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PAGE 16 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE,. WEDNESDAY,. OCTOBER 26, 1983 The Big Chill could have been a great comedy but ultimately falls short when it attempts to go beneath the surface. All the ingredients are there. Director Lawrence Kasdan has assembled a first rate cast and receives some delightful performances in return. And the theme should be familiar to anyone who was ever part of that old college gang. You know. the days when it was cool to buck the system, when conservative and trendy were four letter words. But it is conservative and trendy that these University of Michigan alumnae have become, even though they are reluctant to admit it. When they are brought together for the funeral of a friend, it becomes evident that Alex‘s suicide may have represented an inability to make the transition from the late 60‘s to the present. His death is a kind of symbolic By Ross MacDonald Chronicle Special A music extravaganza of a slightly different kind will hit the Twin Cities Thursday, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. at Bingeman Park when the Board of Entertainment for the University of Waterloo Federation of students presentsâ€"Legends of Blues â€" Together for One Night Only. Among the famous names slated to appear are John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon, John Hammond and the Robert Cray Band. "It‘s one of the largest highâ€"calibre blues show (in this area) in the past 10 years," said BENT spokesman Gary Stewart. "As the name implies, it‘s a oneâ€"night only type of thing we have planned." Tickets for the blues spectacular are $9 for Feds students, and $10 for other, available at downtown record stores, the Federation office at UW, and at the door. Blues galore at Bingeman Park The Big Chill: Willie Dixon cornerstone as the others try to make some sense out of this seemingly irrational act and how it relates to their own lot in life. Our principals long for the way things were but at the same time, are reluctant to give up what they‘ve got. It may still be hip to pass a joint or someone‘s wife around and listen to Spencer Davis but such indulgences are secondary to the affluence that now exists. You would think that out of a group of college friends at least one would have stumbled by the wayside. Not in this bunch. There‘s a lawyer, a retail entrepre neur, a Magnumâ€"like TV. star and a writer for People magazine. No hard hats. just pure, middleâ€"ofâ€"theâ€"road Americana. These people may listen to Creedence Clearwater but Olivia singing Let‘s Get Cynical would be more appropriate. Not only are these people successful but they are all masters of the oneâ€"liner. Unfortunâ€" ately, their sarcasm is incongruous with @Wua OVIG Reviewwâ€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€" Some fine efforts but somehow the package doesn‘t ring true The ptot, centering around three horny roommates and their success (or lack of it) at tackling the Ultiâ€" mate Conquest, is s traightforw a rd enough. But in updatâ€" ing the comedy from 1960s London to 1980s Toronto, director Wilâ€" liam Chadwick seemed unsure of what to bring along and what to leave behind. How are we, for instance, to accept the fact that in 1980s Toronto, three hotâ€"toâ€" trot roommates would sit still long enough for two sessions of afterâ€" noon tea, or better still, would refer to the hall of their unkempt abode as a "passageway"? Fact is though, the UW drama department production had a very small wing to fly on in this update of Ann Jelâ€" licoe‘s 1961 comedy. and despite many willâ€" ing spirits, it never really did get off the ground. You wouldn‘t go to a football game and complain about physiâ€" cal contact, given the context of the sport. Au contraire, the often blatantlyâ€"sexist spicy dialogue is a high point and a necessary glue which bonded toâ€" gether a sketchyâ€"atâ€" best plot, even if the lines did evoke predictâ€" able catcalls from a good portion of the auâ€" dience. So it is hardly fair, then, to condemn the play The Knack, which closed out a fiveâ€"day run at UW Theatre of the Arts Saturday, for its rampant chauvinisâ€" tic slants. Rick Campbell Chronicle Staff The Knack grounded by sketchy plotline respect to the four wheel drive vehicles. ski vests and daily jogs that make up their lifestyle. Jeff Goldblum is especially witty as the frustrated journalist. Unlucky at love and bitter about trivial assignments, he mocks everything from the funeral itself to the colorful sneakers he is given. His dry sense of humour and awkward attempts at romantic involvement make this one of the more enjoyable performances of the year. Being one of Hollywood‘s most interestâ€" ing and unconventional actors, it would be only fitting that William Hurt is the soâ€"calléd outcast in the group. He is cynical about being cynical, having re mained faithful to his own mores but perhaps naive in his understanding of what drives the others. He eventually realizes, however, that if he can‘t beat the system he may as well join it. The other six actors provide a solid mixture of tragicomic characterizations Some good moments The three roomâ€" mates are of varying profile, and each actor deserves «credit for bringing that image to the surface. Bruce Beaton, in the role of artsyâ€"type Tom, carâ€" ried the first portion of the performance with his offâ€"theâ€"wall expresâ€" sionism. Robert Maâ€" cAuley as Colin, did an equally commendable job of filling his role a la Hermie from The Summer of ‘42. Ned Dickens (left background) Bruce Beaton and Robert MacAuley play up to Kriistina Valter in the UW Drama Department performance of The Knack last We@ek _ chronicie Special And Ned Dickens opened strongly ‘as Tolen, "Joe Stud" perâ€" sonified, the comedy‘s antiâ€"hero and fountain of sexist spew. Despite the fact Dickens raised Kriistina Valter as the naive Nancy, who stumbled across the lads while aimlessly searching for the YWCA, injected the mostâ€"enthusiasm of all into her role. Unfortunâ€" ately, it was also the most limiting in scope, and she came off like one of the "teeâ€"hee" Pigeon Sisters from Odd Couple fame, which wasted what the ire of the audience, he actually grew in character with the groans and fell only later in the perforâ€" mance when he develâ€" oped overplayed Marâ€" quis de Sade tendenâ€" cies. but the characters are really nothing more than the actors playing themselves. Tom Berenger is Tom Berenger, Mary Kay Place is Mary Kay Place and so on. When the characters converse, the spontameity of the dialogue is overly contrived as each one it seems has a quip to outdo the other. Not even Rickles, Newhart and Dangerfield could conjure up such rapidâ€"fire banter. While this is an often funny and generally entertaining look at nostalgia. the characters are simply too flawless And any attempt at realism is virtually nullified by making each one into a preppy Henny Youngman. When the Big Chill ventures to be something more than a lighthearted look at the frivolous nature of sentimentality, it fails. Perhaps Mr. Kasdan should have read Whatever Happened to the Class of 65. He might have realized that not everyone makes it. In overall scope, the comedy collapses in the latter stages. After a somewhat promising start, a disturbing frenzy dominated the menu at the expense of clever ‘dialogue when Nancy accused her wouldâ€"be suitors of takâ€" ing excessive liberties with her. It degeneratâ€" ed inteo a combination of ringâ€"aroundâ€"theâ€"rosy and roller derby and all the audience had to say was "oh." The principals inâ€" volved in this perforâ€" mance may have The Knack, but it is going to take additional roles to prove it. looks to be a promising talent.