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ARTSffENTERTAINMENT aSts
College students find love, lust in dormitory room
Unlikely friends
explore sexuality,
friendship, life
in close quarters
“Threesome”
A story about love, lust, and life in
college, “Threesome” is definitely
going to appeal to the college crowd.
Director and writer Andrew
Fleming is a virtual newcomer to the
big-screen, yet he has managed to
catch the charisma and chemistry that
many veteran directors are missing
(or never found at all).
Fleming also has some familiar
faces on the screen to help him along
with his film. Lara Flynn Boyle (“Twin
Peaks”), Stephen Baldwin (“X Sec
onds”), and Josh Charles (“Dead Po
ets Society”) all come together as the
trio of the title.
The dorm assignments have been
made, and shy Eddy (Charles) has
been paired up with party-dude Stuart
(Baldwin), and the two mix like gaso
line and water.
Even tually.onc figures exit 1 ife with
the other, and they become friends.
Flowever, when their new reximmatc
Alex (Boyle) arrives, things really go
teipsy-turvy.
Alex is short for ‘Alexis,’ but since
she signed up with the name ‘Alex,’
she is set up in the male section of a
cexxl dorm.
Courtesy of TriStar Pictures Inc
From left, Eddy (Josh Charles), Alex (Lara Flynn Boyle) and Stuart (Stephen Baldwin) make an eclectic trio in “Threesome,”
the latest comedy from TriStar.
She tries to get transferred out, but
in typical university fashion, the ad
ministration gives her the runaround
because she has no proof that she’s a
female.
Of course, the three eventually be
come more than just friends.
Stuart lusts after Alex, who is try
ing to gel Eddy into bed.
Meanwhile, Eddy lsjust beginning
to come to terms with his own sexual
ity and gels a kickstart when he gets
the hots for Stuart.
The performances from Baldwin,
Boyle and Charles are all top-notch;
it’s the chemistry between the three
that really makes the film as good as
it is.
A great deal of topics and situa
tions that show up arc ones that most
college students will recognize right
off, from the ill-mannered university
administration to the dorm (whoops.
“residence hall”) lobby lizards. And
the film has hoots from start to finish.
T he soundtrack isexccllcnt as wcl 1,
featuring talent such as Tears For
Fears, New Order and Bryan Ferry.
Unfortunately for Flcm ing, “Three
some” starts out with a bang, but ends
on a whimper.
The moviegoer is thrown onto this
roller coaster ride of laughter and
emotion for close to90 minutes and is
lust left hanging at the end wishing
for something more.
With topic matter ranging from
premarital sex to bisexuality and
menage a trais, “Threesome” wil I most
likely be cannon fodder for the Moral
Majority and Rush Limbaugh fans
and is DEFINITELY not one to bring
the kids to sec.
Even with the weak ending, “Threc
somc” is definitely worth a look.
Check it out.
— Gerry Beltz
The Millions release album
with harder edge than first
The Millions have recently released their
second album, “Raquel.”
The new album was recorded for Germany’s
Dream Circle label and is being distributed by
Polygram in Europe.
The Lincoln natives said they were still
shopping the album around to American labels
to find a distributor. Local fans won’t have to
wait because the band has personally taken on
t^e responsibil ily ofgetling the album into local
stores.
The band’s bassist Marty Amsler said, “We
just ordered copies ourselves from the com
pany, and we’ll stock stores in Lincoln and
Omaha.”
Guitarist Harry Dingman III said the price
would not reflect the fact that the album is,
technically, an import.
“The album will be sold at domestic price,”
Dingman said, “You’ll be able to gel it cheaper
here than in Germany.”
“Raquel” features eleven songs and differs,
in many ways, from the band’s 1991 release,
“M is for Millions.” For starters, the band
recorded “Raquel” in Lincoln and produced it
themselves.
“Wc made it the way we wanted to,” Amsler
said.
The album also has a slightly harder edge
than the first album. The mixing and post
production work of Lee Popa may be partially
responsible for this new sound.
Popa has worked with bands such as Minis
try and Living Colour in the past. The Mil
lions said they enjoyed Popa’s work in the
studio.
“He would Iisten to a song and try to capture
how it was written,” Amsler said.
The songs themselves have a darker feel.
Dingman said this reflcc ted, i n part. the struggles
the Millions had faced since their last release.
The Millions next step will be to follow the
release with as many live dales as possible.
The louring started last month when they
appeared at the massive South By Southwest
music festival in Austin, Texas.
Dingman said, “We were a little worried
about our show. It was at a popular club, but it
was pretty empty when we arrived.”
The band’s fears, however, were unjustified.
The club quickly filled before their set began.
“I was setting up my gear,” Dingman said,
“and when I turned around, the audience was
crowded up by the stage; the place was suddenly
full.”
The Millions hope to continue filling clubs
as they play showsaround the Midwest through
out April. Three shows are currently scheduled
for Lincoln. The Millions will play at Duffy's
Tavern on April 23 and 24.
The band will play two shows on April 24.
The first show will be an all-ages show.
Negotiation is also taking place for a pos
sible European tour for the band. They arc
hoping lo land an opening spot on Sheryl
Crow’s seventeen country tour in May.
“Hopefully, that will work out, but we’ve
learned to just wait and sec,” guitarist Ben
jamin Kushncr said.
Like many local bands, The Millions are
used to waiting. Over the past six years, they
have slowly harvested a fan base in the Mid
west. They have continued touring and record
ing despite physical and financial obstacles.
In the end, “Raquel” is more than a collec
tion of songs; it is a symbol of one band’s
persistence in the face of difficulties.
— Malcom Miles
■ MUSIC REVIEW
“The Diviiion Bell”
Pink Floyd
Columbia Records
Their surrealistic hypnotic pulse rings
through three decades oflcgendary psychedelic
mastermind. And after a “momentary lapse” of
seven years since their last studio album, sooth
sayers Pink Floyd release another legendary
album, “The Division Bell.”
Instead of the cynical isolationism on previ
ous albums, “The Division Bell” peals with the
sounds of a more confident Pink Floyd willing
to take down the walls that separated their
personal emotions from their music.
Its openness and sincerity puts Pink Floyd in
a position to stop throwing out the questions
and start answering them. Although “The Divi
sion Bell” has a distinctly new sound, it rings
true with Pink Floyd’s signature subliminal
psychedelic ramblings of “Dark Side,” “Wish
You Were Here.”
Fans, from early Floyd with Syd Barrett to
“The Wall” Floyd with Roger Waters to the new
Floyd with David Gilmour. all will find “their”
Floyd on “The Division Bell." For those who
thought the band lacked the “bite” it had with
Waters, watch out because Gilmour (and
Wright’s) voices are equally caustic and in
tense.
"The Division Bell” is the most personable
album Pink Floyd has ever released. 11 resonates
with true emotion. This may be a result of
improved relations among the band members
after ending the ugly battles with Waters over
who really is Pink Floyd.
Keyboardist Wright rejoins the band as a
full-time member and vocalist on "Wearing the
Inside Out,” something he hasn’t done since
"Dark Side.” His translucent, hallowed voice
paired with Gilmour’s soaring guitar and
Mason’s throbbing backbeat makes this song a
hallucinatory masteroiecc.
“The Division Bell” is the first time we hear
of the childhood emotions and frustrations of
Gilmour, unlike Water’s historical chronology
in “The Wall.” On “High Hopes” it seems as if
Gilmour has seen the dark side of the moon and
realized it wasn’t such a nice place to be. With
airy piano chinks and the throbbing of “the”
division bell, rung in London to separate the yes
and no votes of parliament, it’s a passionate
song of sadness and longing for “the good old
Cambridge days.”
On “What Do You Want From Me”Gilmour
takes a vicious shot on all those people in the
media, audience and industry who doubted he
could rebuild this legendary band. It’s a harsh
song full of explosive guitars and throbbing
drums releasing years of pent up frustration.
Like any great Floyd album, there must be a
sampling of instrumental “tripping” music,
complete with bizarre sound effects and nar
cotic subliminal messages.
Pink Floyd latest, and possibly last, release is
an epic album that won’t let Waters slop kick
ing himself in the shins. And, even though far
removed from the static world of rock and roll,
a lone Syd Barrett would be proud.
— Paula Luvtgne