32 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, August 11, 2000 Space Cowboys: summer sleeper full of fun Movie: Space Cowboys Starring: C lint Eastw ood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Gamer, Donald Sutherland and M arcia Gay Harden. Directed by: Clint Eastwood Rated: PG Playing at: AM C, Famous Players and Cineplex Odeon It's been done before - it could have been called The Good, The Bad and the Oldies - but it's a tried-and-true formula that still works. In this version, four over-the-hill air force test pilots are brought back from less than glorious retirem ents to save the day and the world. Frank Corvin, the former team leader (Eastwood) is a retiree, Hank Hawkins (Jones) is a stunt pilot/crop duster, Jerry O 'Neil (Sutherland) designs roller coasters and Tank Sullivan (Gam er) is a minister. They were once members o f the elite Team Daedalus and, as it turns out, they are f ` t i f ^ W't IfcgrMn » 4» f Christine & Brian Delaney Reel Views best lines as the nearsighted, dirty old man. Judging by the reaction of the sold-out crowd at the screening we were at, this is going to be a summer success. Chalk one up for the grey-haired set; it's nice to see the old guys finish first. Brian's view: Eastwood, Jones, Garner and Sutherland have still got it. This is a good, light summer movie, but it's understandable if you decide to wait for the video. I have never understood how it is possi ble for a machine as big as a space shuttle to fly in the first place, so for me seeing four old guys in space is just more fantasy. I found this movie to be a fun combina tion of science fiction and comedy mixed in with some spectacular shots o f space. NASA co-operated with the film ing apparently Brian is not the only one who cannot say no to Clint Eastwood - so I pre sume that the shots o f the astronaut train ing, the space shuttle and space were y the only ones in the whole world who can fix an ailing Russian satellite before it crashes to earth. I can suspend disbelief with the best of them - remember, I love James Bond - but this is a stretch even for me. The plot would have been easier to accept if it had been a Disney film with a talking monkey. But when Clint Eastwood looks into the camera with his slightly dull but still flinty look, I am ready to sign up. I enjoyed the movie in spite of a poor script and weak story-line, and I laughed at all the old guy jokes - Sutherland had the authentic. The four leads seemed to really enjoy working together and there was a natural feeling to their banter - something that can not be said of most of the script, which sounded like a B-movie. The beginning of the movie, which established the four amigos qualifications as test pilots and their marginally successful transition to civilians was slow, but the pace picked up once the story-line shifted to the training and the flight. I have always liked Gamer, and I feel he was underutilized in this movie. I appreciated a story-line and cast with the courage to look and act their age. L et's hear it for Grey Power. Christine's view: Even though the story line is weak, this is a nice piece of summer fluff with good acting, good humour and spectacular photography. To appreciate the space shots, see this one on one of the big screens. Last chance to see Shakespearean sum m er sensation The final curtain will come down at Coronation Park tomorrow night as the cast and crew present the sum m er's closing per formance o f Much Ado About Nothing, one of W illiam Shakespeare's best loved rom an tic comedies. John Jarvis and Gina W ilkinson, who played Berowne and Rosaline in last year's production Love's Labour' s Lost, returned this year as Benedick and Beatrice - two reluctant lovers who sustain a battle o f wits throughout this successful production. Along with Jarvis and W ilkinson, Oakville actor Brandon McGibbon, who played a variety of small roles in As You Like It (1997), returned as the young lord Claudio; and a new Oakville actor joined the earthen stage in the park by the lake. Kim Bubbs, a recent graduate of Ryerson's Theatre School, plays Margaret, an atten dant of Hero and the unwitting instrument o f an insidious plot against her mistress. Much Ado, which is performed in 1940s costumes, begins with Don Pedro, prince of Aragon, returning home from war with his comrades-in-arms, Claudio and Benedick and his "bastard brother" Don John. Romance blossoms between Claudio and Hero, the daughter of M essina's governor Leonato. However, Hero's cousin, Beatrice, prefers matching wits to courting and finds a willing partner in Benedick, a confirmed bachelor. Tickets for tonight's performance and Saturday's final presentation of this sum mer sensation in Coronation Park are $15 ($13 for Big Ticket members and $12 for Big Ticket Plus members), are available at the Oakville Centre box office at 130 Navy St., 815-2021, today from noon to 5 p.m., tomorrow between 2 and 5 p.m. and at the park prior to the performance. For information on the expected weather for either night, directions to the park, or instructions on how to exchange tickets pur chased for performances that were rained out, call the Festival of Classics' informa tion line at 815-5968. SALE `2199 CLEARANCE Solid W ood Louis Pttfippe Dining Room CoH edion ind. foble, 4 side choirs, 2 arm choiis Choice of choir &table style and finish. Great selection of Bedroom & Dining Room furniture. Manufacturers such os Durham Furniture b Sumrer Cobinets. 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