WOOSTER GROUP alumnus Willem Dafoe with Madonna in a scene from Bedy af Evidence. ody blows Body of Evidence’ * (MGM) Rated R (at the Capitol, Eagle Ridge and Station Square Cinemas) IRST RULE of legal counsel — lay down the law, not the client. Lawyer Frank Dulaney (William Dafae) obviousty hasin’t gone to the movies lately or he’d know that Michael Douglas’ Basic In- stinct created a body count and William Hurt got hurt from prolonged, Body Heat. But how can Frank resist sex gopher Madonna ...-er, sorry, Rebecca Carison? The slinky blonde art gallery owner is his lat- est case — a over so potent, she just might be sexually lethal. Actually,-D.A. Robert Garrett (Joe Mantegna) suspects cocaine had more to do with elderly An- drew Marsh's ticker failure than - over-stimulation, but he knows a conviction of cardiac by coitus will sell better to the jury. So like any half-decent defence attorney, Frank prepares his briefs by dropping them, and playing funny little games with Rebecca such as Bound and Gag Order and Wax Seal My Subpoena. And if you think it’s painful for the masochistic Frank, you haven't been a member of the audience. _Used People * *. (20th Century Fox) Rated Mature {at the Park & Tilford, and Oakridge Cinemas) Handcuffs and candle drippings again? This time it's not Madonna, it’s a vengeful: Mrs. Robinson dook-alike hot waxing.a writhing Graduate. Confused? Not nearly as much as the dysfunctiéna! Ber- ‘mans. . Pearl Berman (Shirley MacLaine} has just buried her husband (yes, he was dead) when an ‘italian suitor (Mzrcello Mastroianni) ap-. proaches her for a date. After ad- Tim Bell FILM REVIEW miring her from afar for the last 23 years, he sees her widowhood as a window of opportunity. To -spite ner appalled riother (Jessica Tan- dy), she accepis Joe Melendandri’s offer. - Alihough Pearl’s two neurotic, divorced daughters (Kathy Bates, Marcia Gay Harden) are’ upset by the situation, no one puts up more resistance to Joe’s charms than Pearl herself. Some scenes are just right with keen-edged humor and others are just ripe with. over-acting. There's a dreadful subplot of the deluded grandson who tests his perceived indestructibility. Qn the plus side, his mother (Harden) retreats into a succession of humorous movie star impersonations (Faye Dunaway, Anne Bancroft, Marilyn Monroe). White MacLaine isn’t convincing as a Jewish cynic, she gets to deliver some funny lines (“You left your kids to suffocate in the car with a zither-playing Nazi?’”’). Only Mastroianni comes close to creating a believable’ character, radiating an Old World grace and natural ease (... could be that he is Old World grace. and natural ease). ~ Unfortunately, with -all its con- trivances, there’s not much use ior Used People. Showtime Hotline: Famous Players 681-4255 Cineplex Odeon 687-1515 ~ Deep Cove painter represents Canada at Le Salon Biennal A NORTH Vancouver painter is one of two B.C. artists chosen to represent Canada at this year’s Le Salon Biennal de la Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris, France. Kathleen Dawson of Deep Cove and Vancouver painter Francine Noreau will have their work displayed at fe Grand Palais on the Champs Elysees from Feb.13 to 21. Dawson’s large oil on canvas, Deer Pass Southern Chilcotin Mountains, won the premiere award. for Canada. The Win- nipeg native and Ontario Col- lege of Art grad is known for her renditions of people, places and animals. An avid autdoorswoman, she travels extensively on horse- back through wilderness areas of B.C., Alberta and the Yukon to capture her images. Dawson, Moreau’ and 38 others were chosen from over 120 artists who submitted a total of 650 works. Photo submitted OFTEN CALLED tn2 best mcderm dance company in Canada, the Toronto Dance Theatre ap- pears tonighi at Centennial Theatre with a program of its most recent work, including James Kudelka’s 15 Heterosexual Duets and Chris Gavottes. topher House's Island, Early Departure and Amor’s Millerd’s enjoyed many triumphs as director in past two decades - : From page 42 so thorpe he would never leave the Arts Club office, But many would agree it is largely because of Millerd’s dedication and fruga! nature that the Arts Club has managed to weather two recessions. “He's teased about it,” Dixan says of Millerd’s knack for pen- ny-pinching. ‘In fact some peo- ale feel he’s too cheap. But | don’t think we would have survived the recession without Bill.’’ The fact that the Arts Club is still around alter 20 years is testimony io Millerd’s shrewd business eye and supernatural sense of what will play. . While “not hugely in the black” the theatre is nonetheless in the black. Millerd’s strategy has been to use revenue from the hits to subsidize riskier shows. For example, last year’s stage adaptation of the Spanish book Celestina was one of the biggest flops of the year and closed after a fairly brief run. - But A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline became a cash cow for the rest of the season. {A Closer Walk was so successful it is about to depart on the Arts Club's longest national tour.) “Tl think Celestina was very unusual, and Steve Petch is a wonderful playwright, but some- how all the pieces didn't come together,” Millerd admits. “In . general, though, | think Vancouver audiences are quite adventurous. A& Sometimes you put on a safe © thing and people . just yawn. 9F “There's a large group who have a great love of theatre anda large group who go to the hits ~ and you have to get to that au- dience or else you won't survive. Then again, sometimes you put on a safe thing and people just yawn.” . But net everyone is enamored of the Arts Club’s populism. Vancouver playwright John Gray once said that the theatre has “grown like McDonald’s.”’ While Millerd rejects the com- parison — “s defy you to goto three McDonald’s and experience a difference," was his reply to Gray — he does worry about relying too heavily on hits.: “We don’t want to feel as if we can’t take risks, he says. . Atthe same time, however, he acknowledges that arts organiza- tions are increasingly shifting away irom more challenging, ex- perimental work towards mass- appeal popular events. “With the Fringe Festival, people don’t mind throwing away $6-$7. But when they spend over $10 they start petting concerned. “People nowadays don’t want to see anything unusual; they want to be guaranteed that what they see will be enjoyed. | think that’s too bad, because it means the death of risky art, and theatre isn’t immune to that.” a And with the Cats and Phantom - phenomena sweeping the country, Millerd believes theatre must become more of.‘an event” if it is to compete. Millerd doesn’t nention his own accomplishments as a director, but he has had plenty. Some notabie triumphs include. the 1978 production of The Shadow Box, starring Michael J. Fox, Goldie Semple and Allan Gray, and The Sea Horse, starring Janet Wright and Winston Rekert, which Millerd directed at the mainstage theatre i 1983. An ob- vious recent favorite is the well- thought-of Burn This. Getting caught up in just about -every aspect of the Arts Club has meant less time for directing, so it’s no wonder he’s enjoying the chance to get back into the direc- tor's chair for At. Buiterfly, the Arts Club's current offering, It’s some- thing he would like to do more of, Alter 20 years you'd think . Millerd wouid be ready to pack it in, but something Keeps him’ corm: ing back for more. . “1 like Vancouver audiences too much to quit,’’ he says.