Harrelson, Sutherland teachaudiences ‘Cowboy Way ’
“The Cowboy Way”
By Joel Strauch
Staff Reporter
There is probably a better way, but “The
Cowboy Way” isn’t the worst one possible.
An action-comedy that sets two contempo
rary New Mexico cowboys in the wild and wooly
streets of New York City, the flick is enjoyable
but far from believable.
Sonny (Kiefer Sutherland) and Pepper
(Woody Harrclson) arc two rodeo cowboys who
can’t stand each other. They set aside their
personal differences and journey to New York
to investigate the disappearance of their friend
Nacho (Joaquin Martinez), who went in search
of his daughter Teresa (Cara Buono).
Through a scries of culture clashes and
misadventures, the pair of cattlemen manage to
rescue Nacho’s daughter, tear down an illegal
wage-slavery business and reconcile their friend
ship.
Although unrealistic and sadly predictable,
the show rises above mediocrity by means of
Harrelson’s character.
Sutherland gives a decent showing, but it is
Harrelson that makes the movie with his cocky
attitude and brutal naivete. With a chew-dip
slur, he delivers biting insults and witty rejoin
ders to friend and foe alike that save the flick
from going the way of the buffalo.
Most of the other acting is lackluster at best.
Dylan McDermott (“In the Line of Fire”) plays
Stark, the whiny anti-hero. Although the part is
poorly written, McDermott attacks the role with
the ferocity of a hog-tied kitten, making the
villain seem non-threatening (even though the
way he manages to escape from the cowboys a
dozen times would put Houdini to shame).
Emie Hudson (“The Hand that Rocks the
Cradle”), normally a fantastic actor, is dealt a
similarly poor role as a mounted police officer
who readily breaks the law to help the two
cowpokes. He shows the part a bit more gusto
than McDermott, but hardly shines.
The plot is barely original and has more
holes than fish-net stockings. But the show docs
have its moments of hilarity. It’s a good one to
catch at the dollar theater.
Jazz group to jam at Lied
By Paula Lavigne
Staff Reporter
In New Orleans, jazz grew from
tiny back rooms and makeshift stages
into a great American art form passed
on through generations.
Wendell Brunious, coordinator of
the seven-piece Preservation Hall Jazz
Band knows this heritage well, and
will be bringing it to the Lied Center
this weekend.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band,
from NewOrlcans’ Preservation Hall,
originated at the heart of the jazz
influence and continues to bring jazz
back to its roots.
Brunious, who picked up the trum
pet at age 7 and recorded an album two
years later, said his talent was inher
ited from his father—also a trumpet
player.
“He was a great musician, a mon
ster,” Brunious said. His father wrote
and pi ayed for mus ic ians Cab Cal loway
and Jim McShane, amone others.
“I can write a poem?’ Brunious
laughed, when compared to his father,
“However, my pitch is pretty good.”
But his father wasn’t so intent on
his son following in his footsteps.
“My degree is actually in busi
ness,” Brunious said. “My dad was
hoping I’d get a real job someday.”
The 39-year-old musician, born and
raised in New Orleans, remembered
the night he literally stumbled into the
Preservation Hall.
Brunious said he was a relatively
young guy with a “big, bushy hairdo
which looked 1 ike Jimi Hendrix” with
quite a bit of pride about his talents.
• “1 was coming home from Bourbon
Street one night and 1 was going by the
Preservation Hall when 1 stopped in to
say hello.” he said. “The band they
were playing with didn’t have a trum
pet player up there, so I thought I’d
volunteer my services.” '
At first, the band refused, but since
they knew Brunious’ father, they let
him play for awhile. A man came from
the back, along with the owner, gave
him a thumbs up and said, “Hey man,
you sound good." Seventeen years lat
er he still docs.
This improvisation and spontane
ity is what has kept the Preservation
Hall Jazz Band going ever since.
Their impressi ve seven-piece band
features Michael White on clarinet.
Bob French on drums and John Royan
on piano.
Worthia Thomas still blows the
trombone at age 87 alongside Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame bassist Frank
Fields and native Lincolnite Neil
Untcrseher on banjo.
Their music, called traditional New
Orleans jazz, is a combination of the
traditional music out of the Creole,
African, Spanish and French cultures
of New Orleans, Brunious said. It
rests on simplicity and soul unlike
modern jazz.
“We still go for people’s hearts, not
their brain,” he said. “If you touch
their brain, fine, but if you touch their
hearts, you’ve done your job.”
Brunious said a lot of the band’s
tradition rests on the unique atmo
sphere created by New Orleans itself.
Because it was affected little by out
side influence, he said, the New Or
leans culture is very respected by its
people.
“Once you see New Orleans, it’s so
picturesque,” he said. “You see build
ings and you see commitment. Some
one with with a real love for his culture
and heritage made this building.
“Most pcopl c i n Ne w Orleans don ’ t
have much, but they’ re will ing to give
away whatever little bit they have.”
He said when people hear New
Orleans jazz, they hear something
incredible.
“It’s very warm music. We just do
whatever we do and the end result is
people like it — if they have any
feeling at all,” he laughed. “If you’re
sitting totally still with all that going
on on stage, there’s something wrong
with you.”
As simple and honest as the music,
Brunious has a comparable message
for audiences.
“We just want people to have a
good time. We want them to witness
it,” he said.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band
will perform at the Lied Center Friday
night at 8 p.m. Tickets arc $20, $16
and $12 and half-price for students.
Tuition
Continued from Page 1
making it even easier for them to put
their children through college.
Raising tuition, puts more empha
sis on scholarship.
Loudon said he saw the increase as
a state-imposed increase on a stu
dent’s taxes. In voting for the tuition
increase, he said he wanted senators to
see what they were forcing the univer
sity to do.
Yet tuition at the University of
Nebraska is 20 percent oclow the av
erage of its peers, NU officials have
reported. And UNL ranks next to last
in its peer group.
Joe Rowson, NU spokesman, said
that while there hadn’t been an effort
to make up that difference, it could not
be a primary concern to keep tuition
low.
Smith said that if too much focus
was given to keeping costs down,
Nebraska could wind up with a cheap
university that is ineffective and un
used.
But Loudon said the students
shouldn’ t be forced to take on so much
of the cost burden in making sure that
doesn’t happen.
“I don’t think state government
has any higher calling than tocducatc
its people,” Loudon said.
Come this fall, he said, NU student
governments will be working together
to convince senators that education is
a priority.
“It’s a huge numbers game,”
Loudon said referring to budget time.
“Everybody wants their piece of the
pie.
“We’re going to do everything short
of storming the capitol.”
Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Woody Harrelson stars in “The Cowboy Way” with Kiefer Sutherland (not
pictured).
New videos average out
By Gerry Beta:
- v -: ;. '.
The ‘New Release’ shelves at
the video stores haven’t seen that
much activity for the last couple
weeks.
Only one major release came
out last week, and this week has
only twodecent releases. The pick
of-the-week, however, is a classic
for anyone that has gone to high
school.
“Short Cuts” (released 6/1)
comes from highly-talented direc
tor Robert Altman, who received
an Academy Award nomination
for his efforts. Featuring a bevy of
talented performers, all intertwined
in a variety of short stories, it’s
worth finding.
**My Life* (released 6/8) is a
film about Bob Jones (Michael
Keaton), a man who is diagnosed
with incurable cancer and also dis
covers that his wife (Nicole
Kidman) is pregnant with their
first child.
Jones then begins to make a
video series for his unborn child,
recording whohe is, and what made
him what he is.
The acting from Keaton is great,
despite the manipulative hand that
the film uses on its watchers, but
Kidman’s performance doesn’t
match up. Use a two-for-one cou
pon for this one.
“Wayne’s World 2” (released
6/8), the sequel to the hugely suc
cessful “Wayne’s World” just isn’t
very good.
Wayne, Garth and company are
backhand this time they’re trying to
get the music extravaganza
“Waynestock” off the ground.
Lots of stale gags, a few funny
bits* and one hilarious scene where
Wayne and entourage emulate The
Village People all mix in to make
one incredibly average film. Don’t
go too far out of your way to find it.
P1CK-OE-THE-WEEK: A
movie that gave philosophy and
one-liners to an entire generation,
and anyone that has seen it cringes
when it shows on national televi
sion, thus getting all of the “color
ful metaphors" dubbed over or cut
out.
It’s “The Breakfast Club.”
Featuring a cavalcade of (then)
young talent (Emilio Estevez Judd
Nelson* Anthony Michael Hall,
Ally Sheedy, and Molly Ringwald),
director John Hughes made a mas
terpiece that still speaks to today’s
youth, and reminds many adults of
what life in high school is and was
like.
Quick! What was the name of
the janitor?
Smith
Continued from Page 1
That means universities can no
longer begin a new program without
guaranteeing it will be world class, he
said.
Smith said universities must also
define aspccific mission. The Univer
sity of Nebraska-Lincoln’s mission,
he said, was to be Nebraska’s research
institution — and the state can only
have one.
In the wake of collapsing budgets.
Smith said he expects some of the
United States’ 3,000 universities will
go under. Tcn-to 15 years from now.
students will have less of a choice in
where they get their degree, he said.
Smith said he often has people tell
him that, “Well, once this budget cri
sis is over, things will go back to
normal.”
But, unfortunately, that time has
passed, he said. Nebraskans have to
realize that and start deciding where
they want to go from here.
“What kind of university do you
want?” Smith said. “It will never be
the way it was.”