A WATCHUNG COMMUNICATIONS, INC. PUBLICATION The Westfield Leader and THE TIMES of Scotch Plains Fanwood Thursday, August 19, 1999 Page 19
CYAN YELLOW MAGENTA BLACK
Arts and Entertainment Arts and Entertainment Arts and Entertainment Arts and Entertainment Arts and Entertainment
Cheri Rogosky for The Westfield Leader and The Times
CARTOON KIDS After rockin' with Guitar Bob and Carnaby Street on August 5 on the Village Green in Scotch Plains, the Katz family proudly posed for a picture with the raffle prize they were awarded that evening. A cartoon cel, donated by Toon- Cel Town located in Westfield depicting a scene from Lady and The Tramp, will be enjoyed by parents, Jay and Barbara Katz, and Brian and Lauren.
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MURRAY HILL The Suburban Community Music Center in Murray Hill, a private, non- profit educational institution, will offer fall classes for its 15th year.
A new addition for this year will be programs for elementary schoolaged children with special needs. The class will feature group musical activities to develop social skills, attention span, fine and gross motor coordination and speech- language skills.
The center has also expanded its program by adding two faculty members, Carol Lyon for cello and Halina Listopad for violin. Ms. Lyon has 20 years of experience. Ms. Listopad holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.
Highlights from the fall catalogue include:
· A series of music classes for very young children, newborn through age 7.
· Musicianship training for grades 1- 6 for children with or without previous music experience.
· Suzuki violin, viola and guitar for ages 4 and up.
· Fundamentals of Singing and Adult Musicianship for children in grades 1 to 8.
· Private lessons in classical and jazz piano, voice, recorder, saxo phone, guitar and most orchestral
instruments for older children and adults.
· Teen and Adult Musicianship classes
· Music Appreciation Lecture Series. A member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts, the center serves more than 800 students. Students of all ages, backgrounds and abilities are welcome.
For more information, please call (908) 790- 0700.
POPCORN POPCORN POPCORN POPCORN POPCORN
One Popcorn, Poor Two Popcorns, Fair Three Popcorns, Good Four Popcorns, Excellent
By Michael S. Goldberger
Fanwood Library Slates Book Discussion Event
FANWOOD Get a jump start on reading The Pilot's Wife by
Anita Shreve because the Fanwood Memorial Library will host a book discussion on the piece on Tuesday, September 30, at 7: 30 p. m. A copy of The Pilot's Wife is available at the library. For more information, please call (908) 322- 6400.
The Thomas Crown Affair:
No Royal Reception for the Remake 2 popcorns
Do you think of your insurance agent as particularly glamorous? Daring? Dashing? Me neither.
Growing up, ours was Mr. P. and while he did drive a fancy car and smoked a big cigar, about the most daring thing he did was to routinely pinch my cheek. He was a large man and he used his full body strength. It still hurts.
Yet alas, although the ever- pinching Mr. P did wear a rather showy pinky ring, debonair he was not. But then his profession didn't require an extra helping of ιlan to ensure success. Except in the movies.
Case in point: Catherine Banning, insurance investigator extraordinaire in The Thomas Crown Affair, played by Rene Russo with the sultry dial turned up to embarrassingly high. Doubtless, this highpriced claims adjuster could probably pinch a mean cheek. And granted, while Miss Banning registers a ratchet or two above garden variety insurance agent, it still takes a Hollywood- sized leap of faith to swallow the jet- set Mata- Hari her character epitomizes.
But then, what are we to expect if she is to successfully match wits, egos and libidos with Thomas Crown, the ultimate in bored billionaires and her latest art theft suspect. This probably explains Catherine's designer evening wear and glittery accessories. Come to think of it, though, Mr. P did have that wide tie with the hunting dogs running in the field.
Mr. Crown, portrayed with a superior air of importance by Pierce Brosnan, is the self- assured dude every man wants to be and every woman wants to be seduced by. Huh? Doesn't that describe James Bond? Ah, what the heck. It's all the same to Mr. Brosnan, our contemporary answer to the recently (and sadly) departed Victor Mature.
We won't be taking this natty fellow's acting career too seriously either at least not until he plays a squeegee bum in New York City who, following the Giuliani crackdown, has no choice but to shape up and become an elected official. But for now, Brosnan's the dapper beefcake. And Russo is his supposed counterpart.
The ads promise that their steamy interaction will fog our glasses. Unfortunately, more convincing sizzle can be elicited from a kid's chemistry set.
Still, if the movie theater's air conditioning system is working well and the popcorn is crunchy enough, it's kind of fun just breathing in the splashy opulence: the Bentleys, the boats and the Bvlgari gewgaws. The question is, does The Thomas Crown Affair provide $8 worth of vicarious glitz?
Whereas the 1968 classic, starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway, enthralled audiences with audacious deceptions and engaged them with its split- screen narrative, the remake is a mite too packaged for its own good.
Any nuances director John McTiernan employs in his slick homage to the Norman Jewison original only work to gild the lily, painfully
pointing out that this second coming has nothing new to add.
The title character's avocational pilfering of a Monet from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (originally, it was a bank heist) early on in the doings sets the gambit in motion.
Enters Catherine Banning, investigator for a Swiss insurance firm. "You didn't think my bosses were just going to cut a check for $100 million did you?" asks the gutsy gal, taking powerful delight in the glimpse of garter she divulges to threateningly announce the role she'll be playing in this probe. I can't imagine Mr. P doing anything of the sort.
Since movie custom dictates that private gumshoes finger the thief long before their publicly employed counterparts, Catherine is immediately onto Crown while N. Y. P. D. detective Michael McCann (Denis Leary) hasn't even had time to order the donuts.
Another motion picture tradition stipulates that adversaries in such plots must immediately begin to date, thus opening to speculation, and bringing into high relief, the entire gamut of male- female trust issues: just like the ones you and I face on a daily basis, except with much more expensive bathroom fixtures.
So... will she betray her billionaire antagonist/ lover? After all, he's just using her so she won't turn him in, no? But then, he is kind of cute. And richer beyond her wildest dreams (well, almost). Maybe he really loves her. Plus, who's to say she could actually turn him in if she wanted to; perhaps he still has another trick or two up his Armaniattired sleeve?
As the action- adventure lore goes, re- written here by Leslie Dixon and Kurt Wimmer, Brosnan's poor little mogul and Russo's super- sleuth temptress turn the war between the sexes into a high- stakes cat and mouse game. Problem is, while twists and turns abound, clues are virtually nonexistent; solutions to the plot's quandaries based on the available information are impossible to cipher.
But then, these two extravagant players, as rare as the art they covet, are fictional paradigms on loan to us from Moviedom's Mt. Olympus collection. How could we mere mortals possibly second- guess their moves? It's a pity that McTiernan couldn't juggle the baubles of this fantasy derring- do while also involving the viewer.
Thus, the lush film plays like a travelogue through the land of the rich and powerful. The audience is left to ogle the scenery and can only guess what the beautiful people will do next. At one point, Catherine asks Thomas, "Do you think there's a happily ever after for folks like us?" Now, we know the greedy vamp has chutzpah, but she's not hinting at a sequel, is she?
* * * * * The Thomas Crown Affair, rated R, is a Metro- Goldwyn- Mayer release directed by John McTiernan and stars Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, and Denis Leary. Running time: 114 minutes.
Kid's Corner Kid's Corner Kid's Corner Kid's Corner Kid's Corner a a a a a a aa a a a aaaa a a a a a
Sleeping Beauty Encore Prepared at The Forum
METUCHEN Frank Knox, Director of A Kid's Forum, has announced the theatre's return engagement of the popular musical, Sleeping Beauty, which will run at The Forum Theatre on Main Street in Metuchen on Saturday mornings at 11 a. m. from September 11, to September 25.
Presented live on stage for children ages 3 and up, Sleeping Beauty
tells the story of a princess who is cursed by a scorned sorceress. While
the good fairies try to protect her, the audience must wait to see if the prince will be able to wake the princess with a kiss of true love.
A Kid's Forum productions feature live music, sets and costumes. Cast members meet the audience after each performance. All seats are reserved. Tickets ate $9 with discounts for groups of 20 and 50 or more.
For tickets, please call (732) 548- 0582.
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The Party Dolls Plan Rahway Performance RAHWAY The Party Dolls will close the 1999 Mayor's Summer Concert Series at West Main and Irving Streets in Rahway on Thursday, August 27, at 7 p. m.
The tunes of the "girl groups" of the 60s, such as The Chiffons, The Ronettes, The Shangri- Las and The Supremes, will be performed. Classics such as "Twist and Shout," "Mony Mony," "Do You Love Me" and tunes from groups like the Go Go's will also be planned.
All concerts are free and open to the public. Spectators are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
In the event of rain, the concert will be held at the Union County Arts Center, 1601 Irving Street, Rahway. For up- to- date concert information, please call the Division of Parks and Recreation at (732) 827- 2045.
That's not all folks! There's more Arts & Entertainment news on Pages 19 and 20!
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