Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 16, 1990 TAG: 9005160164
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Mike Mayo
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
\ "Meridian: Kiss of the Beast" is an unapologetic bodice-ripper. It takes the basic elements of gothic romantic fiction and adds them to the sensibility of the popular TV series.
American Catherine Bomarzini (Sherilyn Fenn) has just returned to the family estate in Italy, a palatial spread filled with oversized sculptures. In short order, she and her best friend Gina (Charlie) fall in with a traveling carnival led by a dark magician (Malcolm Jamieson). After a wild night of carousing, a fearsome lionlike critter shows up in the boudoir, and then . . .
Before it's all over, an evil dwarf, a ghost or two, a legend and a Renaissance painting have been tossed into the mix. Fenn, who has proven her talent for this sort of thing in "The Wraith," "Two Moon Junction" and TV's "Twin Peaks" handles the lead with the right combination of seriousness and flippancy. Staying true to the spirit of the genre, she gets dolled up in antique dresses (complete with several pounds of jewelry), wanders through miles and miles of mysterious corridors and swoons at all the appropriate moments.
The story by producer/director Charles Band is loose, and makes no more sense than it absolutely has to, but that's not a big deal. The pace is brisk and despite its derivative roots, the plot is inventive.
Band is a veteran of low-budget films. In one capacity or another he's worked with such notable entries as "Metalstorm," "Re-Animator," "Troll," "From Beyond" and "Trancers," a sci-fi adventure that has developed something of a cult following. Band grew up in Italy and was able to use familiar locations so well that this production has a lush, expensive look that belies its modest budget.
Clearly, "Meridian" is not meant for kids. But it is a cut above the norm for video originals. Make that two cuts.
\ "The Little Mermaid," one of last year's Christmas hits, is a children's movie that tells a similar story. Its arrival on tape this soon after its theatrical release is something of a surprise, but that's the direction the business seems to be moving in.
"The Little Mermaid" is worthy of comparison with the great animated features of the past, "Pinnochio," "Snow White," "Dumbo." The filmmakers took considerable liberties with Hans Christian Andersen's tragic original and turned it into a traditional Disney story that's a guaranteed crowd pleaser for kids and adults.
This tale of adolescent rebellion, love and sacrifice is filled with good characters, led by the mermaid princess Ariel (voice by Jodi Benson), her friend and teacher Sebastian the crab (Samuel E. Wright), and the grand witch Ursula (Pat Carroll).
Most of the action takes place underwater and that world is beautifully realized in detailed animation. Some of that wizardry may be lost on the small screen, but not too much. And besides, the music by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken is just terrific. The best numbers are Pat Carroll's sinister "Poor Unfortunate Souls," Samuel Wright's "Kiss the Girl" and his Oscar-winning calypso/reggae show-stopper "Under the Sea."
Parents may find that they need to explain some of the more complicated parts of the movie to the youngest viewers. For those audiences, of course, home video is a better medium than the theater, and, over the years, that's where most kids will see "The Little Mermaid." It's going to be popular for a long, long time.
Finally, any comments on this plot would be incomplete without at least a mention of Jean Cocteau's 1946 film,\ "Beauty and the Beast." It may be the finest film adaptation of a fairy tale ever made. This brilliant work is on many reviewers' all-time best list, mine included. It sustains a strong, dreamlike mood for its entire running time, and some scenes - the Beast's first appearance, a wall studded with human arms holding candelabra - are absolutely unforgettable.
Next week: Two favorites finally arrive on home video. (Hint, one of them involves a very tall rabbit.)
New releases this week
\ Harlem Nights' DUD
Starring Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, Della Reese, Arsenio Hall. Directed by Murphy. Paramount. 115 min. Rated R for extremely rough language and sexual situations. A painfully slow and uninspired variation on "The Sting." Apparently writer-director-star-executive producer Murphy meant to provide showcase comic roles for his friends Pryor, Foxx, Reese, and Hall. But that indefinable "chemistry" that provides the central spark for this kind of escapism is missing here.
Most of the film is made up of long scenes in which two people talk to each other with long pauses in the conversation. Almost nothing happens. At one point, Murphy even has a chat with a corpse. Every joke, every bit of physical action is telegraphed well in advance. Considering how fast and snappy Murphy's best work has been, it's odd that even a novice behind the camera would make such basic mistakes in plot, physical action and timing.
The best thing about the film is Herbie Hancock's soundtrack, featuring several of Duke Ellington's finest numbers. If what happened on the screen were half as good, the film would be wonderful.
\ `National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ** :
\ Starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid. Directed by Jeremiah S. Chenik. 100 min. Rated PG-13 for strong language and bathroom humor. OK. OK. There is no place in civilized society for National Lampoon Vacation movies. But this one, like the others, have their funny moments if you're in the mood for mean-spirited slapstick and a perverse attack on everybody's pipe dream of middle America.
This time, the Clark Griswold family sets out to throw a Norman Rockwell Christmas and turn the holiday's institutions into a shambles.
Like the others in the Griswold saga, this outing is a series of set-ups and pratfalls. Some are funny and others not. Some are clever and some are dumb. Some of the bathroom humor is just plain juvenile. And occasionally the movie offers moments of true hilarity, particularly when Randy Quaid - as the country cousin - revs up his engines.
Chris Gladden
\ `Immediate Family' *** :
\ Starring James Woods, Glenn Close, Mary Stuart Masterson, Kevin Dillon. Directed by Jonathan Kaplan. RCA/Columbia, 105 min. Rated PG-13.
A far cry from the current vogue of cute comedies about babies. It's touching, believably plotted and often insightful.
Any couple who has ever had trouble conceiving a child will recognize the canny opening touches from director Jonathan Kaplan and writer Barbara Benedek. Michael and Linda Spector (James Woods and Glenn Close) are upscale marrieds whose life seems to lack only one thing - a child.
They decide to adopt, contacting an agency that helps put them in touch with a young pregnant woman who has decided to give up her baby immediately after delivery. Lucy is a blue-collar, rock 'n' roll waif played by Mary Stuart Masterson. Lucy's boyfriend (Kevin Dillon) also has had a troubled life - and with their leather jackets, Guns and Roses tapes and harsh backgrounds, these kids seem completely different from Michael and Linda. But this is a movie of special touches. In one scene, Lucy and Linda share a cross-cultural communion as they listen to Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic."
All of the characterizations are finely drawn in this appealing movie with appealing people that treats its subject with honesty and sensitivity. That's saying a lot these days. - Chris Gladden
\ What the ratings mean:
Wonderful; one of the best of its kind. See it right away.
Very good; definitely worth renting.
Average. You've seen better; you've seen worse.
Poor. Make sure the fast-forward button on your VCR is in good working order.
\ Dud An insult to intelligence and taste. This category is as much a warning as a rating.
THE ESSENTIALS:\ `Meridian: Kiss of the Beast' Paramount. 90 min. Rated R for nudity, sexual content, mild violence.
\ `The Little Mermaid' 1/2 Touchstone. 79 min. Rated G.
\ `Beauty and the Beast' Embassy. 92 min. Unrated, contains no objectionable material. 8 1 VIDEO Video
by CNB