quite understandable. Allen spent much of the rest of the eighties pumping out fluffy romantic comedies, generally free of his running self- conscious commentary (unfortunately). All were enjoyable, with some (Zelig, Broadway Danny Rose) being better than others (A Midsummer’s Night Sex Comedy), but best of them all was The Purple Rose of Cairo, in which Mia Farrow is faced with the choice between reality and fan- tasy. She chooses reality and gets screwed.

His two anomalies of the eighties were Hannah and Her Sisters and the underrated Crimes and Misdemeanours, which combined the pessimistic drama of September et al with comedy. Crimes is a rather abrupt fusion of comedy and drama, but it works extraordinarily well and is one of Allen’s most profound state- ments.

In 1990 came Alice, a modern take on Alice in Wonderland, notable mostly for its all-star cast. In 92 came Shadows and Fog, a critical and financial flop.

Though the likes of Steve Martin, Rob Reiner and Cheers were making money off Allen’s

ost d

on

ents

style in the eighties, almost all his films lost money. Reflecting the public’s sometimes per- Verse interests, Husbands and Wives was Allen’s Most successful film in years. The film’s art- life parallels will probably lend it added reso- nance in the future, but Husbands and Wives is no leap forward. It’s tough to ignore the subtext When Allen refers to ‘‘kamikaze women’? who lake you down with them or how his heart knows no logic, but the links to his personal life distract from what Husbands and Wives is. The plot is typically secondary to the dia- logue, whichis intelligent, ifless thanrevelatory, but these romantic octagons are getting old. The film is also short on laughs, leaving us with an Unceasing barrage of neuroses, not the most Pleasant viewing experience. Shot in an odd, Possible mock-documentary style with lots Thead-rush inducing camera movements, the St scenes of Husbands and Wives, however, *lvey an eavesdropping intimacy and mo- ‘nts of almost embarrassing realism. And it’s Uperbly acted, as always. Allen’s career is now in very real jeop- {y, but Husbands and Wives reminds us of his “tinued vitality and progression, despite re- “ed ticket sakes. He’s one of the most influen- comedians of our time and his best films are Me of the best ever.@

Home Alone 2: Lost in New

York

by S. Livingstone ovies are not the only place in which small children with blond hair are inad vertently misplaced by their parents. I ow from first hand experience that parents lose their kids on a regular basis. I, of course, have a story to back up this sudden theory of mine and with that said I will now delve into the files of my adventure- filled childhood and share with you a moment of vacations gone by

(and awry)

During my childhood years, my family often took summer vacations to New Hampshire- particularly the White Mountains- to get back to nature and discover ourselves amidst the peace and quiet of the squirrel infested forests. On one of these getting-to-know-your-family excur- sions, we visited some sort of amusement park. I can still imagine it to be a Disney World wannabe covering acres upon acres of New Hampshire countryside, but with some reevaluation, I have come to the conclusion that the entire park would probably fit quite com- fortably into the Charlottetown Mall parking lot.

It was during this fun-filled visit that chaos struck my parent’s lives and complete anarchy overwhelmed the park. I, the small blond crea- tor of havoc, was completely unaware of all this. After all, Iknew where I was - I was sharing intelligent conversation with the ‘‘Old Woman in the Shoe’’ who was actually quite young. Wigs can be such deceitful disguises.

Now, of course, it took my parents a consid- erable amount of time to cometo the realization that they had lost their only son in a sea of small

children. They had simply assumed I was with the other couple travelling with us. Needless to say, thanks to their poor response time, I could have already been priced for the black market, but there is no need to force a guilt complex on the parental unit fifteen years after the mishap.

To end this captivating tale of my early years, I will tell you that they did eventually find me and a tear inducing reunion took place. I had no idea as to why all this sudden embrac- ing of various members was taking place. I never even knew I was lost.

Little Kevin MacAllister on the other hand . realized early on that he was lacking the ever present parental element the minute he stepped onto the tarmac in New York City. Again, the parents were somewhat late in their reaction time, so Kevin, without fear, takes advantage of both his free time and his Dad’s credit card to explore the most fascinating city in the world. He does, as expected, meet up again with the ‘Wet Bandits’’ from Home Alone (Pt.1) and the painful trip for these two societal discards continues. The torture may not beas continuous as in the prequel but it lends itself to even more bodily injury than before and in this film, that equates laughs.

Home Alone 2, although certainly not a startling departure from the original, is both lighthearted and creative. If you are looking for a film with which to recover from Christmas Break withdrawal, this may be the one. Don’t expect a commentary on society beyond the generosity of one homeless person because this is a John Hughes family flick, not a Martin Scorsese directed study on the clash of the pathetically poor and the epitome of upper middle class life.

Rating ***

"Holy shit!"

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