0 The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
Entertainment
September 8, 1989
'Shirley Valentine'
Adult comedy about a housewife on holiday has 'lots of heart'
By HENRY HERX
Catholic News Service
NEW YORK (CNS) --
"Shirley Valentine" (Para-
mount) is the saga of a 42-year-
old Liverpool, England,
housewife who-leaves hubby
and grown children for a two-
week holiday in Greece where
she rediscovers a long-
submerged zest for life.
Though there's nothing strik-
ingly original about the story,
Pauline Collins' performance in
the title role makes the
character of Shirley one to en-
joy and remember. It's the por-
trait of a feisty middle-aged
woman battling the boredom of
each day's routine, knowing
that there's something more
that she should be doing with
her life.
Her husband Joe {Bernard
Hill} has grown into a boring
mate, obstinately set in his
ways and interested in little but
his work. Her children, now on
their own, are of little help. The
.son is. a good-hearted dreamer,
the daughter a self-absorbed
twit.
Shirley has a limited circle of
women friends, the closest be-
ing Gillian {Julia McKenzie), a
prissy, often infuriating
neighbor. It's little wonder
Shirley carries on random con-
versations with the kitchen wail
and sips wine while preparing
Joe's supper.
When a feminist friend
{Alison Steadman} wins a vaca-
tion for two in Greece, Shirley
tags along, meets Costas (Tom
Conti}, a Greek with romance
on his mind, and decides to
stay on for a while. Joe finally
gets the message after Shirley
repeatedly hangs up on his calls
and goes to Greece to fetch her
home.
Willy Russell's script is an
adaptation of his own London
stage play which, when
transported to Broadway, earn-
ed Miss Collins this year's Tony
Award for best actress. The
movie version records her win-
ning, tour-de-force perfor-
mance in the role of a spunky
pixie, projecting a roguish
sense of fun that is balanced by
an equally strong sense of
responsibility, something she
often rues. Instead of letting her
woes wear her down, Shirley
laughs at them and at herself.
The dialogue has some wit
and intelligence, and Miss Col-
lins puts over the often self-
deprecating one-liners about
life, love and marriage with
definitive style, especially
when she pauses to talk directly
to the audience.
The movie, however, in
presenting what was originally
a one-woman stage show, loses
something when the play's ver-
bal descriptions are visualized
on screen. For instance, the
scenes of her rebellious student
days in a girl's high school are
more a distraction than an
asset.
Produced and directed by
Lewis Gilbert, the adaptation
tends to be too literal in
translating verbal satire into im-
ages. For instance her boating
tryst with the romantic Costas is
rendered with some truly silly
shots of surging surf and rock-
ing boat.
Though the other actors do
their best, the strength of the
show lies in Miss Collins'
delightful performance.
Though Shirley's vulnerability
comes across clearly, it is her
resilience that is most attrac-
tive. The portrayal conveys an
inner strength of character, one
that wastes no time on self-pity
or self-delusion.
Shirley's marital lapse is a
momentary miscalculation
based on curiosity but neither
she nor the audience are ever
really taken in by the clay-
footed Costas and his comic
mangling of a four-letter,
Anglo-Saxon sexual expres-
sion. Conti tries hard but the
role is little more than a plot
device to set up a sentimental
but satisfying ending.
This is adult comedy with a
lot of heart and a memorable ti-
tle performance. Americans
may fihd the Liverpool accent a
little hard to understand at
times but the point of the
humor is rarely lost. If, among
the laughs, viewers get a few in-
sights about human nature, all
the better.
Because of some mature
themes, fleeting nudity and
comic use of a sexual expletive,
the U.S. Catholic Conference
classification is A-III -- adults.
The Motion Picture Association
of America rating is R --
restricted.
U SI film series open to the public
The University of Southern Indiana will be showing films as a part of fall class requirements.
They will also be open to the public for viewing, free of charge. Films are shown at 2 and 6 p.m.
every Tuesday in Forum I, on the USI campus. Below is a listing of the films on the schedule for
September and October. For more information call Dr. Thomas A. Wilhelmus, chairman of the
English Department, 464-1735.
September 12 -- "The
Maltese Falcon" (1941;
director, John Huston; cast,
Humphrey Bogart, Mary
Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney
Greenstreet) In Huston's first
film, Bogart plays a San
Francisco detective caught
up in a web of lies, as the
characters connive their way
closer to a priceless statuette.
September 19 -- "Meet Me
in St. Louis" (1944; director,
Vincent Minnelli; cast, Judy
Garland, Mary Astor) This
Hollywood technicolor
musical follows the Smith
family through four
nostalgic seasons in turn-of-
the-century St. Louis.
September 26 -- "Holiday"
(1938; director, George
Cukor; cast, Cary Grant,
Katherine Hepburn) In this
screwball comedy, Johnny, a
self-made man, is about to
marry into a wealthy fami]y
until he reveals that he in-
tends to retire at 30 and live
modestly.
October 3 -- "Citizen Kape"
(1941; director, Orson
Welles; cast, Orson Welles,
Joseph Cotton, Everett
Sloane, Agnes Moorehead)
Considered by many to be
the best American film of all
time, this masterpiece tells
the tragic story of the life of
Charles Foster Kane.
October 10 -- "Grand Illu-
sion" (1937; French; direc-
tor Jean Renoir) A strong
anti-war film made before
World War II, Renoir's film
shows how the real dif-
ferences of class are easier to
overcome than the imagined
differences of nationality.
October 17 -- "Playtime"
(1972; French; director, Jac-
ques Tati) Mr. Hulot returns
only to become lost amid the
fast pace of '70s Paris. Tati's
film is a smorgasbord of
clever sight gags that parody
the uniformity of the world.
October 24 -- "Olympia II"
(1936-38; German; director,
Leni Riefenstahl) A festival
of athletic beauty -- 11/2
million feet of film were shot
at the 1936 Olympic games
in order to make Olympia I
and II. Riefenstahl creates
one of the best films of the
strength and beauty of
athletes in motion.
October 31 -- "81/2" (1963;
Italian; director, Federico
Fe]lini; cast, Marcello
Mastrianni) A successful
film director committed to a
new production is bereft of
fresh ideas. Hounded by his
wife, mistress, and pro-
ducer, he escapes into his
dreamlike personal fan-
tasies, abundantly filled
with images from the past.
