Arts & Entertainment
University of Nebraska-Lincoln senior Jacquie Gines founded the Black Poets Club to give
African-Americans at UNL a forum for artistic expression.
Helping male/female interaction
Black poetry unites students
By Kim Spurlock
Staff Reporter
African-American students look
ing for an artistic outlet have found
one.
Thirty-eight University of Ne
braska-Lincoln students belong to the
Black Poets Club, which has been
holding weekly meetings at the Cul
ture Center, 333 N. 14th St., for the
past month.
Jacquie Gines, a senior math ma
jor and the club’s founder, said the
purpose of the group was to unite
UNL’s African-American students
Magical movie
morbid, mythical
“The Ballad Of The
Sad Cafe"
By Jeffrey Frey
Staff Reporter__
Anyone who has felt the uncase,
the morbid amusement or the all
encompassing consternation that a
Flannery O’Connor short story can
impose — and has liked it — has
something to look forward to.
And anyone with even a mild
appreciation of Filmmaker David
Lynch at his most twisted will no
doubt cherish the potent and wonder
fully odd events captured by director
Simon Callow’s latest Film, “The
Ballad Of The Sad Cafe” (Ross Film
Theater). But even those unfamiliar
with O’Connor and Lynch will enjoy
this bizarre Gothic tale, which seems
something like O’Connor’s most
eccentric characters stumbling along
through David Lynch-land.
Director Simon Callow uses words
such as “magic realism” and “mythic”
to describe Carson McCullers’ 1951
novella, from which the Film was
coaxed. The Film can perhaps be re
garded as magical pnd mythical, but
only in the most non-lradilional way.
See CAFE on 10
under one common bond — poetry.
“(The club) will help to enrich the
understanding of all UNL students of
the multidimensional nature of the
African-American, through poetic
expression.” Gines said.
Gines said the male turnout for the
club surprised her.
“One of the most encouraging things
is to see the number of men interested
in poetry. Poetry has been looked
upon as a feminine type of thing, and
it shouldn’t be,” she said.
“(Blacks) don’t only talk about
black issues in our poetry- That’s not
the only thing we think about,” she
said.
Gines said students’ works, which
can be poetry or essay, focus on top
ics ranging from manhood, religion
and blackness to love, the concept of
womanhood and male/femalc rela
tionships.
Gines described the meetings as
educational and encouraging. She
said issues raised by the poetry spark
discussions among group members.
“A lot is talked about African his
tory. Some poems talk about the black
experience and we begin to come to
~ See POET on 10
A tumultuous marriage explodes in director Simon Cal
low’s “Ballad of the Sad Cafe,” starring Vanessa Redgrave
(right) and Keith Carradine.^
* t
‘Marrying Man sexy,
but lacks heat, comedy
By Anne Steyer
Staff Reporter
This week, home video is inun
dated with femme fatales. Choices
range from the exotic (Kim Basin
ger) to the psychotic (Sean Young)
to the very young (Jennifer Con
nelly).
“The MarryingMan”(R) This
movie is billed as hot, sexy fun. Its
co-stars, Kim Basinger and Alec
Baldwin, may be sexy, but there is
no heat between them and subse
quently, no fun for the audience.
Off-screen lovers Basinger and
Baldwin don’t generate enough heat
on screen to inject any realism into
their characters’ relationship.
Baldwin (“The Hunt for Red
October”) plays Charlie Pearl, heir
to a toothpaste dynasty and known
in social circles as the “Toothpaste
Prince.” At the opening, he is en
gaged to a Hollywood debutante
and daughter of a movie Mogul,
Adele Homer (Elisabeth Shuc of
“Soapdish”).
Pearl’s buddies throw him a
bachelor party in Las Vegas, where
he meets lounge singer Vicki
Anderson (Basinger of “Batman”).
The two arc immediately hot
for each other and eventually get
caught in bed together by Ander
son’s gangster beau, Bugsy Seigcl.
Bugsy insists Pearl marry Ander
son and announces the wedding on
the front pages of papers nation
wide. This throws Pearl’s relation
ship to Homer into turmoil.
The storyline has potential for
humor and should create a little
heat, but Basinger and Baldwin
share virtually no on-screen chem
istry. The script is disappointing,
which is surprising, considering Neil
Simon wrote it.
The high points are supporting
players Paul Reiser (“My Two
Dads”) and Fisher Stevens (“Mys
tery Date”). As Pearl’s buddies.
they have the best lines and steal
every scene they are in.
Basinger does her own vocals
and, while she can carry a tune, she
doesn’t have the emotional invest
ment to carry off the smoky bal
lads. She is great to look at but she
doesn’t seem natural in any of her
scenes. Her trademark pout can’t
even save the sensuality of her
character.
Baldwin manages to give his
playboy character some heart. But
there isn’t enough rapport between
him and Basinger to make the story
interesting.
The two are sexy enough but
they can’t deliver the kind of screw
ball comedy that ‘The Marrying
Man” tries to be. (Available today)
“Career Opportunities” (PG
13) Teen life is again glorified in
this film about a night stockcr at a
discount store who encounters the
pinupgirlofhisdrcamsaflcr hours.
Frank Whaley (“The Doors”) is
the clerk, a somewhat shy and re
served young man who comes alive
when there is no one watching. He
parades around the store in various
garments, trying out the various
toys and sports equipment.
However, there is someone
watching, namely Jennifer Con
nelly (“The Rocketeer”), the daugh
ter of the store owner. She sticks
around to do a little late night shop
ping
Connelly’s prowess as an ac
tress is overshadowed only by her
physical endowments, emphasized
throughout the film.
When Connelly and Whaley
meet, their flirtations are interrupted
by two would-be thieves, a la “Home
Alone.” This is not surprising con
sidering this script was penned by
John Hughes.
Following the Hughes formula,
everything manages to wrap up
nicely in under two hours. He at
tempts once again to capture teen
Angst but ends up with teen titilla
lion instead. (Thursday)
“A Kiss Before Dying” (R) Sean
Young (“No Way Out”) is the most
fej ' See VIDEO onTo
- -- - -~ I
1. “The Doors" 1. “Home Alone"
2. “Dances with Wolves" 2. “Dances with Wolves"
3. “The Hard 3. “Awakenings"
Way" 4. "Sleeping with
4. “Oscar" the Enemy*
5. "Home Alone" 5. “New Jack
6. “New Jack City"
City" _6. “Misery"
7. “True Colors" TOP 7. “King Ralph"
8. “He Said, She ^ 8. “Goodfellas"
Said" I 9. “L A Story"
». “The Rescuers Down 10. “He Said, She Said"
10. “Sleeping with the Enemy"
Rising quickly: "La Femme Nikita"
Smuauf-r9qU95l9d: ’Cyran° ~ Blllboa'd Mod"1"®
— courtesy of Blockbuster Video