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THE 1A Page fa Steel Magnolias really blossoms on the screen Entertainment FILMETER In Movie Theaters STEEL MAGNOLIAS Movies often work on very basic levels We enjoy the actors or the story or the fact that there are a few good jokes to chortle over afterward This adapta tion of Robert offBroad way hit is a perfect example of the movie that fails on its most serious terms but is still entertaining and worth seeing anyway Its a comedy tearjerker about six Louisiana belies who congregate in a local beauty parlor where they trade quips and face lifes tragedies togeth er Imagine a blend of Designing Women and Terms of Endear ment and youve got the gist of this Herbert Rossdirected movie The movie proves that Ross The Turning Point may be as close to a contemporary George Cukor as weve got Cukor was the epitome of what used to be called a womens picture- director In movies like The Chap man Report he revealed a specialty for splashy emotions and florid-verg- ingoncamp With script to buttress him Ross work here is in the same Cukoresque mold He doesnt hold back the film is for the most part confidently overblown Youd have to be pretty naive to think that a real Louisiana beauty parlor is like the endlessly gossipy one in this movie with its inhabitants who sometimes seem more like drag queens than fleshandblood women Not for noth ing has the play been running in Greenwich Village on Christopher Street Remember the phrase sisterhood is powerful Well Steel Magnolias might be de scribed as sisterhood is bitchy Still this synthetic Southern kitsch is reasonably lively and the cast is a kaffeeklatsch of some of the top wom en in American movies Sally Field and Julia Roberts make a surprising ly touching motherdaughter team Dolly Parton is simply delicious as the proprietor of the beauty parlor Shirley MacLaine is amusingly feisty if madeup as the towns rich eccentric and Daryl Hannah shows that she really can act in the role of a dizzy fledgling beautician who prays all the time And though she seems about as Southern as Bella Olympia Dukakis acerbic old dame has some of the best lines The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize she says at one point bringing down the house The FieldRoberts relationship is the catalyst for the movies turn to ward melodrama after which point were encouraged to cry our eyes out Sentimentalists will defend the all- stopspulled climactic scenes point ing to Sally Fields graveyard break down scene which almost redeems the movies rather transparent effort to be tragic In recent roles like Punchline Field has been a bit of a pain but here she goes deeper emo tionally than she has in years may be since Sybil GRADE BACK TO THE FUTURE PART Dont expect an encapsulation of the plot here This sequel to the enor mously popular and genuinely charm ing timetravel movie is far too clev er for its own good It seems to be an instance of moviemakers getting car ried away with their own inventive ness and losing track of how a picture will play for an audience Michael J Fox and Lea Thompson are still appealing and wild-and-woo- ly Christopher Lloyd has his deranged moments but the movie is halfinco herent and at least halfannoying It seems to be designed for loving overgrown kids who can gasp over the tricks However its a strain to figure out who is who and whether a scene is in the past or the future Some people may decide theyre merely watching a baroque inbred heartless fiasco and long to leave GRADE W New Homo Video BATMAN Warner The rare movie that is better and darker than all the would Indi cate No its not a v i rm Spielbergian entertainment Bui of us love this films pop mood and look its cartoon nihilism On video you can cor Michael tons undervalued in the title role and continue to giggle at Nicholsons classic creepy Joker GRADE Film grading excellent good air poor DOLLY plays beauty shop owner Truvy Jones who discusses their friends wedding with Clairee Belcher Olympia Dukakis in Her bert Rosss film of the hit play Steel Magnolias THE WORLD ALMANAC DATE SPORT HISTORY On this day in the first crossword puzzle was printed In a New York newspaper TODAYS BIRTHDAYS Kurt 1918- Austrian leader Paul ventriloquist Phil Donahue 1935- TV personality Jane Fonda actress Frank Zappa singer Chris Evert tennis player TODAYS QUOTE in order to keep this leather in the air and thats what It Is my people have to stay on iire creatively Phil Donahue on moving his longrun ning interview show Chicago to New York TODAYS MOON last quarter Doc 19 and new moon Dec 27 TODAYS BARBS BY PHIL Why is it you can locate last years Christmas tree tights immediately af ter bringing home six sets to replace the lost ones fie A Cool Cat And Check Out the Savings in he Section YELLOW CAB HALTON HILLS HOUR SERVICE SERVING HALTON HILLS QUIK MORE THAN A CONVENIENCE STORE OVER 2500 MOVIES Including New Revues WEEKEND New Releases 99 Other Cigarettes Tax Cigarettes cm t Tobacco Can 795 Milk Bag 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