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THE HERALD OUTLOOK Saturday March 11 1S89 Page 13 Entertainment Outlook Hanks is mired in unfunny ROBERT DiMATTEO In Movie Theaters THE BURBS After two excel lent performances in Big and Punchline Tom Hanks has become one of those actors who ly makes a movie worth seeing most of the time anyway Even this inventive romantic comedian with the likably manner make The Burbs worth our attention Like the oddball John film Neighbors this slapstick comedy starts from the premise that suburbia is less the haven for bland normality than for crackpot Hanks plays an nice average guy who lives with his nice average wife Carrie Fisher and kids in the sort of cozy suburban community that many Americans consider heaven But wait a minute Next door live three absolute Henry Gibson Broth Theodore and Courtney Gains Spurred on by his nosy best buddy Rick Ducommun Hanks ends As Hanks and become embroiled in what they suspect to be foul play next door the movie tries for a comically spooky what if ty What if for example the neigh are really burying bodies in their back yard And what do these folks do in the basement all the time With the quirky pop sensibility of director Joe Dante Gremlins at the helm one looks forward to some lively silliness But the movie post tively dies on the screen The inces sant slapstick is forced and noisy and the central situation loses its interest surprisingly quickly After a while you may find that you can barely keep your eyes focused on the screen But the noise of people falling over each other trying to be funny keeps you all too awake GRADE TAP The story of the great black hoofers of Harlem and Broad way is a fresh one for a major matic movie to tackle even when it only serves as the backdrop for a throwback melodrama like this one Here Gregory HInes plays an excon who- returns to tap dancing after up spending his prized week long va cation spying on these secretive and strangelooking folks much to the chagrin of his wife and community OUR LANGUAGE by Jeffrey In ice hockey slash illegally swings a stick at an opponent Another player might make you angry but never lash out with slash Gripe complains or grumbles You 11 have no gripe about spelling this word once you have a grip on gripe I can figure out the word coro Where does it come from A Coroner came into English by way of French from the Latin corona crown When it entered Middle En coroner meant officer of the crown an aide to royalty Now of course its meaning is largely limited to the position of a public officer in quiring by inquest into any death ap parently not of natural causes Do you have a question or comment about our language Please write to Jeffrey in care of this paper tltl NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE TOM HANKS and Carrie Fisher star in The Burbs a new comedy about couple whose suburban idyll is endangered by weird new neighbors PICK OF THE WEEK 999 STORE T Wednesday HOURS Saturday STREET ST PLAZA GEORGETOWN Corner of Hwy and Mountalnvliw Rd 8731773 squandering bis talents as a burglar This is Hines first movie role that fully blends his gift for with his goatish jazzmans charm and he very enjoyable to watch whether dancing up a storm or just etching in the character of a over grown bad boy trying to go straight Directed by Nick Castle Jr the son of a movie choreographer the film has the good sense to feature some great old tappers in supporting roles Sandman Sims Bunny Har old Nicholas and Arthur Duncan among them It also got Sammy Da vis Jr doing a gruff sentimental turn as the ailing but still spry dancer father of ex wife Suzanne Douglas If only the movie weren t saddled with an antique plot that asks the hoary question Can Hines give up his life of crime redeem himself On the dance floor and win back the heart of his former sweetheart Along the way it glosses over the technological implications of the sto the way decides to wire his taps electronically turning tap into a kind of synthesized percussion The picture suggests this is how to make tap relevant to today s rock but is it Still see Tap for the engaging en of Hfnes and for scenes like one in a Times Square dance studio where all the old timers challenge each other in a joyous demonstration of rhythmic feet GRADE W New Home Video SHORT CIRCUIT I RCACo lumbia A third rate sequel to one of the top home video releases of 1987 not that the original Short Circuit was much of a movie The story again focuses on that mecha nlzed the robot Johnny Five Johnny comes to the aid of his Inven tor malapropism spouting East an scientist Ben Jahrvi Fisher Ste vens now a high tech toy maker Corpulent Jack Weston plays the vll lain Cynthia Gibb the love interest It all way too cute and at mln utes way too long GRADE MIDNIGHT RUN MCA Buddy action flicks seldom have the rich characters that this picture does Robert and Charles Grodln star as a Mutt and Jeff pair band cuffed together on a crosscountry trip The actors and the picture are fun GRADE Film grading- excellent good fair poor an NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN SAME DAY TAX RETURNS Guelph St Georgetown 8772217 Face in The Crowd GEORGETOWN CINEMAS GUELPH STREET CINEMA 2 2nd GREAT WEEK ACADEMY wcujo BEST PICTURE BEST ACTOR BEST SCREENPLAY BEST DIRECTOR HOFFMAN CRUISE RAIN MAN Evenings at 9 20 Sat Sun Matinee at m CINEMA 3 adventure Evenings at 7 1 s Sat Sun Matinee 2nd EXCELLENT WEEK