Friday, April 14, 2000
Film Series imports incest for 
student delight
By Jason Haas
So and So Writer
 
Ladies and Gentlemen! The Wesleyan Film Series is proud to present "Incest Weekend!" Well, not exactly, and we certainly didn’t do it on purpose. The lowdown is though, that incest figures big in two of our weekend movies. I’m not telling which ones, so that I don’t ruin the movie for you, but if you like incest, these are some movies for you. Or even if you don’t like incest, these are also movies for you. For your edification we present, "Spanking the Monkey," "Chinatown," and "The Wedding Singer."

Did you see "Three Kings" when it came out at the beginning of last fall? If not, you are a bad person. You can redeem yourself however, by attending "Spanking the Monkey," in the Science Center (both are by genius director David O. Russell). Russell is the only good thing to come out of Amherst College. He led a full life of hanging out with Sandinistas and
exploring America before turning to film. In 1994 he rocked the indie world with this little surprise. As college students, we’ve all had bad summers at home. Ray (played by Jeremy
Davies) has a summer incomparable to anything any of us have ever faced. He has to take care of a manic-depressive mother and fend off his oppressive father. If you’re feeling weird about not having summer plans, at least it probably won’t be this bad...

"Chinatown" is also by a genius director, Roman Polanski. Despite having spent some time in exile for violating statutory rape laws, and despite having his wife murdered by the Manson gang, Polanski has had an extraordinarily successful career. Reviewers have panned his recent "The Ninth Gate," but I hold that it is one of the better films of the year thus far. To get back to the subject, "Chinatown features the always amazing Jack Nicholson trying to solve a mystery in LA. It seems someone is stealing the city’s water supply. The adventure leads him into all sorts of dark alleys and into the darkest recesses of the human heart. If you see one film series movies this weekend, make it this one.

Adam Sandler is an acquired taste.

"The Wedding Singer" is perhaps his most subtle comedy to date, but that’s not saying a lot. This homage to the music and styles of the 1980’s is a delightful romantic comedy that has Sandler’s eponymous wedding singer pining away for the winsome Drew Barrymore. Sure you know how its going to end, but did you know that Billy Idol is in it, showing just what a comic revelation he is?

Happy Viewing!