According to Sean Smith of Newsweek, AMC has reneged on its promise to show The Aristocrats, produced by Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller, and one of the most-talked about films at this year's CineVegas. AMC is afraid the film "would have very narrow appeal." The theater chain might have a point: The film features more than 100 comics telling the same filthy, expletive-laden joke, each with his or her own unique twists. And last year's AMC release of A Dirty Shame barely cleared $1 million in sales. On the other hand, it's hardly as if Penn has been hiding what the film is about, and it's been getting rave reviews, unlike Dirty Shame. At the Weekly, we're just glad Newsweek isn't reporting that prints of the movie are being flushed down toilets.
Whose Bread is Whiter? |
In a recent online poll by T-Mobile, the cell-phone company fronted by Catherine Zeta-Jones-Douglas (whose rump achieved immortal fame in Entrapment), the question was asked "Which Vegas act are you most excited to see?" The choices: Celine, Elton and Manilow. Patriotism won out, as Manilow edged out—yes, by a nose–the French-Canadian and Brit, 38 percent to 37 and 25.
LOCAL CD |
Josh O'Connor (3.5 stars)
Victorian
A powerful debut of pop-rock, considerably strengthened by the drumming talents of Anthony Parrulli of the Blue Man Group, the four-track EP is a foreshadow of an upcoming full-length album due in August. O'Connor's vocals mesh well with some creative composition. Available at www.joshoconnor.com as a download and CD.
South Coast Hotel & Casino By The Numbers |
80,000-square-foot exhibit hall
70,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space
4,400-seat equestrian arena
1,200 climate-controlled stables
660 climate-controlled guest rooms
The South Coast, at Las Vegas and Silverado Ranch boulevards, is due to open in 2006.
DVDs |
The Good Father (R) (3 stars)
$19.95
Long before Hannibal Lecter made "liver, fava beans and a nice Chianti" a gourmand punch line, Anthony Hopkins turned in this similar portrayal of an embittered divorcé. Tortured by the loss of custody of his son, Bill Hooper volunteers to help a friend being sued for divorce so the wife can move to Australia with their son and her lesbian lover. Also terrific are stars-to-be Jim Broadbent, Simon Callow, Miriam Margolyes and Joanne Whalley.
Scarecrow (R) (4 stars)
$19.97
Considering the talent on display in this 1973 buddy film, it's a mystery why it's taken so long to find a home on DVD. Gene Hackman and Al Pacino play a pair of drifters—one a merchant seaman, the other an ex-con—who dream of owning a state-of-the-art car wash in Pittsburgh. Don't ask. On the way, they wax philosophic, get into bar fights, seek redemption for past sins and chew lots of scenery.
Freaked (PG-13) (3 stars)
$19.98
Anyone whose idea of a good time is watching The Toxic Avenger will love this absurdly comprehensive two-disc edition of Freaked. The horror-comedy imagines a former child star so desperate for exposure that he agrees to front for a firm planning to dump a poisonous biochemical on unsuspecting South Americans. Bonus features include rehearsal and making-of footage, and the short film, Squeal of Death.