the joke, unfortunately, is on us. Even though I expected little to no meat in this entree, I did hope for a sizeable helping of Cameron Diaz's comedic dazzle. She still manages to ignite her usual spark as the spunky party girl. Distinctly absent, though, are the laughs she so effortlessly generated in the wacky characters she portrayed in There's Something About Mary and In Her Shoes. It's not really her fault; the unleavened script Diaz is forced to work with here offers little more than insulting retorts of the kind most of us abandoned in junior high. Instead, we are left to marvel only at her gorgeous wardrobe.
Until now, I had never seen Ashton Kutcher in an actual film role, so I admit that I was curious to see if he had any real talent, or if he's just cute. It turns out he's just cute. Gratifyingly so, since there's little else in this movie to hold one's attention.
Culture
Our Picks for the Week of 5/15-5/22
David Barsamian
thursday 15
Wondering what's going on with public broadcasting? KPOV brings Barsamian, a well-known media critic to explain it to you. Learn more about him on the Culture page. 7pm Thursday, May 15. Bend Community Center, 1036 NE Fifth Street. $5.
Potty Talk: CTC delivers Urinetown in style
feeling flush at CTC’s urinetown. Dystopia, the opposite of utopia, is not an uncommon a sight in American drama. Think of plays such as Waiting for Godot and films such as Bladerunner. Think of the spectacle of the current Bush administration. Briefly. My point is, Americans conscious of the forces that have spawned such work would hardly expect a drama titled Urinetown: The Musical (UTM) to paint a vision of paradise. So, the fairest question that can be put to The Cascades Theatrical Company's current production of UTM (playing at the Tower Theater) is: "How well does it paint its particular vision of dystopia – given the expressive possibilities of the stage, as opposed to the screen, and of musical comedy, as opposed to, say, 'straight' drama?"
Urinetown: The Musical is a Tony-winning work that, according to
Wikipedia, "rejects musical theatre convention, parodying . . . shows
such as Les Misérables . . . and West Side Story." Pu-leez. UTM's book,
like "Les Mis's," pits have-nots against haves, and, like West Side
Story's, heightens dramatic conflict to the plane of life and death.
But when leads Bobby Strong (Ricky Johnson) and Hope Cladwell (Briana
Jayne Hinchliffe) harmonize unreservedly about "love," "peace" and
"tomorrow," what's "shattered," if anything, is the pretense that even
such a hoary convention as poor-boy-and-rich-girl-meet-and-fall-in-love
are interrogated, much less demolished, by UTM.
Postcards from the Edge: Supersize Me director goes global
Nope, not over there. From the beginning scene of a high-tech animated version of director Morgan Spurlock battling Osama Bin Laden to the ending credits of smiling head-shots set to Elvis Costello's "What's So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding?", this movie pummels humanity down our gullet. The message is poignant, the trip around the Middle East is entertaining, but Spurlock himself is distracting and irritating as the somewhat perplexed interviewer - teaching us nothing really new.
Believing the world will be a better place for his yet-to-be-born child, Spurlock sets out to find Bin Laden, or at least shed some light on his whereabouts. He leaves behind his pregnant wife, resulting in some unnecessary interludes of cuteness. Soon he's in the Middle East doing the-man-on-the-street shtick, coming off as a somewhat bewildered news journalist. For the most part, he seems at a loss for words and charisma. His monologue in the rubble of a recently blown-up classroom teeters on sheer ignorance - although entering this dangerous territory may qualify him as the bravest dweeb around. Even with his dopey monologues and annoying laugh, he manages to get a positive message across - that we're all in this together, aren't we?
A Change Of Heart: Iron Man a surprising success in superhero genre
Talk to the Hand. Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Planning his vengeance
that he will soon unfurl
– Iron Man, Black Sabbath
Like the Tin Man, Tony Stark needs a heart - both figuratively and literally. The genius son of a billionaire, who made his money creating weapons of mass destruction, Tony (Robert Downey, Jr., ) possesses a beating heart that pumps real blood - yet he lusts only for women, booze and more money. Only when he loses the function of his anatomical heart, requiring a battery-operated model, does he begin to feel love and loss. This double "change of heart," together with a James Bond-meets-Batman characterization of its superhero, makes Ironman the most stylish, entertaining and imagination-fueling film of the year so far.
Our Picks for the Week of 5/8-5/14
Riverfest
through sunday 11
It's the second, and last, weekend of Riverfest, so get out there and dig into the array of events still left on the tray. We suggest slapping on your volunteer hat and helping out with the Deschutes River Clean-Up on Saturday morning. Meet at the Les Schwab Amphitheater at 9am for a free breakfast, then go clean that river!
Flowmotion, Brent Alan and His Funky Friends
thursday 8
OK, so we gave this a pick last week, but we thought we'd give it yet another spot on the page this week because, well Flowmotion is just that friggin' good. The Seattle multi-genre rockers are on their way down to the Joshua Tree Music Festival, and are stopping off at the OSC to give Bend a taste (and a dance party) before coming back for 4 Peaks in July. 21 and over. 7pm. $12, $8/advance. Old Stone Church, 157 Franklin Ave.
Hop Heads: Bend’s inaugural COHO brewfest goes off with a bang
Tyler West, brewer at Silver Moon, fills out a score sheet. Now that’s what we call homework. You probably have an opinion about homebrew. You've likely tasted some funky brown stuff your neighbor made that one time, or that your college boyfriend tried to woo you with once shortly before you split. Or maybe you're still one of those who think this sort of thing happens in bathtubs in rural Missouri, or some other far away back wood.
But I have tasted the fruits of some damn fine homebrewers and am prepared to say that, in Bend at least, it isn't just for bathtubs anymore. And if you haven't been exposed to this "little weekend hobby" - which is how my husband put it so many hundreds of dollars ago - you're not likely to stay uninitiated in this town.
That's because homebrewing has officially grown up around here. The throngs of Central Oregon hop heads proved that two weeks ago with the first APA/BJCP certified homebrew competition in the region. That little bit of alphabet soup just means national homebrew organizations sanctioned the event and nationally certified judges helped run the show.
Tee It High Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
crush or be crushed. As a kid I remember my grandfather spending all day playing golf. I never understood why anybody would want to hit a little ball from hole to hole. But when the original PlayStation released Hot Shots Golf about 10 years ago, I gave it a swing, and it turned out to be great fun.
Hot Shots Golf is back in the console realm once again with Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds. With revamped single player content and improved online play, Out of Bounds brings the series' signature style to the PlayStation 3 quite well.
Did You Say Placenta or Polenta?: And other questions for your Baby Mama
Careful, they will suck your eyes out.Baby Mama is like a mini "Saturday Night Live" reunion, including a droll turn by Steve Martin at his best. The comedic lineup also stars former SNL head writer, turned mega star Tina Fey and current cast member Amy Poehler, playing off one another here as a 37-year-old wannabe mom and her foil, the trashy surrogate mother. The stand-in motherhood topic is always a hot one, as evidenced by its recent place on the cover of Newsweek magazine.
In the movie, Fey plays Kate, a single, successful businesswoman experiencing a sudden storm of maternal instincts. Since she is unable to conceive naturally, she resorts to using an agency for finding a surrogate mother to have her baby. As a well-meaning, type-A personality, she obsesses about everything to do with motherhood/babyhood, causing her to install over-the-top safety measures and devices in her home, while imposing strict dietary rules, creating some amusing consequences. Poehler plays the karaoke-crooning surrogate mother, Angie, who wolfs down Twinkies while constantly feuding with her dirtball boyfriend, Carl (excellently rendered by Dax Shepard). And although Angie takes a while to crank up the humor, by the time she arrives at the hospital, even her attendees can't keep straight faces.
Rolling out the Clichés: Deception isn’t all that deceiving
it’s not you wolverine, it’s me. The most deceptive thing about this cliché-ridden film is the fact that it's masquerading as a legit thriller, with the filmmakers expecting us to fall for even the most played-out film conventions. Deception? How about tricking people into paying to watch this bomb…that's deception.
From the get-go Wyatt (Hugh Jackman) and Jonathan (Ewan McGregor) relationship feels staged. The "chance" late-night get-to-know-you antics and smoking pot are laced with excessive laughter and scream "phony." People don’t laugh that much with people they have just met, even if they're smoking killer weed. It's just not in our DNA, sorry.

