Illinois News Index

McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, IL), 30 Aug 1985, p. 15

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BILLY JOEL' YOU'RE ONLY HUMAN (SECOKD WIND) . .. V ! . H IctkC" I"1" '!"• Live Aid in print British rock musician Bob Geldof poses in Lon­ don with the official Live Aid book of photographs which was launched this week. The book includes photos taken during the Live * Aid concerts in UPI photo Fox Valley Folk Fest begins GENEVA - The Eighth Annual Fox Valley Folk Festival will be held on Sunday, Sept. 1 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Island Park in Geneva. The main stage will feature a d a y o f t r a d i t i o n a l a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y f o l k m u s i c performed by many of the finest folksingers in the Midwest. Other activities will include an "area where storytellers and dancers will entertain the young •folks (and not-so young folks), and an area where craftspeople can display hand-built musical Instruments and similar examples of folk art. Another area will feature records and tapes of music by some of the musicians performing and a general selection of folk music recordings. Refreshments will be available on the site, or folks can bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the music in the lovely surroundings of Island Park. Some of the performers featured on the main stage will be: Buck Store 7 & Range Co., The Chicago Barn Dance Co., Fred Campeau, Phil Cooper, Margaret Nelson, Paul Goelz, Friedlander Hall, Janet Higbee, Dan Keding, Ed Holstein, Fred Holstein, the Northern Prairie Drifters and others. Another area will feature puppet shows, storytellers, craft demonstrations and musical instrument workshops-jam sessions. INDEX/SECTION B Classified « Comics 8B DearAbby. 2B Opinion v.. .. 6B Regional 1B,4B,5B,16B ORTHWEST IIEWSPAPERS It's a problem few people encounter, but one which would be interesting to be stuck with. Imagine being too smart -- smarter than your teach­ ers, parents and friends. So smart that you're plucked out of a high school science fair and find yourself in college, all 15 years of you. That's where whiz kid Mitch Taylor finds himself in the latest installment of teenagers-against-the-world movies,' 'Real Genius." And Taylor, played by Gabe Jarret, really is a genius. He's so smart, he's been tabbed by a college's hotshot TV personality Movie review London and Philadelphia last month. All pro­ ceeds from the book go towards famine relief in Africa. Geldof organized the concerts. The event also will feature a group that will arrive in replicas of the big canoes used by the French voyageurs of the 1700's as they plied the fur trade on Illinois rivers. They will set up an authentic camp from that period, and with costumes, song and dance give you a chance to experience what may have been going on in Island Park three hundred years ago. The festival will end with a square dance in the early evening that will feature live string band music and calling-teaching of square & contradances with the Chicago Barn Dance Co. It's great fun for all ages, and you don't need to be an experienced dancer since they walk through each dance. Island Park is located on an island in the Fox River, just South of Route 38 near the intersection of Route 25 in Geneva. As in past years, the admission will be by donation, but a suggested amount is $5 for adults and $3 for children and senior citizens. Access to the park is via sidewalk and paved paths, so disabled access is possible. In case of rain the festival will be moved indoors. The rain location will be obtained by phoning (312) 898-4331 on the day of the festival. FOX-Page 4B ^ • professor, Jerry Hatha­ way (William Atherton), to take control of a spe­ cial laser project he's been working on for years. It seems the older stu­ dents just don't have enough gray matter to make things click. The one genius who holds the key is a wise-cracking, smart-aleck senior named Chris Knight, played by Val Kilmer, who decided after three years of studying he'd be better off living life to the fullest. By the way, he's also Taylor's roommate. We've seen college life before, but this school is like none other. Students roam the halls spouting theories that would make Einstein blink. Sliding down hallways in stocking feet isn't enough for this bunch. A friend of Knight's goes one step further and literally ices the halls so real skates can be used. A lecture hall resembles a beach party. It would have been easy for this movie to lose control and slip into a highbrow "Animal House," but it doesn't. The credit goes to Jarret and Kilmer, who firmly grab the reins and guide the film home. Steve Metsch Herald staff writer Like most roommates, the pair get along nervously at first. As their predicament worsens -- produce a work­ ing, five-megawatt laser for Professor Hathaway, or Knight won't graduate -- they become a sort of Abbott and Costello of MIT. Along with their friends -- the ice-maker, and a 19- year-old girl (played by Michelle Meyrink) who talks a mile a minute, can't sleep, falls for Taylor, and almost swipes the film's spotlight -- they come up with the missing link, found in a refrigerator, and the laser works beyond their wildest dreams. But we wouldn't have much of a movie if that's all there was. A bad guy surfaces. Good ol' Doc Hathaway has plans for his laser, big plans. The boys at the Pentagon will give him a bundle if the laser works. Star Wars is on their minds, and I'm not talking about Darth and Luke. The whiz kids learn about Hathaway's plans for a demonstration of the laser, and set about to toss a wrench in them. One genius is tough enough to handle. When you get two above-average minds working together, things hap­ pen. They enlist the help of a mysterious cellar-dweller who's been sending millions of coupons to an unlimited- entry prize contest. "It's their rules," he said. "1 decided to play by them." That's the philosophy used by our dynamic duo. They bend the rules just enough to make their plans feasible, with a few close calls tossed in for good measure. I don't want to spoil the ending, but Doc Hathaway, a devout popcorn hater, didn't appreciate Taylor and Knight's handiwork. Chalk this one up for those who want to keep lasers on the ground, helping people live better lives. And the next time you worry about college life, don't. See "Real Genius" and take your mind off any troubles. It's an enjoyable, humorous film that doesn't hammer you in the head with a message. Besides, without schools like this and professors like Hathaway, average thinkers are in store for a relaxing, laser-free autumn of classes. ("Real Genius" is playing at Showplace Theaters on U.S. 14 in Crystal Lake, and Spring Hill Mall Theaters in West Dundee. It is rated PG ) Patiiio heads Joy fest ill Great America will be filled Saturday with the sounds of Christian fellowship for the third time this season when Joyfest III returns to the park's Pictorium Plaza. Headlining the event will be Leon Patillo, former lead singer and keyboardist for the rock group Santana and a session man for War, Martha and the Vandellas and the Funkadelics. Patillo's multi-faceted solo career has led him to five Gospel albums (including "The Sky's the Limit," "Life Experience" and "I'll Never Stop Loving You"), large concert audiences and numerous Grammy and Dove Award nominations. The musical celebration of family and brotherhood begins at 1 p.m. with Servant, a band fresh to the contemporary Christian music scene. Powered by often raucous rock'n'roll, Servant nonetheless effectively communicates a strong Christian message. Some of the Oregon-based group's songs include "Rich M&i," "Cup of Water," and "Suburban Josephine." Paul Clark will follow Servant. Clark, best known for his jazz/rock fusion style, is a veteran of 11 albums, and has been recording since 1970. The concerts, co-sponsored by WCFC-TV (Channel 38), WCRM-Radio and Harvest Productions, are included in the park's admisioh price. Leon Patillo S-* , . . . . .. t •* - A -V . , ng too smart may lead eal problems at school ENTERTAINMENT Friday, August 30,1985 Section B Singing to save Joel's video packs punch By Steve Metsch Herald staff writer George Bailey had never felt more alone in his life. What started as a joyous morning with his brother, Harry, due to return home a war hero, had dissolved into a disastrous Christmas Eve. George's world was tumbling down with a large thud. His Uncle Billy had misplaced a hefty chunk of mpney and the Bailey Building.& Loan would be in big trouble -- alias prison for George -- if the cash wasn't found. " ' George, whose life had never gone quite the way he hoped, hollered at his family, had a few drinks, got into a fight, drove his car into a neighbor's tree and ran off into the night. He wound up on a bridge over an ice-cold river. With the snow swirling about and his life as black as the night, George decided to end his troubles by jumping off the bridge and committing suicide. Just as George is preparing to end it all, a man beats him to the river., instead of killing himself, George dives in, rescues the man -- really an angel named Clarence -- and proceeds to discover his life is indeed worth living. .. . ' That scenario from Frank Capra's classic move, "It's a Wonderful Life," has been reprised in a new video from Billy Joel. The pop star has employed the basic idea of Capri's film -- suicide isn't worth it -- in the video of his hit single, "You're Only Human (Second"Wind)" Joel, who has yet to produce a disappointing, weird or confusing video, has again come up with a winner. The man who gave us Christie Brinkley visiting his cruddy gas station, defended old rock'n'roll in a musical courtroom, and did a marvelous Elvis-on-Ed Sullivan takeoff, has struck gold. This time, though, Joel is more than entertaining. He's getting an important message across to teenagers by using one of the fastest growing means of communication. Joel takes the role of an angel, albeit not the winged type we've seen in other films. Joel's halo wearer dons a long coat, dark clothes, floppy hat and three-days' growth of whiskers. Come to think of it, Clarence wasn't very angelic in his 18-century garb when he visited George Bailey. ' Joel's quest is to save the life a 16-year-old boy who had just drove over a fireplug and into the back of a parked car. At that age, nothing is worse than wrecking dad's car. The boy runs to the 59th Street Bridge and is ready to jump to a wateiy demise, a la George Bailey. Enter Joel, playing his song, "Piano Man," on a harmonica. "Well, it was very difficult to shoot on the 59th Street Bridge. It's very high and we used a helicopter to shoot. It was a very dangerous situation for Billy to be in. You had to be careful -- we were 900 feet over the ground," said producer Jon Small. Joel feigns a suicide attempt, is saved by the teen and proceeds /to show the youth how his committing suicide would be a mistake. "It was Billy's idea," Small said of the video's theme. "Videos are always tough to do. Did you get the message? Well, then it worked." Joel attempted suicide as a young man. With teen suicide on the rise, he felt it was prime time to get an anti-suicide message on film. JOEL -- Page 4B

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