page 12
Wednesday, October 29, 1980
daily nebraskan
Woody Allen's 'Side Effects' guarantees laughs
By Pat Higgins
Side Effects by Woody Allen, Random
House NY 1980, 144 pg.
Side Effects is Woody Allen's third
collection of short comic pieces to be
released. It is probably the most amusing
book published since his last one. Without
Feathers.
Anyone worried about Allen's self
conscious change in direction over the last
couple of years from his well-earned repu
tation as one of the funniest comics around
to that of the serious filmmaker concerned
about art and other weighty matters should
be quite happy with this volume, as Allen
writes strictly for laughs and succeeds.
k reuien
Most of these selections originally
appeared in The New Yorker and Allen up
holds that publication's tradition of quality
writing and sharp wit. Allen's literary out
put does not operate on the same plane as
his films; more than anyone else, it is simi
lar to S.J. Perelman and George Kaufman,
two veteran New Yorker contributors who
also were the screenwriters for some of the
Marx Brothers' finest films.
In Side Effects, Allen comes off as an
intellectual Groucho Marx. It is widely per
ceived that compared to other comedians
currently performing, Allen has the reputa
tion as an intellectual (i.e., he uses words
with more than two syllables).
Shedding limitations
His appeal is centered among literate
young adults who made Annie Hall his
commercial breakthrough. That allows
Allen the freedom to make films like In
teriors and Stardust Memories, where he is
shedding the limitations imposed on
comedy. Supposedly Interiors is his
homage to Bergman. Stardust Memories
Side Effects, if anything, resembles
Love and Death, where Allen began to con
sider more serious themes while still
remaining in the realm of comedy. Allen
is concerned with the big issues: Philo- f
sophy, sex, death, religion, etc., and these I
comic stones are able to make telling
points about these heavyweight subjects.
Allen has a wide variety of writing styles
at play here. The most-frequently used is a
blatantly-autobiographical character who
mouths quick one-liners in between his
various obsessions. This character is a frus
trated, literate loser with which Allen
began his career in stand-up comedy and
his early films.
Certainly it is not credible for Allen to
play this alleged loser after his mass accep
tance and success. In these autobiographi
cal pieces, Allen excels at the quick non
sequitur, for instance, "How is it possible
to find meaning in a finite world given my
waist and shirt size?" Allen has a tendency
to lead with a serious opeivng and then
counter punch with his quick wit.
A la Socrates
Other styles include the form of a Greek
play, complete with a nude chorus that in
sults Allen and his work and then orders
his death a la Socrates. Another play has
Abe Lincoln trying out a few jokes on his
press secretary that knocked everybody
out in a Cabinet Meeting.
"The Diet" is a Dostoyevsky parody
about the serious moral and philosophical
questions surrounding such an ordeal. A
very similar story was included in "Getting
Even," it's disappointing to see Allen re
peat himself.
Giving more ammunition for an intel
lectual style of Allen include "Fabrizio's:
Criticism and Response" a restaurant
review similar to art criticism and "The
Kugelmass Episode" (attention English
majors) has an unhappy English professor
who swings a deal with a magician to
transport him to some of the more steamy
portions of Madame B ovary say, around
page 102. Also quite amusing is his version
of a May graduation speech pontificated by
a distinguished alum.
Despite the slender size of Side Effects
(144 pages) it is a worthwhile investment
as it contains more guaranteed laughs per
page than anyone else can equal.
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Photo courtesy of Brian H am illPh otoreporters and Random House
Woody Allen
Nebraska landscape influences Seattle artist
By Penelope M. Smith
David Dahl's artistic maturity is evident
in his first major showing at Sheldon Art
Gallery. Dahl juxtaposes exquisite textured
and planar geometric surfaces with sharp
edged lines to create a surpirsingly organic
whole.
Dahl, a 1979 UNL graduate, now lives
and paints in Seattle.
Dahl spoke of leaving his native Lincoln
15 months ago and how he and his art have
matured.
Dahl had originally planned to go to
graduate school in Seattle, but came to the
conclusion that it wasn't for him.
"I think I had definite ideas of what
grad school is. It's a valuable experience,
but once you've reaped from it all you
have to give, you have to use it as a spring
board into the rest of your life," he said.
"It became clear to me that there were
new tricks and new aspects of the Univer
sity of Washington, but it was the same sit
uation I had known at UNL. I did not want
to teach and it was time for my art to go in
its own individual direction."
Dahl said that after his decision, he
went though a difficult three to six month
period of adjustment to reality when his
work suffered.
"When you find yourself on your own
you have to realize your own motivations
and rely on your own discipline. You are
automatically more isolated; it's a new
thing and you have to cope with it," he
said.
One of the first things Dahl had to ad
just to was working an eight-hour-a-day
job that wasn't painting.
Have to be realistic
"So many people have this romantic
idea of what an artist is: Hiding away and
painting all night long. Times have chang
ed. Our society and economy make it very
difficult for somebody to strike out as a
painter and maintain their values. You have
to accept reality and pay the heating bills
and the studio rent. It would be nice to
quit my job and move off to the mountains
to paint but it's not realistic," Dahl ex
plained. Dahl's job with a printer enabled him
to buy a house and after spending more
time painting "the walls white than a can
vas." converted a garage to a studio.
Two approaches
"There are basically two ways of
approaching a painting. One is a pre
thought, or predetermined idea and con
tent of why or what; basically verbaling
the painting. The second is that you start
muddling around in it. You do something
and react to it. This is the approach I've
had and probably always will have. It's a
vague basic idea and a visual feeling.
"I can't predetermine what my next
move will be. It's basically just dumping
paint on there until I can sit back and say,
'It works,' " Dahl said. "It's like taking a
test, you should answer according to your
first idea. If I think something needs to be
done, I do it and then that changes the way
I look at another area.
"The roots of my art are geometric and
textural interests and feelings for the Ne
braska landscape. It's a mixture of acci
dents, mistakes and manipulated areas and
textures and a certain transparent quality,"
uam said.
"Now I'm going in the direction I want
to go and I'm doing what I want to do,"
Dahl said. "At first my work suffered, but
now I have a new direction.
Guest reviewers bludgeon
Michael in the solar plexus
Well, the plea for reviews went over like
a lead balloon this week. Four people pick
ed up the gauntlet and dropped it in their
pockets by the end of the week, leaving me
a tad bit reassured that reviewing is not
high on the list of pleasant pastimes. Any
way, these brave souls gave it a go.
zangari
I had asked for feedback on columns,
and got it square on the solar plexus. This
from Michael T. Brogan: "Michael
Zangari's writing style is not as unique as
it appears. For intance, he apparently
thinks he is being creative when he writes
cute little phrases like 'Silly-Putty selec
tivity' or 'Jimmy Dean posture.' If this is
creativity, it is all too easy to duplicate.
One simply has to take the first three
words that enter the mind (say, Anderson,
disco-Seven-Up) and throw them into an
otherwise mundane sentence. To wit:
"Marie displayed Anderson indifference to
wards the disco-flavored running shorts,
although Jason exhibited Seven-Up enthusiasm."'
Well, as Old Lodge Skins savs in Little
Big Man, "Somet imes the magic works, and
sometimes it doesn't."
Rich Weber also hits me square in the
solar plexus, but more in empathy than
anything else. We've been sitting in the
same chair he writes, "For those music fans
who enjoy a little emotion with their
music, Tom Waits' Heartattack and Vine is
a grimly emotional trek through all the
rhythm and blues of a lonely 5 a.m. LA.
drunk. Waits is one of the only true roman
tics u modern music. If you can't feel the
pain in 'Ruby's Arms' you must be a
rock."
Personally, I've been humming "Jersey
Girl" all week -can't seem to shake it.
Reviews have a language all their own.
That makes reviews journalese easy to send
up for the rabid cliche it can become.
Natalie (with the phantom last name) does
this royallly.
"The Mueller Bell's second album, Bell
Tower Blues may be somewhat of a dis
appointment to any Bells fans who have
heard the group in concert. The album
lacks a certain energy which was ever-present
during their last effort. Live in Lin
coln. Continued on Page 13