We at the Weekly pride ourselves on being immune to even the most crass of marketing ploys and most offensive of promotional events, but even we balked at the thought of the D Cup Golf Tournament in Mesquite. Every Sunday through June 26 at Green Valley Ranch, women are encouraged to register as caddies. Those judged attractive enough can receive thousands of dollars in free plastic surgery, including gift certificates for facial peels, Botox and breast augmentations. Those chosen to participate in the tournament are eligible for even more free plastic surgery. While we are all for helping the less fortunate, do the pretty people of Vegas really need more excessive bodily reconstruction? And should they have to serve portly, balding golfers in order to get it? It's a rare Vegas event that is demeaning to women, plastic surgeons and the sport of golf all at the same time.
Judging Books by Their Covers |
True Believer
By Nicholas Sparks, $24.95
One man refuses to let go of his dream of owning a big, tall, pulsing lighthouse while insisting he's not compensating for anything at all.
The Mermaid Chair
By Sue Monk Kidd, $24.95
Oddly shaped, greasy and covered in sloughed-off scales, but we found $1.23 in change in between the cushions.
Star Wars, Episode III—Revenge of the Sith
By Matthew Woodring Stover, $25.95
Yoda and Obi Wan live, the princess has twins and Anakin turns evil. But you knew all that already.
DVDs |
The Merchant of Venice (R) (4 stars)
$26.95
If ever a movie suffered from being rushed into release for awards consideration, it was this intriguing adaptation. Pushed into a handful of theaters just before New Year's Eve, Shakespeare's most problematic comedy was probably the last thing anyone wanted to see during the holiday season. Although the play remains burdened by the weight of anti-Semitism, Michael Radford's close attention to period detail and historical context encourages viewers to see it through Shakespeare's eyes. And Venice is always a wonderful place to visit.
Monster Garage: Seasons 1 and 2 (NR) (3 stars)
American Chopper: Seasons 1 and 2 (NR) (3 stars)
Motorcycle Mania 3: Jesse James Rides Again (NR) (3 stars)
$29.96; $29.96; $14.94
Who knew? All the Discovery Channel had to do to make viewers tune in for reasons other that Shark Week was to appeal to the grease monkey hidden deep inside all of us. Somehow, these testosterone-heavy series became huge hits for the innovative cable network, and their protagonists even started showing up on late-night talk shows, dressed as if they'd just jumped off their hogs. The series now have been bundled for the DVD audience, and really are quite enjoyable.
X: Live In Los Angeles (NR) (4 stars)
$19.98
Rock critics love to use the word "seminal" to describe any band that's found a way to merge one or more key elements of pop music into another form, and in doing so, create something new and exciting for everyone. In the late '70s, X blended punk, rockabilly, alt-country and garage rock into something wonderfully unique. This terrific DVD from Shout Factory, and a companion CD of the same name, were recorded last year, at a concert commemorating the 25th anniversary of the landmark album, Los Angeles. Watch it with this, a 1986 documentary about how difficult it was for this important band, and others like it, to gain access to the public airwaves.
Centennial Celebrations We'd Like to See |
1 Parade down the Strip featuring the casts of all of the topless shows.
2 Open house at the Mormon Temple with free juice and white bread.
3 Orchestrated slot-machine jangling to the tune of "You're a Grand Old Flag."
4 Oscar Goodman doing a high-dive in Le Rêve into a giant martini glass.
5 Giant balloon of Carpy, the new Lake Mead mascot, in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.