor as he lampoons the social and legal aspects of adoption in England in this satiric comedy. IIOW HE LIED TO HER HUSBAND by Bernard Shaw Shaw's elegant drawing room comedy humorously recounts the romantic triangle between a shrewd husband! his wife and her young poetical lover. SPONSORED BY 3 ium a-v Toronto Dance Theatre "One of Canada's most important dance troupes" Toronto Star SPONSORED BY rassing about wallowing in a bit of nostalgia, especially when you get to wallow in the real thing or as near to the real thing as age and the ravages of rock roll allow. Last night Nader put Little Anthony, The Shirelles and Danny and The Juniors on parade. And tonight Rick Nelson, Del Shannon and Danny and The Juniors (again) will round out what should be a weekend of intense recollection for Torontos baby boomers, now approaching their 40s.

Caribbean tans They were there in force Friday night, boogalooing with a vengeance, like the cast of an epic version of the The Big Chill movie, their' expensively-reconstituted bodies enhanced by Caribbean tans and designer casuals. They danced, as theyd danced at the Class of 66 prom, to The Marvelettes Please, Mr. Postman, to Martha and The Vandel-las Heatwave and Dancing In The Street" and to Junior Walkers Shotgun and How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)." It didnt matter much that only one of the two Vandellas (Lois Reeves) was an original, or that Marthas pitch is less than true these days. It didnt matter that Walkers soggy version of the 1982 Foreigner hit, Urgent" (on which he played sax), was a mildly irritating anachronism. At, the Forum Friday night all weekend, for that matter 20 years were shed.

By Greg Quill Special to The Star If you were among the who turned up at Ontario Race Forum Friday night for the first of this weekends three-part rock roll, spectacular, you could be forgiven for believing youd been shot back in time to a vast 1960s disco the Forum A-Go-Go. Under hazy gold and purple lights the colors of memory itself 1960s soul stars The Marvelettes, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas and Junior Walker and The Allstars unrolled the spangled past in a string of unforgettable rhythm blues hits that had everyone swaying, clapping along and dancing in their seats. Toronto loves rock U.S. entrepreneurconjurer Richard Nader sure knows how to package nostalgia. His now famous spectaculars have played to ever-increasing audiences in 80 or 90 North American cities over the last three or four years, he told the Forum crowd Friday night And none of them loves old-time rock roll like Toronto does.

You'd better believe it Claiming he knew every hit record between 1955 and 1968, Nader challenged three members of Friday nights audience to match old song titles with performers names. Two of the three stumped him. Embarrassing, or what? Actually, theres nothing embar Theatre Beyond Words Highlights include a visit with "Tne Potato People" and Good Reasons to Laugh." Guaranteed to please audiences of all ages. SPONSORED BY I '-5s, 1 Emma, Queen of Song WITH MARY LOU ALLIS Miss Fallis as the 19th century Prima Donna, Emma Albani, recreates the simple songs and arias which touch the hearts of an entire generation. wtw SPONSORED BY ANDRCS.

Aim -V lrt, 'u ''o' KEN FAUGHI TORONTO STAR Martha of the Vandellas: Martha Reeves and her group had everyone dancing in the seats with such hits as "Dancing in The Street" It was a baby-boomer crowd of reconstituted bodies. IUMW -4 how BY PHONE 10am to 9pm -Monday through Sunday Toll Free From Toronto 361-1544 or call long distance (416)468-3201 visa MasterCard American Express Only TOP GIRLS The Sun Never Sets WITH PATRICK CREAN Returning for a second triumphant season! A delightful 'Gin Sing of reminiscences and fables from the world of Rudyard Kipling. SPONSORED BY TarfSgon Theatre miiiHmirmmit ON STAGE HELD OVER lmimiimmiimlL a HOW DEE DOO! Marring JOHN JUDD PAUL KNIGHT A How Dee Doo! it a godsend hinny, light, evening out." MilHri. STAR Fraser. GLOBS MAIL a bounteous grit I uproarious laughter from Britain.

continued brilliance." Ponnmgton. SUN TORONTO FREE THEATRE (upstairs) 26 Berkeley Street Box Oflkt 368-2856 BASS by Caryl ChurchM -Q Iuj UrOCWO Of JBM HOMfil StarrinQ: Marigold Chirtwwofth, Clare Coultar, Robin Nicky Guadagnl. Diane Hdhngtworth Dixie SeaM, Kate Trotter Seta and coHumea by John Fannoyer Lighting by Allan Slichbixy Top Marks Globe Top Ptoasuro" Sun Brilliantly two-edged star Absolutely delightful spectacular" cbc 8 p.m. Sat. 489 p.m.

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