Page Six Duquesne University DUKE Friday, March 26. 1971

Frick Fractures "Follies" Fans For 33rd Year FOOTLIGHTS by Larry Neft ^ g^fO^OO^^PVAS The back bending antics of Mr. Though he changes his act from continue to perform for years to ^ .^FOOTNOTES Frick, Swiss skating star, high­ year to year, 58 year old Mr. come. light the 1971 edition ' of Ship- Frick always Includes the stunts Mr. Frick enjoys travelling, but stads and Johnstons Ice Follies. that have made him famous. finds the constant packing some­ by John Borden Mr. Frick, whose real name is These Include, the Spread Eagle, times too much to take. As a Backbends, and skating on short "Little Murders" deserves a lot of praise a lot of criticism, and a Werner Groetoli, is currently cele­ member of the Ice Follies he lot of laughs, and it's sure to get all three from its audiences. brating his 33rd year with the ice skis. travels all over the country put­ extravaganza, and will shortly Satirical cartoonist , who adapted "Murders" from Mr. Frick becomes totally in­ ting on close to 400 perform­ its unsuccessful Broadway run, has as his thesis the idea that modern amass 13,000 performances with volved in his skating, and con­ ances a year. the ice show. ^____^______^^_^___ urban living has become so tense, tinually strives for perfection in The skater enjoys working with so frustrating, so complicated, After coming to this country In his act. He compares himself to Peggy Flemirg and respects her temporary for a sound that is that one day, he thinks, we'll soon In 1938, from hU native Switzer­ a "boxer" in that he must get in ikating ability, and is truly awed degenerate into sadistic little land, Oroebll and fellow country­ the proper frame of mind before by the style, skill, and grace in pleasing to all. a performance paranoids, each one sniping at man Hansruedl Mauch Joined the which she employs" while skat­ The 71 edition of the Ice Follies, the other. Follies under the names of Frick He feels the major problem of ing. employing 85 performers, numer­ Sadly, the movie disappoints at and Frack. They were Immedi­ skating every night Is going stale. This years edition of the Ice the end, because the author's mes­ ately heralded as one of the top To combat this Mr. Frick at­ Follies Is billed as the New Ice ous technical crews, and rumored to have cost close to one million sage, if he had one in the first skating teams In the world. After tempts to get Involved totally Age. It foUows the Follies tradi­ place, gets jumbled and confused Frack retired In 1967, Mr. Frick with his performance. In this tion of graceful skating and elab­ dollars to produce, is truly one of In. the last reel. Nevertheless, continued to entertain capacity way he feels that along with the orate costumes. The music this l h e marvelous extravaganzas Felffer's wonderful dialogue, crowds throughout the country. enjoyment skating brings, he can year combines rock with con- that should be seen by all. dialogue, plus some great comedy bits by Alan Arkln and , make It a funny Aim well worth seeing. Feiffer has said that avoid­ ance of dealing with one's prob­ lems is a big concern of his, so ncturally the film's hero, played by coproduced Gould, is an un­ feeling slob named Alfred. He's a shiftless, uncaring "apathist" who makes his living by photo­ graphing dog excrement for Har­ per's Bazaar. Into his life comes Patsy New- The CPA: he's quist (Marcia Rodd), a girl with the power of positive thinking who boasts that she has "re­ formed" five homosexuals. Since she specializes in charity cases, she now wants to "mold" Alfred where its at. into her kind of man. To help him get his head straight, Patsy sends him with a questionnaire ("Was I breast-fed or bottle-fed?" off to his parents, When there's a tough business deci­ who haven't laid eyes on him for sion to be made, the Certified Public years, and consequently over-in- tc-llectualize his psyche to the Accountant is a man everybody wants limit. to have around. Patsy's parents are even leas His advice often makes the differ­ help. Her folks make the Addama Family look like Oxzle and Har­ ence between success or failure. riet: Dad () Is He's a key man in developing and » gun nut and has an Odelpus on his daughter; Mom (Elizabeth interpreting economic data. Wilson) is an obnoxious platitude- And in every type of enterprise. dropper; and son Kenny (John Korkea) Is a Michael Pollard type You name it: television, steel, oil, fruit who runs off one day with government, hospitals, aerospace. his sister's wardrobe. Throughout the film, lights What qualities should a CPA have? dim, bombs rumble in the dis­ He should be able to think creatively, tance, and Patsy keeps getting analyze problems, and come up with the Breather, a wheezing moles­ imaginative solutions. And he should ter, on the telephone. Everybody is going bananas: Lou Jacob! be the kind of man that people can plays a ranting judge, and direc­ put their confidence in. tor is hilarious as a hypertense police detective with A CPA might join an accounting 345 unsolved homicides on his firm and eventually become a partner. hands. It's all caricature, of course, and very broadly played Or he might open a practice for him­ by all. Donald Sutherland is an self and go it alone. Or he can work exception as the ultra-mod minis­ in almost any type of business he ter who marries Alfred and chooses. What other profession offers Patsy: his underplayed role is the high point of the film. so many choices? i , Go see it. The first part, in­ If you'd like to learn more about the work tended as satire, is often scream­ ingly funny, especially the dia­ of a CPA, clip this coupon and mail to: Dept. logue. Near the end, though, the PI 1, PICPA, 1100 Lewis Tower Bldg., Phila., film shows us that it really Pa. 19102 i doesn't know where "its head is at." Name:. The characters are too flat, like Felffer's cartoon characters, and Address:. with the possible exception of Alfred, we can't Identify or sym­ pathize with any of them, or with the world in the background. What's more, we don't see how Pennsylvania Institute of the characters are related to their Certified Public Accountants insane world. The flick attempts an apocalyptic ending, but only finishes with a duU thud. What the hell was Feiffer saying, any­ way?