Kids and adults fall for ‘Stuart’; Don’t bother with these

‘Freaks’

Cat steals the show from mouse in ‘Stuart Little 2’

When you think of Stuart Little, you think of the little white

mouse who is part of a family of humans, but doesn’t seem to belong.

That is definitely on the contrary in “Stuart Little 2.” The family,

including mom, dad, older brother and baby sister, always watch out

for the little mouse and encourage him to pursue his life, with

certain limitations.

Stuart (voiced by Michael J. Fox) plays soccer, drives a miniature

red convertible and does some other things. But it is with great

reluctance on the part of the parents. They fear for Stuart, mainly

because of his size. His mother (Geena Davis) is the most fearful for

him, and hardly ever lets him go anywhere without supervision. Stuart

recognizes this, and becomes determined to prove her wrong.

Stuart’s life changes when a little bird, named Margalow,

“accidentally” falls into his convertible. They become great friends,

or rather seemingly great friends. What Stuart doesn’t know is that

the bird is a con artist, plotting to rob people of their valuables.

After Margalow (voiced by Melanie Griffith) mysteriously leaves

with no sign of her whereabouts, Stuart decides to go on a

full-fledged search in an effort to find his new friend. What he

encounters is more than he bargained for. The rest of the story is

the adventure of his life.

In a way, I think that the cat, Snowbell (voiced by Nathan Lane),

stole the show. He was the only part of the movie that had any funny

remarks, which were mostly adult humor. In the theater I was in, many

of the kids had comments like “I don’t get it” or “I’m confused.” The

adults were getting all the laughs, and the kids just sat there,

puzzled.

It’s not to say that kids won’t enjoy the movie. They just won’t

think of it as a funny show.

I don’t think it was really that bad. What I mean is that it was

entertaining, but only to the point of the comedy. The kids will

enjoy it because they can easily relate to the title character, and

the adults will enjoy the lines from the cat. Comedy, along with

moral values, is the basis of the movie.

“Stuart Little 2” is rated PG for brief mild language.

* SARA SALAM will attend Corona del Mar High School as a freshman

in the fall.

‘Eight Legged Freaks’ is nothing to scream about

“Eight Legged Freaks,” an homage to the giant bug movies of the

1950s, is surprisingly unexceptional. When I set out for the matinee

showing of this flick, which I assumed was the best time to see a

movie that harkened back to the days of matinee marathons, I was sure

that I was either going to love this movie or hate it. I was wrong. I

left the theater with absolutely no feeling at all, which seems

impossible considering this is a movie about giant mutant spiders

that eat a town full of people.

The film stars David Arquette as Chris McCormack, a miner who has

returned to a small town after 10 years to run the mine that he

inherited from his father. Arquette, who is best known for kooky

characters like Deputy Dewey in “Scream” and the 1-800-COLLECT guy,

seems strangely subdued in this.

Kari Wuhrer stars as Sam Parker, the local sheriff and a single

mother. Wuhrer, who must have a thing for giant animal movies as her

last big part was in “Anaconda,” also disappointed me with a decent

performance. These may seem like odd criticisms, but bear with me.

This film was marketed as a modern remake of the cheesy B-movies

of the 1950s, with terrible special effects and even worse acting.

And oddly enough, that is what made them great. But “Eight Legged

Freaks” takes away those elements and all that is left is a mediocre

sci-fi flick. The only overacting is done by Doug E. Doug, who plays

a disc jockey who runs a radio station out of his trailer home.

Unfortunately, Doug is trying so hard, he often becomes tiresome.

And the worst part about the movie is how wonderful the special

effects are. The spiders actually look very real and never fail to

give the audience a startle, showing that the filmmakers completely

missed the point about why the audience likes these movies. These

movies are not about realism, they are meant to be corny. We are

supposed to laugh at giant rubber spiders and see the strings that

are making them move, not be mesmerized by how authentic they look.

Of course, this movie was made by the same people who killed

Godzilla, a task that could not be accomplished by American and

Japanese filmmakers for more than 40 years.

If you are in the mood for a mediocre movie about a town that

struggles to stop a bunch of spiders that have grown to the size of

Volkswagens because of a toxic waste spill, go check out “Eight

Legged Freaks.” But if you have a hankering for some real American

cheese, your best bet is to go down to the local video store and scan

the shelves for something vintage.

“Eight Legged Freaks” is rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence, brief

sexuality and language.

* RYAN GILMORE s a Costa Mesa resident and a lover of cheesy

B-movies.