Word: comic
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...existential anguish of last resorts. The play is fascinating even when its revelations are most appalling. Presented at off-Broadway's Hudson Guild Theater, Devour the Snow differs markedly from the spate of terminal situation dramas now in vogue in that it does not possess a moment of comic relief. Polsky means his play to be harrowing...
...been answered, unless it counts to discover that such questions can have no final answers. Plato's Symposium ends with a vision of Socrates standing fixed in thought from early dawn until noon, until sunset, until early dawn of the following day. The image may seem comic at first, but it be comes moving and finally majestic, even though nobody ever learns what Socrates was thinking. Plato gave the only explanation necessary. The unexamined life, he said, is not worth living. Meanwhile, back at the center, the talk flows on. For now, at least, the dialogue is sufficiently rich...
...joking in Love at First Bite that one could have done without. It is intended to prove that nothing is sacred to the film makers, but it just plays uncomfortably. There is also a flatness about Stan Dragoti's direction that prevents the film from realizing all its comic potential. But the performances (including that of Arte Johnson as Renfield, the count's bug-eating assistant) are uniformly jolly, the parody of the basic Dracula formula well observed and its social commentary deliciously off the wall. The production's genially tatty air enhances its anarchical mood...
...already having an impact on cable programming outside Columbus. In March, Warner began selling to cable operators nationwide 13 hours a day of children's programming, approved by Columbus viewers, under the general name Nickelodeon. Sample shows: Pinwheel for preschoolers, featuring puppets, mime and dance; Video Comic Books, showing pages of the Green Lantern and Space Ranger with dialogue balloons, voice-overs and sound effects; and America Goes Bananaz for teenagers, a mix of zany comedy and rap sessions about drugs, birth control, sibling rivalry...
...characters declare their problems bluntly to each other, instead of living them out or summing them up in an act. Bergman's characters can get away with stating their naked feelings because he elevates their conversations from daily life. When Allen uses these declarations to comic effect they work, but as serious character-building they don't. Diane Keaton's character--a pushy writer, neurotic like everyone else in the movie--declares, 'I come from Philadelphia, and I believe in God!" and Allen has scored both a laugh and and illumination of her character. She blurts, "I'm beautiful...