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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 1990)
‘Lemon Sisters’ pleasing tale of three women’s friendship By Julie Naughton Senior Reporter “The Lemon Sisters,” a bitter sweet comedy about three friends, bears more than a passing resem blance to “Beaches.” Both films are about friends who “Under the Boardwalk;” both films show little girls that like to hang out under the boardwalk. However, while “Beaches” is a commercial, widely appealing tear jerker of a movie, “The Lemon Sis ters” is an artsy, beautifully-crafted, appealing film about friendship. The women that call themselves the Lemon Sisters are Eloise (Diane Keaton), Franki (Carol Kane) and Nola (Kathryn Grody), three women that have grown up together in New Jer sey. Eloise’s father and Nola’s mother even had businesses right next to each other on the boardwalk. Nola and Eloise lived across the street from each other growing up, and still live across the street from each other as adults. Franki moved to Atlantic City as a young girl and lived on another block, but became a close friend of the other girls. The three started calling themselves the Lemon sisters after losing their quarters on a boardwalk carnival game as young girls; the proprietor gave the three girls lemons as consolation prizes. Being creative youngsters, they de cided to become Lemon sisters rather than blood sisters in a secret ritual under the boardwalk. Some 20 years after the Lemon sisters ritual, the women are still to gether, meeting every Monday night. But instead of trading secrets, as they did as children, they sing at an Italian nightclub. Nola is the sensible Lemon sister, who grows up to marry and have three .children in the same house she grew up in. Eloisc is the dreamer, running her father’s TV museum on the board walk, collecting weird Greco-Roman statues, and sometimes retreating to a fantasy world. Franki is the airhead, loyal to her friends but not always living in the real world. The three are mo;*zipK<r.( _ closer to each other than to anyone else in the world. They dream of opening their own nightclub, but in stead of focusing the film on the women’s desire to open their own club, the film focuses on the friend ship and the underlying emotions between the women. The scenes of the women as young girls are all done in black and white; the scenes of the women in present day are done in color. Rather than relying on the characters to ‘ ‘tell” the audience what happened in past days, the film shows the past events. The scenes from the past are intertwined in the present-day scenes, creating a beautifully crafted and leisurely moving film. Aidan Quinn appears as Franki’s love interest/ manager, Frankie; Ruben Blades is C.W., Eloise’s boyfriend; Elliott Gould is Nola’s husband. The only major complaint about this film: when the women sing to gether, the music is lip-synched. The lip-synching, particularly in the close up scenes, is completely off; it’s impossible to believe, even for a moment, that any of these women are singing. Carol Kane, in her solo numbers, does her own singing, but some of her cracked notes make the audience wish that she had let some one lip-synch for her. Keaton is delightful as the eccen tric Eloise, and Grody provides the needed balance with her portrayal of Nola. Kane has fun with her role, and is hilarious as airheaded Franki. The men in the film play second-string to the women, but still are a welcomed part of the film. Blades, as C.W., as incredibly charismatic and immedi ately likeable; Gould is funny as Nola’s always-worried husband, who tries to make his fortune in taffy rabbits he calls “Taffits;” Quinn is appealing as the slimy-but-cute dude that tries to manage Franki’s career. “TheLemon Sisters” isnotafilm with a shocking beginning, a breath less middle or a surprising finish. Instead, it’s a film that leisurely tells the story of three women and some of the events that have happened in their lives. It is a well-paced, pleasant film devoid of violence, gore or even much cursing. “The Lemon Sisters” is playing at the Cinema 1 & 2, 201 N. 13th St. Annihilator’s ingenuity fills LP By Michael Deeds Senior Editor Annihilator “Never, Neverland” Roadracer Records Annihilator is a schizophrenic explorer, prodding guitars into un known territories at breakneck speeds. This intelligent force chugs along with a vengeance, then stops and smells a daffodil. Then it takes off again like a shot. Then it stops. Then it goes. Then it stops. Then it goes. Annihilator is a prime example of the ingenuity that keeps music excit ing. A sort of Rush meets Metallica, these guys fiddle with twin guitar harmonies over thick, quick rhythms and top-notch drums. Widely dynamic and constantly changing, “Never, Neverland” is an exercise in technical guitar playing; acoustic beauty floats about, only to be thrashed instantly by raging tones and constant hcrky-jeilt tempo changes. Quite a few bands like Pantera and Queensryche are using their brains and musical knowledge to boost the innate power of metal. But Annihila tor is a little different; these Canadian wizards are destined to carve a deep niche in the metal world. Founder and lead guitarist Jeff Waters simply rips over the intense hacking of rhythm guitarist Dave Davis and bass player Wayne Darley. Drum mer Ray Hartmann should make Metallica’s Lars Ulrich sit up and take notice. And Cobum Pharr (ex Omen, Agent Steel) has the vocal power to match the band lick for lick. The title tiack, “Never, Never land” is a prime example of what these guys arc about -- it opens acous tically and it leaves acoustically. But packed between these sweet strings is a powerful and complex metal sand wich. Pharr howls about fairly typical “intelligent metal” topics — pollu tion, drunken-driving, macaroni and cheese - but his stylings are admi rable. He can growl with the best of them, but more often he relies on melody and finesse, which makes the contrasts even more intense. “Stonewall,” the band’s first video, is the ecologically conscious piece. And though the whale-saving band wagon is getting a little full these days, everybody means well. But lyrics aside, this tune stands on its own' as top-notch work. Again, Waters and Pharr toss out a melodic mosh, and though these guys don’t create a happy sound, they steer clear of the tuned down, devil chord changes that make a lot of bands sound a lot alike. Other tunes like “Sixes and Sev ens” and “Imperiled Eyes” are adre naline-fueled marches filled with staccato rhythms and squealing leads. Undoubtedly, “Never, Neverland” is a guitarist’s album. Waters is a man to admire. 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