The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

_ The structure of the screenplay is as old as the hills. The movie opens with a young producer on his way to Dixie‘s house to pick her up for the awards show. She refuses to appear on a stage with "that sonuvabitch Eddie Sparks,"" the producer coddles her, she lights a cigarette and pours herself a drink, and tells AS kid her whole life story. Thi formula â€" showbiz career reâ€" called before big award â€" has been used in Singin‘ in the Rain, All About Eve and hundreds of her, and they‘re off and running. Through thick and thin â€" North Africa, the Korean War, televiâ€" sion, McCarthyism, Vietnam â€" they fight and make up while the world applauds, and finally thereâ€" ‘s a big climax on a live TV awards show, where Dixie, ageless, and Eddie, 91 and looking like Little Big Man, kiss and make up. Bette Midier stars as Dixie Leonard, a girl singer who is plucked from semiâ€"obscurity at the outset of World War I! and given her big break: a USO tour of Europe with Eddie Sparks (James Caan), a songâ€"andâ€"dance man who‘s a famous star. Their first time on the stage together, Dixie steals the show, Eddie tries to fire For the Boys tells the endless story of a showbiz partnership that lasts 50 years, during about 35 of which the two partners are not speaking. That wouldn‘t be so bad if they had any chemistry when they ARE speaking, but this movie is cold and distant when it isn‘t contrived, and by the end not even the manufactured emoâ€" tions ring true. Nothing rings true in For The Boys «Stratford store reâ€"opens next April for the season 50% OFF auu cirt items and Balloon bouquets not included. CHOCOLATES. o73 20% OFF aunp sturreo Tovsm LARGE SELECTION Antique store fixtures for saleâ€"enquiries welcome. We‘re crosing our WateRtLoo stoRe Dec.31.* EVERYTHING IN STOCK MUST BE SOLD Stantings Weo., Dec. 18 a JA _of â€" ‘ -4&&' G”’f’l:n 30% OFF au cirt mems yit wl Balloon bouquets and chocolates not included. auro®/ Fri., Dec. 27, Boxing Day Sate seains. GOOD BUY BARGAINS One curiosity: Although Eddie Sparks is intended to be a superâ€" star on the level of Bob Hope or Bing Crosby, he never has a single moment in the film when he reveals the talent needed to be onstage at all. Even that first USO performance contains an enorâ€" mous oversight: We apparently see the entire show (Eddie‘s entrance, intro of Dixie, her first song, power failure, her second song by flashlight, big exit), but apart from the unscripted reparâ€" tee before her first song, AT NO What‘s curious about the flashâ€" backs in For the Boys is that most of them are angry or depressing, and yet the movie doesn‘t estabâ€" lish the dramatic credentials to be so somber. The first USO musical number is a success, with Bette trading risque repartee with Caan and then belting out a loud numâ€" ber and a ballad. But from then on, the purely enjoyable moments are few and far between. James Caan and Be&e Middler are USO entertainers whose relationship spans three wars and 50 years in For The Boys. other movies, almost always to greater effect. 49 King Street North, (Between Bridgeport Rd. and Erb St.) Waterloo Telephone: (519)884â€"0114 Hours: Tuesdayâ€"Friday 9:30â€"5:30 Saturdays: 10:00â€"5:00. BW ag. AY7 P N -’4?.40 uP EM sATCP t .:? 4uo Ll Ns ie Touring, Mountain, Racing, BMX l%’?’.'ifl% OFrF Eddie and Dixie grow famous for breaking up, most notably during a hit TV show in 1950, after Eddie fires his writer beâ€" cause he may be a communist sympathizer, and Dixie walks out. The two do not speak until the 1960s, when Eddie seduces Diâ€" Trust our knowledge. We know our products Christmas Gift Certificates Available Is this because all the big numbers were assigned to Midâ€" ler? | think the problem is deeper than that: The filmmakers never knew who Eddie or Dixie really were. That‘s why we don‘t know which side to take in the tortured subplot, involving Dixie‘s son, Danny, who Eddie loves as if he were his own. Eddie has a wife and three daughters of his own but does not love them at all, for reasons not cited other than the wife‘s . alcoholism . (established with one big backstage glass of booze, in a role limited to two dozen words). ALL 1991â€"92 INâ€"STOCK BIKES BICYCLE TRAINERS BIKES , Start 9999 _from &# uh Reg. 129.95 and up DOES EDDIE ACTUALLY PEeR. FORM. POINT DURING THE sHow @tnistmas Sate! 8| Oldlunqa.gl (King St.) Come For Great Christmas Ideas to . . . ROLLER BLADES é Starts 9995 U&P a BICYOLE COMPUTERS To 200/0 OFF BICYCLE HELMETS £29¢% Reg. 149.95 and up FREE LAYAWAY 2290 KING ST. EAST, KIT CHENEF? $ Mon.â€"Fri. 9â€"9 Sat. 9â€"5 Roger Ebert is an American film critic. ambition to deal with serious and depressing subject matter needs to go more deeply into its characâ€" ters, needs more dramatic subâ€" stance, instead of perfunctory arguments and snits, punctuated by unconvincing reunions, and all remembered by a bitter old woâ€" man. I guess maybe what it all comes down to is that | didn‘t like Eddie and Dixie separately or together, and when Bette Midier wasn‘t actually singing there was little in the movie to entertain me. A showbiz biopic is one thing (and Midler made a good one, The xie into a tour of Vietnam with the promise that she can see her son, now a military officer, on the battlefield. The outcome of that reunion is not happy, but certainâ€" ly nothing on the screen indicates why they then again stop speakâ€" ing for ANOTHER 25 years. WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY OFF SERVICE TO ALL MAKES Poliuting Vehicle Nn‘ Many more inâ€"store specials | Waterloo‘s| NETWORK! STRAWBERRIES & CREAM Open Daily 597 King St. N.. Waterloo STRAWBERRIES & CREAM PLUS BATTLE OF THE SEXES Sat., Dec. 21/91 Starting at 9 p.m. eas0N2 C Ling During this season of celebration and cheer, we‘d like to toast those of you who patronized us this year. / "Back This Week By Popular Demand" Dec. 16 to 21 Show Times: 12 30â€"5:00 9 30â€"12 30 Dec. 23 to 28 Held Over For 2nd Week The Dynamic Duo DECEMBER 18 1991 . PaCE B3 e n NO IOm Closed Dec. 24 â€" 6 p m Closed Dec. 25 Play the Dating Game with Play the Dating Game with The Dynamic Duo 746â€"5209