European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 20, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                L this weeks Fie l  a silo of Taki s Beauty and i baath rated g. Family. This animated feature combines the original plot of the Book with a feisty capable heroine who loves libraries More than roses and a beast who s funny As Well As scary. A Ataa a bids pg-13. A self billed Quot animation with an  tha bodyguard r. Whitney Houston portrays a superstar who Falls for her Security a Suard Kevin Costner. Iram Stoliar a Dracula. R. Francis Ford Coppola a version of the Vampire talc. Buffy tha Vamp Lra Blanyar pg-13. Vampires Are on the Loose in Southern California. Donald Sutherland. Curl Stophar Columbus tha Ola ovary pg-13. In this laugh a minute Columbus George Corral acc comes off As a cheerful hunk. Death a Aromaa har pg-13. Meryl Streep and Goldie hawn play a vain actress and a vengeful author locked in a deadly rivalry. Farno ully. Tha last rain Fermat Cut. This animated film tells the Story of the animals who live in an endangered rain Forest. Final Ana Lyala r. Richard Gere is a psychiatrist specializing in criminal eases involving temporary insanity. Also Kim Basinger. Frajdla a f.r.o.7 g. An animated film i a Hunt a so Crit agent Frog voice by Den Kingsley who must save the United kingdom Fra Jack r. A Young race Driver Emilio Estevez is in for the ride of his life when he is snatched into the future by powerful people who have diabolical plans for his body. Tha Qun in Batty loud a handbag pg-13, Penelope Miller and Eric thai. Horn Alona 2s lost in now York pm. Zealous sequel is an attempt to almost exactly duplicate the original Home alone. Honay i blow up the kid pm. Comedy with Rick Moranis. Jennifer 9 r. Andy Garcia plays a Burnt out cop and Uma Thurman ii the Blind a witness Quot with whom he Falls in love. A league of thar own pm. Topping the roster for the Rockford peaches Geena Davis As the Star Quality Catcher Tom Hanks As their mangy manager Lori Petty As Davis a envious kid sister and Madonna As a Wise cracking bad Girt outfielder. Lathal weapon 3 r. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover mix it up one More time. Memoirs of an inels lbs Man pg-13. Comedy. Chevy Chase plays a Wall Street analyst who loses himself and becomes invisible after a lab Accident. Now he is the target for some really bad Guys who want to take advantage of his condition for their own profit. Out on a limb pm Matthew Broderick plays a financial Whiz summoned to a logging town named Buz saw by his Little sister. Plano Echo g. One of the Bona fide Disney classics from its exquisite character animation Ami Ealey score to its chilling sequences on pleasure Island and heart catching finale with Monstrom the whale. Pro Luda to a Kito pg-13. The soul kiss of the Century. Alee Baldwin and Meg Ryan. Rapid Flora r. Brandon Lee follows in the footwork of his dad mania arts legend Bruce Lee Rock a Doodle g. An animated film about a Hoy and his favorite Story about Chanticleer a rooster. Singlet pg-13. Romantic comedy introduces us to an engaging Potpourri of Young men and women out on their own for the first time. Starring Bridget Fonda Matt Dillon and gorgeous Kyra Sedgwick. Singla Wolta Kamala r. Bridget Fonda is a new girl in new York with a huge a Cal con trolled apartment on the upper West Side and a shy new Rookie Jennifer Jason Leigh who turns out to have a few screws Loose. Sitter act pm. Whoops Goldberg is on the Lam in a Convent. Seekers. Pci-13. This entertaining caper comedy is like the Busl Cvar episode of a Russion impossible. Robert Redford and Sidney Poitier. Ste tuned pg-13 in this satire a suburban Couch potato John Ritter and his fed up wife Pam Dawber arc sucked into a sinister Cable no work. 3 Hlaj Alda pm. While their father is occupied with Fri business ins Young sons Cope with his absence by learning the ways of the ninja from grandpa. Thund Arheart r. Drama based on a real incident this film is about an Earnest Fri agent Val Kilmer whose bit of native american blood gels him assigned to a murder ease on a South Dakota reservation. Univ areal Goldlar r. When a rep Ter discovers a plot to create perfect soldiers from the bodies of dead ones the order is Given to make sure this new s in t made Public. Jean. Lauds Van Damme and Dolph 1 Lndgren Are the re Sune cled fighting machines of the future who a wind up battling each other Over the Newsow Man s attempt la get her Story released. Unlawful entry k. The picture perfect lives of a Young suburban couple Kurt Russell Ami Madeleine Stowe begin to dissolve after their Home is robbed. Til pert in tha dark rated r. A therapy thriller m which Annabella Setoria is up to her eyeballs 111 Kinky clients shifty Shisuko and dead bodies. Alta on tha aafe9 circuit rated or All i want for Christmas. Rated ro-131 Captain Ron rated or Digg town Hei Raiser 3 hell on each pet Sema tary 2,  Man Mon Money twin peaks fire walk with me. Eddie Murphy Here in Boomerang tries to come Back with his performance in the distinguished gentleman. Chuck Vinch Stafl write Ron movies tha distinguished gentleman rated r k k a must see Worth your time a a passable entertainment a coming soon to a video outlet near you and you can wait a the theme of this Slick collaboration Between Eddie Murphy and Disney studios talk about apples and oranges is so startling so outlandish that its liable to freeze you in your tracks make your blood run cold and possibly even give you dizzy spells. Ready Here it is a lot of politicians Are corrupt cynical lecherous Crooks of you knew that already Murphy and company must have let their subscriptions to new Republic lapse because they treat this trite predictable tale of an unabashed con Man who manages to dupe his Way into Congress As if it were cutting Edge social commentary. Even casual followers of current events will quickly realize that this Story is too close to real life for the movie to work As the satire it was obviously intended to be. This is All the More surprising when you consider that the script was penned by a former Capitol Hill speechwriter Marty Kaplan. But he Sticks with the easy targets never managing to get beyond the surface vagaries of contemporary american politics and the result feels like a Turkey shoot with the Birds heavily sedated. Murphy is Thomas Jefferson Johnson a scam artist who happens to share his name with an incumbent Florida lawmaker played by James Garner. When that Jeff Johnson kicks the bucket while in the arms of his mistress Murphy a Johnson manages to get on the ballot and use the name recognition Factor to Elbow his Way into the Capitol Home of some of the biggest scams of All. Its a Given that no matter what kind of film he a in Murphy will manage to come up with at least a handful of comic gems. His talents manage to burst through the mundane proceedings every now and then As when he imitates a senior official of the a act on the phone holding Forth in the stentorian tones of Martin Luther King or. His acceptance speech is also a killer a its studded with every hoary cliche uttered and Nau Seum by campaigning politicians. A read my lips the people have  that kind of stuff. But Murphy is in a fairly tight straight jacket Here and he does no to have the Elbow room to really let it rip. He is not helped by the fact that much a of the humor is wrapped in the kind of esoteric Quot inside the balt Way Mancu Werings that rarely make a Dent in the consciousness of anyone living beyond a 20-mile radius of downtown Washington. It wants to say something about political gridlock. For example Murphy is stunned to learn that he will be awash in contributions no matter what his stance on the issues because one special interest or another will keep his coffers overflowing with Cash. Quot How could anything Ever get done Quot he asks a lobbyist who has taken Johnson under his Wing. A it does no to the lobbyist replies. Too Ohhi deep. The film is also Hurt by the moralizing of director Jonathan Lynn who showed such a Light touch with the consistently funny fish out of water comedy my Cousin Vinny. Murphy a character gets a major Case of conscience about Halfway through the movie after he gets involved with gorgeous and Good lobbyist Victoria Rowell and takes on the Case of a constituent who claims to have suffered cancer because of overhead Power lines. No kidding. Exploiting cancer for political jokes. This is far from Murphy a Best work. Its on the level of the Golden child arguably the most disappointing and misguided entry in his catalogue. In be said this before and ill say it again a Murphy s movies have become less engaging in inverse proportion to the increasing magnitude of his stardom. The films routinely considered to be his Best Are his Early ones and most of them share a common trait Strong established co stars to play the foils for his pointed wit. But in Murphy s More recent films that have featured him As the sole Headliner the barbs and one liners often feel like they re being fired into the Ether with no Chance of hitting Home. There is probably enough meat on this script to satiate truly devoted Murphy fans. But More impartial viewers Are Likely to see it As another in a growing string of to hummers from a gifted performer who seems Content to tread water and let his career float along on its Early laurels. The distinguished gentleman gels two stars. Page 12 a sunday december 20, 1902