WrestlingDeacon

which SHANE MCMAHON was a part of in the early nineties. You can see him trying to collar Elizabeth at Wrestlemania VIII.

This is horrible news. I didn't even know he was ill. His music is genius in its hilarity. My favorite song is either I Whipped Batman's Ass or Suck a Cheetah's Dick.

I think USA showed It's Your Move briefely in the late '80's/ early '90's. I remember seeing some episodes and they played the funkiest crap on Saturday afternoons. I also remember Check It Out, which was Don Adams as the head of a grocery store. Double Trouble which was about these twin girls who lived with their single father, but eventually moved to New York to live with their aunt. Bustin' Loose, based on the movie and starring Jimmy Walker. There was also some other show I can't remember the name of, it was about a woman who was famous for some reason who moves back in with her family in a small town. There was also a show about a Mexican family trying to live like the rich and affluent, Sanchez of Bel-Aire maybe? I also remember the block of shows that TBS had on weekday afternoon. There was Down to Earth about a flapper who died and gets sent back to earth in modern times as the guardian angel for this family. She was their maid and the head of the family was Dick Sargent. There was also a show about a brother and sister who ran an ice cream store on the beach, I think it was called Rocky Rhodes or something like that. There was another show I can't remember the name of, but it was about a man and woman who were the anchors of this local sports program. The guy had a daughter and a sleazy friend.

I remember the Charmings. They were Snow White, Prince Charming, their two kids, one dwarf, the evil queen and her magic mirror. They got swept into the real modern world after a spell of the queen's went wrong. I loved that show, it was genuis. Anyone remember Hi, Honey I'm Home. It aired on ABC and Nick at Nite one summer. It was about a t.v. family from the fifties who were no longer in syndication anywhere and were relocated to a modern suberb. They had a remote they could use to go from color to black and white and a bunch of other old t.v. stars would show up to visit.

and a good electrocution helped bring THE UNDERTAKER back in the form of a lightening bolt after he was buried alive.

who was cold cocked by ABDULLAH THE BUTCHER with a shovel during a fally count anywhere match with Cactus Jack.

It wasn't Rosemary Clooney, it was Rose Marie of the Dick Van Dyke Show. It was called Hardball.

You won't believe me, but Nick and his brother are the cousins of a friend of mine. He got to meet and hug Jessica Simpson last Christmas.

Hard Time on Planet Earth: It starred Martin Kove as an alien warrior who was framed for a crime and setenced to probation on the backwards planet of earth. He had a robotic, flying eye thing that was his parole officer and they would go around helping people. The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage: Similar show. A guy flees the US when he's charged for insider trading and lives in a castle on a Carribean island. The castle is haunted by the ghost of pirate Black Jack Savage. He has to save 100 lives to be allowed to go to heaven and enlists the guy's help, named Barry Tarbarry, to aide him. There were these crazy monster things that would chase Savage and they would suck them up in vaccum cleaners. Raven: Raven was a karate guy who hung out with Lee Majors and they would kick ass while looking for the guys who killed Raven's parents or something like that. Half Nelson: Joe Pesci was a private detective who got special cases from Dean Martin Outlaws: A sheriff in the 1880's corners a group of outlaws in a canyon when a tornado comes out of nowhere. It sweeps them a hundred years into the future and they use the money from the bank robbery to buy a ranch and set up a detective agency. It starred Richard Roundtree, Charles Napier and Rod Taylor

Thanks for all the positive comments for my return to fantasy booking. I'll have to get around to reading some of the other new feds that have cropped up...but I probably won't. I'm lazy like that, although I have scanned Zack's stuff, because Zack is dreamy. HSW Rainbow Fun Hour for Saturday, September 6th 2003 Live from the Big Rock Candy Mountain Hosts: Jon Ian and the Deacon TODAY’S VOCABULARY WORD IS “SUCK” TAG TEAM MATCH The Really, Really New Midnight Express (Hypoglycemic Harry Smith and Ostentatious Orlando Jordan) vs Multi-Culture Pals (Leprechaun Larry and the Musical Rabbi). Match Background: This match is for the HSW World Tag titles. The Really, Really New Midnight Express have been HSW World Tag champions since 03 September 2003. The Match: The Musical Rabbi takes a right hand to the temple from Jordan. I bet those hurt more than Sgt. Slaughter's Noogies. Rabbi takes a vertical suplex, but pops right back up. Orlando Jordan scores with a crappy looking standing spinebuster. Could have been done a hell of a lot better though. Rabbi tags out to Leprechaun Larry. Leprechaun Larry hits Jordan. Larry walks into a drop toe hold. Larry receives some punishment by Orlando Jordan but with that horrid offense, we're the only ones truly being punished. Tag between Orlando Jordan and Harry Smith. The Really, Really New Midnight Express whip Larry into the ropes and hit a double back elbow. Super kick by Harry Smith. Vicious kick to the teeth from Harry Smith. Tag to Orlando Jordan. Leprechaun Larry is in big trouble...Double Goozle!! 1....2....3! The Really, Really New Midnight Express signal to each other...and they attack Multi-Culture Pals! After an swift brawl, Larry and Rabbi are left down in the ring. Winner: The Really, Really New Midnight Express My Opinion: Bad match which brought absolutely nothing to the table and was a waste of time. DUD. (At lest Dames made that match sound like it sucked before giving it a dud. The Multi-Culture Pals are a repackaged Politically Incorrect and, yes, I stole the name from “Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law.” Test marketing showed that children weren’t really into a drunken idiot and a tightfisted moneygrubber most already had that for parents. Poles showed that kids associated being Irish with leprechauns and being Jewish with bagels. We had a giant bagel suit, but The Miserly Jew refused to wear it, because Bob Backlund in his SpongeBob suit was giving him a creepy look. So, we just kind of threw darts at the Torah and came up with Musical Rabbi. He comes down to the ring dressed like a Hassidic Jew and playing a fiddle. I’m working on getting a mobile float with a roof he can stand on to take him to the ring. Post beat down, Harry Smith rips open a turnbuckle and eats the stuffing out of it like George Steele. Jordan stalks around trying to pick a fight and acting all cocky. I would say that’s more ornery then ostentatious, but at least it’s an O word.) Overall Rating: 44% Crowd Reaction: 44% Match Quality: 55% Now it’s time for everyone’s favorite new segment, Cooking with Gonzalez! Jolly Green Gonzalez is going to show the kids how they can make easy to prepare healthy snacks that will make their bodies strong in order to fight the liberal hordes. Gonzalez would like to introduce this week’s special guest, Chris Nowinski. Nowinski is going to show us how to prepare a staple of every child’s lunchbox. PCP? No, the sandwich. Nowinski comes onto the kitchen set and waves to the audience. “Let me show you how I, Chris Nowinski, make a sandwich. Hey, Lady Victoria, get your worthless hide in here and make me a sandwich.” Lady Victoria runs in and starts furiously making a sandwich. Gonzalez is a bit perplexed, “I thought you were going to show us how to make a sandwich.” Chris smirks, “This is how I do it at home. Making food is women’s work.” Victoria hands him the sandwich and he takes a bite. He spits it out in her face. “This is Hellman’s! Where’s the Miracle Whip you whore?” Don’t say whore, say “mommy’s sister Pam.” Nowinski throws down the sandwich and tells the children, “now I’m going to show you how to keep your pimp hand strong.” Nowinski starts beating up Victoria and Gonzalez stands in front of them to block the view. “Uh, sorry kids, that’s all the time we have for Cooking with Gonzalez this week. Maybe next week we can learn how to make that sandwich. Until then, why cream your pants when you can cream my corn.” Victoria cries and runaway. Nowinski gives chase. “Now spread your legs, I need my tangy zip!” Segment Rating: 68% FUCK STAN LEE RIP-OFF CHARACTERS SINGLES MATCH Arachniman vs The Unfathomable Slag. Match Background: Slag and Arachniman have been feuding recently. Neither has managed to get an in-ring victory in this feud. The Match: The Unfathomable Slag takes a butterfly suplex from Arachniman. Massive back suplex! The Unfathomable Slag got snapped in half, but not literally because that would just end the match now wouldn't it. Hooks the leg for a two count. The Unfathomable Slag reverses a hip toss. Arachniman receives some punishment by The Unfathomable Slag but with that horrid offense, we're the only ones truly being punished. The Unfathomable Slag with a badly-executed spinning neckbreaker on Arachniman. One more performed that badly and this match will end on a bad note, if you get my drift. Covers for a quick two count. Flapjack from Slag on Arachniman. Pin, but Arachniman is out just before the three count. Arachniman takes a vertical suplex, but pops right back up. Slag charges into the corner but EATS BOOT. Slag takes a quick lariat. Covers for a quick two count. Arachniman brings out a jumping powerbomb to nearly murder Slag in the ring! Pin, but Slag is out just before the three count. Slag gets caught with a short powerbomb from Arachniman. Arachniman gets up and gives a Belly to belly suplex to Arachniman. Slag backdrops Arachniman out of a piledriver attempt. That took a lot out of The Unfathomable Slag. The Unfathomable Slag strikes Arachniman with a hard blow. Flapjack from Slag on Arachniman. The Unfathomable Slag floors Arachniman near the ropes and makes the pin. Slag is using the ropes for leverage! The referee hasn't seen it: 1....2....3!! The Unfathomable Slag remains in the ring, celebrating the victory. Winner: The Unfathomable Slag My Opinion: DUD. I refuse to say any more about it. (What’s a short powerbomb? Is that like when Rey Mysterio does the move on you or what? I’m impressed that El Dandy could get Mideon up, but then again El Dandy seems like he goes for seconds at Silver King’s barbecues. As you’ve guessed by now, Elizabeth Borden has brainwashed the kids into liking the heels and hating the faces. Why do we hate Arachniman kids? “Because he hides his face from us!” And why does he do that? “He’s probably a Kennedy!” Post match the Unfathomable Slag bums a dictionary off of the Midnight Express so he can look up what he is exactly.) Overall Rating: 50% Crowd Reaction: 57% Match Quality: 54% Ahmed Johnson is shown walking through the back. He’s dressed like a color blind 50 Cent and has Band-Aids all over his face. He looks right into the camera and starts rapping as he keeps walking. “My name is Fat Rhymes and I’m here to say/ I love Fruity Pebbles in a major way. I’m kicking naked BUTT and smelling like a rose/ Busting on Karagias with his head in pantyhose. Right now I’m going to take on Barney/going upside his head like Sean Connery in Marnie. I’ll slice him like he slices meat/ Then eat him on bread with some pickled pig’s feet. Word to your foster mother!” You guys are damn lucky I didn’t bring in PN News. Segment Rating: 31% YOU CAN BEAT MY PRICES, BUT YOU CAN’T BEAT MY MEAT SINGLES MATCH Barney the Deli Worker vs Fat Rhymes. Match Background: None. The Match: Fat Rhymes punches away at Barney the Deli Worker only to get the tides turned quickly. Barney takes a weak kick. Weak slam from Rhymes sets Barney for something, but if it was as weak as that slam, then Barney has no worries. Barney takes a couple of weak clotheslines. Barney the Deli Worker elbows Fat Rhymes in the face to break a hammerlock. Weak bodyslam on Rhymes by Barney sets up a legdrop. Powerslam from Barney the Deli Worker on Rhymes. Covers for a quick two count. Fat Rhymes pulls a mule kick out of nowhere. Fat Rhymes hits a sloppy ass bulldog off the ropes. There's a two count on the pin. Fat Rhymes connects with a crappy looking standing spinebuster. Does everyone use that move these days? Cover, ONE...TWO...NO! I honestly thought that match was going to end right then and there. Barney flips out of a Fat Rhymes bodyslam attempt. Rhymes receives some punishment by Barney the Deli Worker but with that horrid offense, we're the only ones truly being punished. Rhymes backdrops Barney the Deli Worker out of a piledriver attempt. That took a lot out of Fat Rhymes. Fat Rhymes punches away at Barney the Deli Worker. Fat Rhymes moves in for the kill. Here it comes - Powerslam. 1....2...3, it's finished. The fight has started up again! Barney the Deli Worker attacks Rhymes, and they brawl all around ringside, then into the crowd! They eventually disappear backstage, still fighting. Winner: Fat Rhymes My Opinion: -*. Somehow, you actually took AWAY from any enjoyment I could have had watching this. (I would have been shocked if a match between Abdullah the Butcher and Ahmed Johnson didn’t get negative stars. Yes, Barney is Adbullah the Butcher. However, the name ‘Abdullah’ and the title of ‘butcher’ was considered not to be that kid friendly. So we went with the tamer deli worker. The name Barney was chosen through our test marketing of kids. The top two choices were “Barney” or “Mr. Senor Poopy Pants.” Trust me, you don’t want Adbullah the Butcher known as ‘poopy pants.’ Borden’s brainwashing isn’t quite working though. The kids can’t get behind a guy who’s man boob hang over the waistband of his pants. Actually, the reason they continued to brawl after the match was because Abdullah had a Ho-Ho stuck under his left tit and Ahmed was trying to get at it. One might be thinking that it should be ‘Phat Rhymes,’ but it’s Ahmed Johnson, trust me, Fat Rhymes is proper. ) Overall Rating: 36% Crowd Reaction: 25% Match Quality: 55% T’Pol is in the back talking to Terry Funk. He wants to tag with Jimmy Jack Spock tonight against Sandman and Kaos. T’Pol explains to him that she did the mind transference so Funk could retire and enjoy the sweet life out in the beautiful San Fernando Valley. Now, that he’s mind wiped, he’s not the man he used to be, but he wasn’t quite the man he used to be when he still was the man he used to be. Funk doesn’t want to retire, he wants to be helpful. Kaos walks by on his way to the ring and scoffs. “You’re more disgusting than The Unfathomable Slag wearing white after Labor Day.” Terry cries and T’Pol tells Kaos, “that’s big talk from a guy wearing a skirt.” “It’s not a skirt! It’s a…a…alternative choice garment.” “How is that less gay?” “Uh…I’ll have to get back to you on that.” Segment Rating: 69% Sandman and Kaos the Blue Fairy vs Jimmy Jack Spock and “Carless” Mark Jindrak. Match Background: Sandman and Spock have been feuding recently. Spock has yet to get an in-ring victory in this feud. Sandman is the reigning HSW World champion, and has been since 03 September 2003. The Match: Spock scoops and slams Sandman. What's the difference between a scoop slam and a body slam anyway? Bodyslam by Spock. There's a two count on the pin. Tag to Mark Jindrak. Spock \ Jindrak whip Sandman into the corner. Jimmy Jack Spock whips Mark Jindrak in for a hard clothesline to follow-up. Hooks the leg for a two count. Running knee lift from Mark Jindrak. Jindrak goes for a splash but Sandman puts the knees up. Sandman hits a stump piledriver on Mark Jindrak. Hooks the leg for a two count. Sandman tags out to Kaos the Blue Fairy. Super kick by Kaos the Blue Fairy. Hooks the leg! ONE...TWO...NO! Flying elbow from Kaos the Blue Fairy connects. Kaos the Blue Fairy gets taken down out of nowhere! Bodyslam by Jindrak. Tag between Mark Jindrak and Jimmy Jack Spock. Kaos is a glutton for punishment and just continues to take it during this match. Kaos tags out to Sandman. Bodyslam by Spock. Sandman climbs to the top rope, ready to leap at Spock. Kaos the Blue Fairy bounces off the ropes for an elbow drop without seeing his partner, and crotches Sandman by accident. Jimmy Jack Spock moves in for the kill. Here it comes – Kirk Jerk. 1....2...3, it's finished. Terry Funk comes running down the aisle with a chair, and gets into the ring! Funker misses Kaos with a chair shot! Kaos the Blue Fairy grabs the chair, and knocks Terry Funk to the canvas with it! Funker gets a taste of his own medicine! Winner: Spock and Jindrak My Opinion: I'll give a 1\2* rating because they were actually able to hit a couple of spots. (Yes, one of my top feuds is between a closet homosexual and a geriatric retard. Somewhere Vince McMahon is jizzing himself and writing that idea down. And is there a gayer way to lose a match than not seeing your partner going up top and bouncing off the ropes to make him crotch himself? Although, since Kaos did it, it seems appropriate. Kaos continues to beat the crap out of Funk so the rest of the guys kick back and watch with a nice, cold Fresca. Sandman prays for death every night.) Overall Rating: 58% Crowd Reaction: 68% Match Quality: 59% Jimmy Jack Spock waves down a peanut vendor to get a bag to go with his Fresca. He eats a handful and gives a funny face. Wait…these aren’t peanuts, these are Brazil nuts! Ha, loser! The peanut vendor cold cocks Spock with his tray and reveals himself to be HONKY TONK ORTON! He hits Spock with the Shake, Rattle and Orton and keeps Jindrak at bay with the promise of a ride to the Y so he can have somewhere to sleep tonight. Cool, Kaos loves going to the YMCA. Jindrak runs off screaming. The kids are pretty apathetic, as they don’t know who Orton is. They’re not too sure what ‘tonk’ is either, but Fat Rhymes told them that they were all honkies earlier, so he must be cool. Orton celebrates by doing the Hammer Dance. Go Honky! Go Honky! Go Honky! Stop! Honky Time! Segment Rating: 76% Overall Show Rating: 56% TV Rating: 1.48 Attendance: 408 kids who think Fat Rhymes needs mental help, they’re people, not crackers.

I don't have time now, but don't think I'll be able to come up with some truly underrated films when I get off of work tonight.

Before Crisis, DC was a multi-verse. The golden age heroes lived on one earth, the modern heroes another, the Shazam family another, etc. In the "main" DC universe a villain known as the Monitor showed up and began marshalling weapons and people for some strange reason. Eventually it was revealed that his brother the Anti-Monitor from an anti-matter dimension was destroying the mutli-verse one universe at a time. Monitor got together the best heroes from what universes he could and marshaled an attack on the Anti-Monitor. While the Anti-Monitor was defeated, only one universe remained, which is what DC is today more or less, with most heroes getting a reboot and histories rewritten. Several heroes died during Crisis, most notably Supergirl and Barry Allen. The Golden Age Superman was teleported to a pocket dimension by Lex Luthor's son from Earth 3, who was the key in beating the Anti-Monitor along with his Lois and Monitor's lackey Pariah. Crisis was done to streamline continuity and get DC into one self contained universe with a strict lineage of charcters. This occured in 1985 and a further streamlining took place some ten years later with Zero Hour.

who achieved greater fame in Japan as did JUNGLE JIM STEELE.

who dropped the WCW world title to RON SIMMONS.

well, that's a different guy, but still, and the original Lord Humongous was SID.

It's In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly. I just played it on my keyboard to verify.

I want to see researched proof of this phenomenon. I would also have to think that if a movie was good, the gross would go up do to the instant word of mouth. They also gloss over the fact that movies like the Hulk and Charlie's Angels did big business in their first weeks and suffered their huge drops the second weekend, like traditional word of mouth. This is so grasping at straws and illogical.

Friday the 13th the series got its name as they explained in the pilot, Jason's hockey mask and knife came from the store and were cursed relics that turned him into the monster he became. I actually really liked the show and remember a lot of the episodes. Nightmare Cafe really wasn't exactly as NoCalMike said, but he was on the right track. Englund played a mysterious restaurant owner named Blacky who took in two dead souls as his cook and waitress. The restaurant would then travel to a new city every week and they would help others with their problems through the powers of the restaurant. The t.v. could show the future and the doors could open anywhere on the past. Once the two souls helped enough people, they would be allow to enter the after life. It was kind of like a dark Highway to Heaven. I remember seeing ads for the Freddy series, but don't think I watched it.

who was managed in the AWA by PERCY PRINGLE (you want to make things more creative, start linking the exact gimmick. Meaning you can't use Paul Bearer, you have to link someone to him as Pringle.)

your syntax was off. They way it read, it sounded like you were saying it was both Jeter and Duvall's last role.

who jobbed out BROTHER LOVE at the last ppv.

Nope, born and bread in Lima, Ohio. He might have been billed as from Texas at one time, but he's never lived there. My friend's girlfriend is from Lima and knows him along with a lot of his family that lives there. Think about it, why would anyone purposely move to Lima, Ohio?

can I link both Duggan and McMichael? Sure, they both used a tackle from a three point stance for a finisher as did RON SIMMONS for a time.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I defintely agree that the strongest points of the movie are Newman's acting and the cinematography and lighting. You usually don't see a film with such confined sets with such brilliant camera work and epic cinematography. Definetly worth watching the movie for alone.

This is the first in what I hope to make a weekly series of articles on the boards (this is appearing both on TSM and new SNKT boards). The purpose of these articles is to promote serious discussion of not just the film I’m writing on in particular, but film in general. By examining specific films the hope is that we can have examples to explore film making techniques and popular culture by. This is not a straight review, it is an analysis. With that being said, yes there will be “spoilers” involved as I wish to discuss the film as a whole. It is also my hope that those who have not seen the film will be encouraged to not only see the movie, but ask questions and make comments regarding material in this analysis. For those who have seen the movie, the hope is that you will share some of your thoughts and feelings, even contradictory to my own, in order to promote discussion and greater examination of the film. While I thought of starting off with my favorite movie, The Searchers, I felt there might not be a lot of interest in a John Wayne western (although the film has been mentioned on the boards recently and I will do it at some point). So I decided to go with my second favorite film, which I hope is a little more accessible, The Color of Money. This is my first attempt at an in depth analysis of this nature, so I expect some growing pains and changes in style and format as the weeks go by. At this time, to make ideas a little more regimented and easier to sift through, I am going to divide this column into parts and look at certain elements of the film, one at a time. STORY Released in 1986, this is a sequel to the 1961 film The Hustler. In the original, Paul Newman played a pool shark by the name of “Fast Eddie” Felson who works the pool circuit well enough to finally combat the legend of all legends, Minnesota Fats (played by Jackie Gleason). Fifteen years later, Felson is a broken down boozehound who plays sugar daddy to local pool sharks. His eye catches a young kid by the name of Vincent (Tom Cruise) who has all the skill, but none of the smarts to make money as a hustler. Felson takes Vincent under his wing and sets off cross country with him and his girlfriend Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantinio) to work the billiard halls in order to pick up some money and experience leading to a big 9-ball tournament in Atlantic City. Felson finds that not only does Vincent not take direction well, but old feelings stirring in himself for the sport-nay, the art-of pool and the hustle. Vincent and Eddie eventually go their separate ways, but one knows that they are destined to BUTT heads in a showdown in Atlantic City. Martin Scorsese directs the movie and he actually took some flack from critics at the time for doing a sub-par job. I’ll address this later. The movie was nominated for four Oscars, including best art direction, best screenplay, best supporting actress for Mastrantonio and best actor for Newman, which he finally won after six previous nominations. SCRIPT The script is by my favorite screenwriter, Richard Price (Clockers, Ransom, the new Shaft). Price was nominated for an Oscar for his work here and deservedly so. This movie is the perfect example of Price’s work. His key assets are smart and specific dialogue, which really shines here. Every character speaks differently, but all with a unified feel of the “world” in which they inhabit. Phrases are turned in such a way that nearly every word out of Eddie’s mouth is quotable. The mantra of the movie is said by Eddie early on, “pool excellence is not about excellent pool.” It’s that type of simple logic that fills the movie and is the wit of Eddie’s wisdom. The scene where Eddie hustles Vincent in the restaurant is all in the writing. He bets Vincent that a guy talking to a girl at the bar will leave within thirty seconds, and he’s only off by a couple of seconds. He then bets Vincent that he can get the girl to leave with him within two minutes and he does with no problem. We then find out that Eddie knows the girl and knew that the man at the bar had a night job he had to get to. The con is revealed naturally through the conversation Eddie has with the girl and it really helps to demonstrate how smart and slick Eddie is. A lot of writers would have hammered that home with straight exposition, but all the information you need through out the film is right there between the lines of dialogue. Then later when Carmen figures out the con, it helps to show how much on par with Eddie she is. Then after that, we find that Vincent still hasn’t figured it out. The real battle isn’t Eddie trying to control Vincent, but between Eddie and Carmen trying to control Vincent, while he remains clueless. The fact that Vincent works in a toy store is simply genius. It says so much about the childlike naivety of his character. Yet, there is something endearing and sweet in Cruise’s performance and the way Vincent is written that makes him nearly likable. One then thinks that Vincent “grows up” at the end of the film, although you realize he’s just turned into a mean little kid. It’s a shallow and deep character at the same time, tricky to write, but tailor made for Cruise. The element I like most about Price’s writing is how he so nails the jargon of whatever subject he’s dealing with and makes that a way to not only construct the world of the film, but to advance themes. Eddie gives Vincent a cue and it’s not just any cue, it’s not a really nice or expensive cue, it’s a “Balabushka.” That name is all you need to know; it’s all in the specifics to give a feel of realism. It’s not who the “best guy” is, it’s who the “heaviest guy” is. Eddie tells Vincent to leave the Balabushka in the car and play with a house cue to help set the con. Little touches in slang and how things are done that set the world of the film and submerges you into pool hustling culture. My only problem with the script is that I would have like to have seen more time devoted to actual cons. “Two brothers and a stranger” is about the only con they’re seen running and while the film is more about the characters, I feel that some “Sting” like moments are missing to really flesh the world of pool hustling out. Although, as I said, the movie is not so much about pool as it is about Eddie getting back on his feet and the character interactions, which are top notch. ACTING It’s interesting to trace the character arc of Felson from The Hustler to The Color of Money, but I’m not going to concern myself with that here. The Color of Money is a stand alone movie and it’s been years since I’ve seen The Hustler all the way through. I would hate to make comparisons between the two movies and be wrong. Needless to say Newman’s characterization is so subtle that I could write twenty pages on just comparing the performances after watching the movies back to back. I would not call it his best performance (which lies between younger Newman in HUD and older Newman in The Verdict. I would also put his work in Nobody’s Fool and Cool Hand Luke above the one here), but is the performance for which he finally won the Oscar, a sympathy win or not. Newman underplays to a fantastic degree and conveys so much in body language and facial expression, even when you can’t see his eyes behind rose-colored glasses. Newman’s facial reactions when Vincent is trying to talk Julian into another game are priceless. One can see his amusement and the wheels in his mind turning. This is one of Cruise’s best performances as it plays up his natural qualities, namely being a smarmy dork who you know would be dangerous if he had a clue. Then at the end when he gets one, Cruise turns that twinkle in his eye and grin on his face to something almost scary. Cruise and Newman have nice chemistry between one another. Every film has a turning point and that chemistry really helps to set off the one here, which occurs where Eddie and Vincent are playing each other in the run down pool hall. The dialogue and direction are pitch perfect, but it’s how Newman and Cruise deliver their lines and play off of each other that clues one into the fact that the film is about ready to take a shift. Eddie is starting to get the old feeling for the game back, while Vincent’s natural cockiness and mean streak starts to creep through. The supporting performances are less noticeable, but still solid. Mastrantonio as Carmen is the perfect go between of Eddie and Vincent. She’s tough and smart, yet still a little gullible and ultimately her love for Vincent links her to him too tightly and dooms her in a new way from when she was jumping from guy to guy looking for the best deal. She’s got a nice ass too. Forest Whitaker has a brief, but memorable role as a hustler who hustles Eddie. He plays the whole sequence like he’s hopped up on coke and babbles on about random bullshit that at first seems odd, but it all plays into his con. John Turturro has a small role as a small time hustler who doesn’t realize just how small time he is. Helen Shaver is pretty much wasted as a love interest for Eddie and never has much to do. A lot of real pool players appear in the film to add a sense of authenticity, including Keith McCready as top money player Grady Seasons. As an actor, McCready is a good pool player. DIRECTION/CINEMATOGRAPHY The cinematography is smooth as silk with a real snap and flow to it. Early in the film there’s a shot of Vincent breaking a rack that zooms in slightly that has a seamless jump cut to a zoom on Eddie. It’s timed so tightly with the sound and motion of the break that the two shots have such a flow into each other. That’s just masterful workmanship. The film is constantly dark and smoky, but never dank and so black you can’t see the backgrounds. There are lesser directors who have no idea how to light just right to get that clarity of visual while still obtaining the right mood. A lot of critics at the time thought that Scorsese’s direction was a little flat, but I think it works well and is one of his most understated efforts. He knows he has a strong script and actors and lets them stand alone while doing the little technical things that allows both elements to shine. There are a lot of really nice tracking shots in the film that are used just in the right places to set off the action. There’s a parallel throughout the movie where you see the break and then on the next break, the shot stays or moves in on Eddie. A smart choice by Scorsese as Newman’s facial expressions help to set the situations nicely and it builds to the closing shot. When they’re running the Two Brothers and a Stranger con and the bartenders says, “do you want to go a thousand?” The scene freezes, the camera sweeps around, a helicopter and siren is heard in the background and it’s such a “gotcha!” moment beautifully punctuated by the choice in direction. It’s not only using the strengths of your actors, but good construction in how the film is set up. Scorsese breaks out the montage sequences in the middle of the film and it seems almost like a device to move the film along and keep it from running long. The first hour is pretty much just straight sequences and then the second hour is one montage of pool playing after another. They’re all shot great and work well within context, but taken as a whole with the movie the juxtaposition doesn’t sit quite well with me. I felt that maybe these sequences could have been threaded a little better into the narrative action and I do since the rhythm of the movie breaking up a bit once they reach the 9-ball tourney. The Atlantic City tournament oddly reminds me of the arm wrestling tournament in Over the Top in the way it’s shot and scenes are composed. That’s a compliment as those are the best scenes by far in that movie. You get such a feel for the players and atmosphere and it’s where the montages are most needed and probably edited the best. Scorsese does get a little too fancy for his own good in a couple spots, like when he uses the reflection of the eight ball to show Eddie deciding to throw in the towel. The climax might feel a bit abrupt on first viewing, but the movie teaches us that winning is not important and the journey is more important than the destination. It doesn’t matter if Eddie wins, it matters that he’s back. SOUNDTRACK The soundtrack is a great mix of classic rock and original pieces with a bluesy-rock flair. The credits are done to a slick tune composed by Robbie Robertson, which really helps to set the tone of the movie. The movie also includes “One More Night” by Phil Collins, “Two Strangers and a Friend” by Mark Knopler and “It’s in the Way that You Use It” by Eric Clapton. There is also the very memorable scene set to “Werewolves of London” when Vincent cleans house in a poolroom and kills the city for Eddie to hustle. It’s a great little set piece that is set off by such a quirky choice in music. I love how when the line “he’ll rip your lungs out, Jim,” comes up Cruise looks back at the man he’s playing with such a devilish gleam and the way he runs his hand through his locks on the “and his hair was perfect” line. The music is expertly used to set off quiet scenes and add punch to the pool games. The movie honestly has one of the best uses of a modern pop/rock soundtrack that I’ve ever seen. They just always find the right song for the right scene. THAT’S A WRAP I love the movie for its attitude and coolness more than anything. The whole movie is slickly made and shot with an air of dirty allure. It makes you want to not only shoot pool, but be a two bit hustler living on your wits. Newman’s performance grows on me more every time I see the flick as I pick up more little touches he puts into his performance while just weaving through the narrative with such a calm assurance. Cruise on the other hand can be grating and annoying in spots (I picked up several mannerisms and voice modulations that must be where Jimmy Fallon got his Tom Cruise impersonation), but the role is perfect for him and Scorsese and Newman both know how to keep him in check. The script is really the selling point for me, especially the dialogue. I would recommend any aspiring screenwriter to pick up the script for the film and just study the dialogue. It’s smart, specific, realistic and polished. I think the film might be a little too laid back for it’s own good, especially when you see the name of Newman, Cruise and Scorsese on the marquee. It’s a movie you have to watch several times and let grow on you while you take it all in and think parts through. It’s not a sledgehammer break, it’s a slow rolling cut in the side pocket.