page 33
daily nebraskan
Wednesday, august 19, 1981
mm.
mm
Q3 (ED OEEfl (D E
'Under the Rainbow' more
mindless fluff for summer
By Pat Higgins
The late comedian and noted cynic Fred
Allen once described television as "chewing
gum for the mind." Movies released this
summer could easdy be included in this
lightweight category as they have con
sistently aimed at mindless entertainment,
which is not necessarily a bad concept.
However, when these summer movies fail
on a gut entertainment level, there is some
thing definitely wrong.
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Under the Rainbow follows right along
with this new tradition of pure fluff in
movies. It could also easily become a hit as
it is probably no better or worse than
Stripes, which is cleaning up at the box
office. After all, this is a time when Raiders
of the Lost Ark is being hailed as a classic.
The basic concept for Under the Rain
bow sounds promisingly ridiculous. It is set
in Hollywood in 1938 during the filming of
The Wizard of Oz, at a hotel where 150
little people who are playing the Munch
kins are encamped along with a busload of
Japanese tourists who are armed with
cameras in use at all times (in 1938?).
Throw in a Nazi spy, (incidentally, Nazis
still make the best villains in the business),
add Chevy Chase as a Secret Service man
and Carrie Fisher as the Oz talent director
and there is a possibility for chaos, but it
quickly degenerates into cheap slapstick.
Chase's acting suffering
It has become increasingly difficult to
take Chevy Chase seriously, as he continues
his string of vapid attempts at film
comedy. Since leaving "Saturday Night
Live," Chase has apparently decided to be
come the Rod Stewart of comedy, as he
has gone so disgustingly Hollywood that he
is losing any artistic credibility whatsoever.
Chase seems destined to become a road
company version of Cary Grant as he
mixes the romanrtic lead with some light
comedy. Cdddysliack was the only excep.
tion to this style, as Chase showed some of
the old subversive touch that made him
first among equals on "Saturday Night
Live."
Looking back on the promising comedy
talent of the mid-703, it seems that no one
has lived up to their potential. Today,
"Saturday Night Live is on hold, National
Lampoon is boring, and all the erstwhile
hip comedians such as Steve Martin and
Lily Tomlin make only fair movies. Actual
ly the best act around today is "Second
City TV," which rivals the original "Satur
day Night Live' for ensemble chemistry.
Chase is passably decent in Under the
Rainbow as he spews off some of his typi
cal innuendoes and wisecracks. Also a nice
touch is Chase playing a G-man, especially
when he shows off his badge.
Script below par
Carrie Fisher is under-utilized here just
as she was in The Blues Brothers, which is
a waste of talent. Fisher has been con
sistently irreverent and mocking ever since
Sliampoo. Fisher and Chase play off each
other fairly well, but that it not enough.
Pat McCormick, Johnny Carson's chief
monologue writer, co-wrote Under the
Rainbow and also plays a big part as a constantly-boozing
hotel detective.
McCormick is talented, but the script,
which four others contributed to, does not
hold together all that well. At times it
seems that they want to make a social
statement that little people, as they are
called, are just regular folks, then a minute
later there is a height joke.
Under the Rainbow was directed by
Steve Rich, who previously did the fine
Buddy Holly Story. Perhaps his budget was
too big on this movie because he wastes
considerable time and energy on that
hackneyed old stand-by-the chase scene.
Also, the ending of Under the Rainbow is
so unbelievably corny that it boggles the
mind.
Chase should team up with Lampoon
veteran Michael (Mr. Mike) ODonohue and
make the quality movie that he is capable
of doing.
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