Word: villainizing
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...turns in the plot occur with mechanical regularity and at dizzying speed. The cheapening effect they produce is heightened by tired cliches--false hair which falls off, embarrassing its owner; the villain's stupid bodyguard who is anxious for bloody 'action': the blonde who turns out to be not so very dumb. And neither the direction nor the performance adds anything to make these standard gags more palatable...
...imperious, imperialist villain who is thrusting upon the peace-loving West Europeans weapons that they neither want nor need. It is one of the many ironies of the whole episode that it was the West Europeans who originally asked for a NATO buildup, and that the U.S. agreed to proceed with the deployment program despite strong misgivings about its military and political rationale...
AIDS may be the villain...
...pure villain is on display in Doctor De Soto (Farrar, Straus & Giroux; $11.95). William Steig is a septuagenarian whose stories seem to grow younger with every effort. In his newest book, he follows the adventures of an altruistic mouse dentist, Dr. De Soto, who accepts a highly dangerous and extremely toothy patient. The fox, acting timid, tries to outmouse Dr. De Soto. But the rodent soon outfoxes the patient by employing a bit of orthodontia. The heroics should reassure anyone due for a six-month checkup or a set of braces...
...affable visage. But it is quickly dispelled with the German equivalent of a verbal shrug: "Naja," says Prey, and gloomy Faust retreats. He seems constitutionally incapable of becoming too morose. After all, when pressed, he admits that one role he would really like to sing is neither a villain nor a victim but the dashing hero of Lehar's The Merry Widow: Count Danilo, the high-spirited habitue of Maxim...