ie

ironically, as he tries to get water
back home, he descends into
alcoholism.

Talk about alienation.

Early :
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CHOICE OF ONE OF FIVE SPECIAL ENTREES!

Tommy’s unscrupulous lawyer,
Raoul Shadgrind (john Cleese)
suggests that perhaps an “‘acci-
dent’ can be arranged for Henry.

Splitting Heirs # (Universal)
Rated Mature (at the Park &
Tilford, Granville, Oakridge,
Coquitlam, Station Square,

Richport and Clearbrook
cinemas)

Tim Beil
‘FILM REVIEW

W ELL, MR, Eric
One-Time-Fun-
WW ny-Man Idle, just
whose taffy do you think
you're pulling? This ““com-
-edy of heirs’’ of yours must
be a tax shelter because it
sure isn’t a comedy.

Tommy Patel (Idle) is a Cauca-
sian commodities broker who, at
the age of 30 (big stretch for the

. 50-year-old), finds out that the East
Indian family he lives with is not
his biological family. Well, that's
certainly not good for a laugh. In
reality, he’s the rightful heir to the
vast Bournemouth estate, As an
infant, a mishap occurred in a res-
” taurant when his parents (Barbara
«Hershey and Eric Idle) left him

- behind to go boogalooing (it was
the 1960s after all).

- In the old switcheroo, a “‘dif-
“ferent” baby was returned to the
forgetful mom. Now, on the death
of her husband, the Dukedom is in
the lap of her son Henry Martin
(Rick Moranis), raised as a brash -

_ American:
: Sorry, still no chuckle.
- To snatch the silver rattle back,

Say no more. (And | wish they
didn’t.) This leads to a painfully
dull series of botched murder at-
tempts by arson, drowning and the
inevitable explosion.

Timing is crucial in comedy and,
in Splitting Heirs, it's conspicuous
by its absence, Scenes are so
crudely edited, logic is simply
snipped away.

When Barbara Hershey was cast
as his mother (?!) Idle told ‘her the
“trick” to comedy is to
absolutely straight and As ay it ahs
will come from the situation. Situ-
ation? What situation? There is no
funny situation, premise, line,
word or syllable in this movie.

Splitting headaches are funnier
than Splitting Heirs.

An Englishman Abroad
kk eke (BFS/Prime Video) ©

The old saying “you can never
go home again’ is especially true
if you were a spy for the enemy.
This is the real-life (more or less)
story of English actress Coral
Browne's encounter with the
charming British traitor, Guy
Burgess (Alan Bates). They rneet
while she’s with a touring reper-
toire company in Moscow in 1958.
He has fallen on hard times and
goes to her dressing room to meet
her {and to steal her soap, vodka,
cigarettes and to throw up in her
sink ~ oh yes, he has bags of
charm).

There's great insight into human
nature in this briei (63 minutes)
fiim, along with rich, witty dia-
logue between Browne and
Burgess.

The Man Who Fell to Earth

“Explosive. Dazzling. Weird.”
William Shatner’s pitch on the
trailer for the 1976 science-fiction
saga nailed the weird part. David
Bowie is at his most ethereal as a
visitor from a planet dying of thirst.

NV company creates new
TV program for children

TAKE PART Productions, a North: =~

Vancouver-based. company -
‘specializing in. educational televi-
sion for children, has announced it
will begin work on a’ pilot episode
for.a new kids’. TV program called
The Crazy Mister Twister Show.
The ‘pilot is based on the Mister

Twister concept. developed . by -

“North Vancouver producers Herb
and Lois Walker tor their award-
winning kids’ TV series, Take Part
For r Kids.

“A large percentage of the
100,000-plus . pieces of. mail
received by Take Part for Kids tells
us that Mister Twister is one of the

kids’ favorite characters in’ the

series,’’ said host and creator Lois

Walker.

Funding for the pilot will come

from the MCTV Showcase Fund,

created by the Ontario broadcast
network to’ develop innovative
new TV projects.

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