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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 1996)
DaveMatthewsBand special guest: Ben Harper Friday, September 2 0 • 7 : 3 0 P M Civic Auditorium General admission tickets available at all TICKETMASTER ticket centers including Homers, Blockbuster Music, select Hy-Vee and select Younkers, the Omaha Civic Auditorium Box Office (Mon. - Fri. from 10:00AM • 6:00PM), or charge by phone. T/dKCEf^^S7~£r>=? (402)422*1 21 2 in Omaha http://www.ticketmaster.coni (402)473*1212 in Lincoln PRODUCED BY CONTEMPORARY YOUR CAMPUS SOURCE FOR SCHOOL SUPPLIES SPECIALS 1" VINYL BINDERS $1.22 SPIRAL WITH POCKET $1.99 HIGHLIGHTERS 2/$1.00 1 SUBJECT SPIRAL 990 UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE The Store Down Under Lower Level Nebraska Union A Garden Level East Union Character depth places The Fan’ above previous obsession movies Courtesy of TriStar Pictures BOBBY RAYBURN (Wesley Snipes) receives a strange phone call his team’s locker room from obsessed fan Gil Renard (Robert DeNiro) “The Fan.” .a .s •10 Pool Tables •8 Electronic Dart Boards •Foosball 2137 Cornhusker mmmmm •22 Beers on Tap •Martinis •Fine Cigars •Great Food Menu Hours: Mon-Sat. 6 am-1 am, Sun. 1:00pm • 477-6410 ft Buy 2 tans Get 2 FREE! Base tan in 3 sessions. I I 466-4131 East Park COZY AND IMPORT CLOTHING FOR ALL-COOL T-SHRTS-HIGH QUALITY JEWELRY XJ 5 /^> * 7^18 O ££ (402) £+~7—2955 i_i«coIkv g Hours: M-Fll-T Sat 10—7 ^ *just under the O Street viaduct x on the edge of the f~/aj//P/a/'A&P ^ g also Custom Screen Printing from Tc»^Wm> m S0V®IOO^3HOM^3m^lO MNjSSraiQNVOSfflJTOH QNV 3SN30NI I • Get a FREE T-Shirt with a regular $10.50 haircut (with a college l.d.) Westgate Shopping Center, Just off West ’O’ Street Call today for an appointment! 477-7666 ^ The Facts Film: “The Fan” Stars: Wesley Snipes, Robert DeNiro Director: Tbny Scott Rating: R (language, nudity, violence) Grade: B+ Five Words: Obsession film takes different turn By Gerry Beltz Film Critic “The Fan” isn’t the kind of movie it looks like. Other obsession films have come out, but they just had psychos with penchants for certain people. No char acter, no past, no drama. That’s what puts “The Fan” above the rest. On one side is Bobby Rayburn (Wesley Snipes), an incredible base ball player who has just secured a $40 million contract with the New York Giants. However, he is a tad upset that he didn’t get his lucky number 11, which has already been given to ris ing star Juan Primo (Benicio Del Toro, “The Usual Suspects”). On the other side of the fence, Gil Renard (Robert DeNiro) isn’t just your ordinary baseball fan; he has one fa vorite player in particular. Yep, it’s Bobby. Mind you, Gil’s obsession with Bobby runs a close second to his ob session with baseball in general, dat ing back to his younger days when he “could’ve been in the majors.” By day, Gil is a knife salesman. He is a man living in an idealistic world where people are interested in qual ity, perfection and playing fair. He’s also a pathological liar (he thinks he knows Mick Jagger), di vorced and isn’t trusted whatsoever by his ex-wife. Whenever his world of perfection is threatened, he becomes verbally abusive and downright dan gerous. He just wants life to be fair. Bobby’s contract is under constant criticism from both the public and press, especially when his game starts to slip. In truth, Bobby was just thinking about the game too much and wasn’t able to relax. Gil, however, is sure that it is because Bobby doesn’t have his lucky number. The obvious solution? Of course! Gil’s work doesn’t stop there. When he personally finds out how I Bobby feels about the game and the fans, he takes steps to bring Bobby to a new way of thinking. The steps? Oh, kidnapping, may hem, murder, blackmail. You know, the usual steps anyone would take. DeNiro played a great psycho in “Cape Fear” and was wonderful as the overgrown bully in “This Boy’s Life.” For “The Fan,” he takes the psycho character to a new level, adding the humanity and personal history sorely missed in similar films. Snipes is very good, as well, show ing the human being hidden inside the fragile idol loved by millions. His life is under the magnifying glass of the public, and when he makes a mistake, it is the public that turns on him at the drop of a hat. Other stars appear in the film in supporting roles, but they do not do anything worthwhile. Ellen Barkin plays a tough-as-nails sports reporter/ commentator, and John Leguizamo shows up as Bobby’s agent. Both roles are about as useful as a candy machine at a Jenny Craig meeting. The rest of the film outweighs this shortcoming, especially with the ex cellent performances from both Snipes and DeNiro. “The Fan” may not be a grand slam, but it is definitely out of the park. ‘ Check it out.