THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 27, 1994 TAG: 9407270025
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
A BOY AND his dog. The formula is unbeatable.
Lassie's return to the big screen is far from a classic, but it is a rarity - a family film that keeps its values in view while trying to entertain. ``Lassie,'' the collie's first starring vehicle since the 1970s, is small in its outlook - closer to the low-keyed adventures of the TV series than to the big, emotional sweep of the classic original 1943 ``Lassie Come Home.''
If you haven't seen that one lately or your children have never seen it, look for it on TV or video. It's a gem.
This new film is comparatively tame but well-intentioned and homey.
The ol' girl (always played by a male) has had quite a run of it - through 10 movies and more than 600 TV episodes. This time, she's played by an eighth generation descendant of Pal, the original of the Lassie screen dynasty.
Lassie herds sheep. Lassie escapes from a locked barn. Lassie fights off a hungry wolf. Lassie thwarts the efforts of mean rich folks who want to take her family's land. Lassie dashes into raging waters to rescue her designated human. It should be enough.
On top of all that, there is a fringe benefit for the state of Virginia. Anyone who gets a look at this gorgeous scenery, in all its autumn glory, should head for this country immediately. If there is a huge increase in tourism in the mountains this year, someone should slip Lassie a few extra dog biscuits (or even a steak).
The script attempts, perhaps a bit too feverishly, to update the proceedings. With a fur coat like that, Lassie doesn't need to be cool. Nonetheless, the soundtrack does include everyone from Bob Dylan to Alice in Chains. The resident boy (a role first played by Roddy McDowall in 1943) is now a cynical city lad who whines mightily when his family moves from Baltimore to Franklin Falls, Va. (population 148).
The boy forces his little sister to turn off ``Lassie'' on TV because he hates the show. She's a fan, though, and when the family passes near an auto accident in which a collie's owner has been killed, she latches on to the dog and names it Lassie.
Of course, Lassie adopts the new family and immediately leads the boy to the best swimming hole in the area. (Come to think of it, Lassie does leave the scene of the accident with notable lack of remorse for her previous owner.)
Thomas Guiry of ``The Sandlot'' is quickly likable in the role of the boy - primarily because he adopts to country ways readily. Brittany Boyd is adorably natural as the little sister. Jon Tenney is a youthful-looking father, and Helen Slater (formerly ``Supergirl'') is his new wife.
The boy, though, is still bitter about losing his real mother, and the situation isn't helped by the fact that the Virginia country house was her girlhood home. The lad fights against accepting his stepmom, even if she is as nice as Mother Teresa. Richard Farnsworth adds whiskers as Grandpa, who lives nearby.
The villains, who are pretty feeble as villains go, are led by Frederic Forrest, the rich sheep rancher who lives across the field. Forrest (an Oscar nominee for ``The Rose'') has an unexplainable Texas twang.
The new Lassie is the largest of all the dogs who have played the role, and he is impressive when, to the accompaniment of a thundering symphonic score by Basil Poledouris, he herds sheep. Lassie is also adept at fetching Mom's old diary from a hidden place in the house.
This film is low-keyed and predictable, but it is never condescending or silly. It has its heart in the right place. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Thomas Guiry plays a boy befriended by that most famous collie in
``Lassie.''
Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``Lassie''
Cast: Lassie, Thomas Guiry, Helen Slater, Jon Tenney, Frederic
Forrest
Director: Daniel Petrie
Screenplay: Matthew Jacobs, Gary Ross, Elizabeth Anderson
MPAA rating: PG (small children may be frightened when Lassie is
in danger)
Mal's rating: Three stars
Locations: Greenbrier and Movies 10 in Chesapeake; Janaf and Main
Gate in Norfolk; Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach
by CNB