European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 9, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Voice Roundtree grows in strongest role of Long career Joe Bob Briggs goes to the drive in remember last year when Jimmy Connors won All those Tennis matches at the age of 39 in the . Open and for about two weeks everybody in the country went ape remember when Nolan Ryan at the age of 42, threw another no hitter remember when George Foreman an old Man himself went 12 rounds with the Champ i feel like i just witnessed the same thing. Richard Roundtree a the original Black exploitation Star Shaft himself the Man who has knocked around for 25 years in some of the worst movies Ever made always performing Well enough to Rise just a Little above the toilet material the Man who was paid Only $13,000 for the most successful Black movie Ever made the Man who was stereotyped As a heavy and an action Star the Man who has spent most of his life working on episodes of to shows nobody can remember a Richard Roundtree the actor known to drive in fans As the Black Charles Bronson has just turned in the greatest performance of his life. A it was amazing. Its gotten to the Point where in be watched so Many wheels and Trig Gers action flicks prison flicks and gang flicks that As soon As you Sec a special appearance by Richard Roundtree in the credits you know you re about to see Assembly line schlock la. But not this time. In a movie where Roundtree gets ninth Billing he not Only steals the show he also gives such an overpowering portrayal of a non violent Jailhouse lawyer that when he uses worn out political phrases like a change the system a you actually believe its possible. This is the most a cynical prison flick in 20 years. You actually feel like there a Hope for these Guys. Its a movie called forced to fight a one of about 50 kickboxing flicks released the past year. Actually its a prison movie disguised As a kickboxing movie starring Don a the dragon Wilson a half japanese half Anglo world karate association Champeon who is being groomed As an action Star by drive in King Roger Corman and his concorde pictures. The Only problem with Don is that he can do anything with his feet very Little with his Mouth. He wont be nominated for the sir John Gielgud diction award this year. So the writers generally try to limit him to 10 or 15 words per performance. And a Nice Job of it they Don a the dragon Quot Wilson in forced to fight. Four dead bodies. Four breasts. Three stabbings. Four brawls. One riot. One homosexual rape. Multiple Kung fun. Finger fun. Drive in Academy award nominations for Wilson As Jimmy Boland the half japanese Kung fun Champeon. For explaining How he got into prison by saying. A they did no to like the color of my skin a Rick Dean As wheel head the White biker Leader for saying a i got leadership qualities and i look like a Towel head Quot John Cardone As the Pervert Roundtree As the inmate lawyer Samuel Stark for saying �?o1 never met a Nigger Clint a 1 Don t know what a Nigger looks like and Quot let the brother supreme show us All How it s done Quot and a you re so involved with your own hate you d rather die than Sec it go Allison Burnett and Charles Mattera who wrote it and Oley Sassone who directed it the drive in Way. Four stars. Joe Bob says Check it out. Joe bobs advice to the hopeless recession Alert the Mesa drive in in Oroville calif., has been busted up broken Down and is barely standing. One Good Strong gust of wind could blow it Over. A a we re so poor Quot says . Hammons a we can to even turn it into a mini mall or an outdoor Flea remember without eternal vigilance it can happen Here. Dear Joe Bob the word a lesbos Quot in the 10th paragraph of your poorly written review is not acceptable. If you arc referring to two homosexual women the spelling is be so i an. Got it Hyatt san Francisco dear d., a lesbos Quot is the name of a greek Island that first made love Between women famous. Its spelled be so of. Got it dear Joe Bob its time to take the commies Campaign to close All the drive ins to them. There a a Good location in Berlin. Yup the Wall. Carve sections of the Wall to show movies. Just think of All the room there will be on the commies Side when the mine Fields arc cleared for parking. They have those nifty guard towers with plenty of current for projectors. The Telephone wire can be converted to Antenna attachments to the cars radio Antenna to Cut Down on speaker costs. And they have to take the offer because we need the Money. And just think part of the Deal can be shipping three drive in size Wall chunks for the Joe Bob Victory drive in in Elpaso. Think of the Money that can be raised for Damm not to mention an International drive in film festival. Besides once they be met Jason and Michael Myers never want to invade us. Check it out. Benjamin j. Hunsinger Cleveland dear Ben i love the idea. We can have dancing bratwurst Between the movies and color closeups of sauerkraut simmering on the Concession stand Grill. Creators Syndicate tvs a wrap up the Best package for speeches Linda Ellerbee do. I cat Mot in. To discuss the meaning of life with Joe Bob or to get tree junk in the mail and his world famous we Are the weird newsletter write Joe boo Briggs. P o Box 2002. Dallas to l�?~j2? t Joe Bob s tax line s always a non 214 3fi8 2310 i would like to say a Good word for television news. For a change. Television is easy enough to Knock beginning with the simple fact that one wonders if any Good can Ever come from a word that is half greek and half latin a and nobody knocks television better than those of us who have spent time working in it a consider this. Over the years when people have talked to me or yelled at me about what they done to like about to news there is one specific complaint i hear More often than any other. Quot Why is it that when the president goes on television and makes a speech its immediately followed by a Bunch of television anchors and reporters sitting around telling me what the president just said and what it All meant done to they think i can understand him As Well As they can do they think in a dumb or what boy arc those people Well yes sometimes these people Are arrogant. But that a really not the Point. You see there Are Good reasons there truly Are for that Little after speech wrap up and 1 done to entirely understand Why it makes people so angry. After All nobody minds when the sports announcers do it after a football game. In fact nobody minds when sports announcers Tell us what we be just seen after every single play and if that a not enough they give us the instant replay too. At least reporters done to do that with the presidents speech. Good reason no. 1 for the Post presidential speech wrap up is the simple one. Not everybody actually tuned in to the presidents speech from the beginning and not everybody listened to the whole speech. The Remote control has made zapping if not a Way of life a Way of television. Television journalists know this. So for some of the audience the after speech wrap up tells them what they missed. Good reason no. 2 is the important one. Assuming that we listened to everything the president had to say and understood every of it there a still More to know. A presidential speech even a state of the Union speech is still a political speech a never More so than in an election year a and journalists arc supposed to do More then simply let politicians including the president say anything they want unchallenged. Good reporting is always about challenging Power. Questioning authority. Looking askance. Power unchecked is to much Power Lor anybody. Its in that wrap up we hear the television reporter who covers the White House say Quot yes the president said that tonight six weeks ago when he spoke in California he said something entirely now you and i May remember exactly what the president said six weeks ago in California and we May not. We May never Ever have heard what the president said six weeks ago in California. But those reporters Are paid to remember that kind of thing. For our Benefit not theirs. Its in that wrap up we hear the television reporter who covers the Economy say a the president promised tonight that he will not raise taxes he also promised six things that will be impossible to fund without raising i could go on you get the idea. Me. I m grate Lul for the wrap up. We need that reality Cheek at the end of a political speech. It does ii t mean Telesi Sion reporters think we re stupid. It Means the free Piess is t in i he it in. I Ftfe f Tatum Quot it february 9 199? Gutaf a rage 17
