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PAGE 12 _- WAYERLOO CHROME. WEDNESDAY, JUNE to, tiNtt Laboring under the delusion that the mere sight of marijuana or cocaine on screen is hilarious, few scenes in Nice Dreams are without some visual allusion to these drugs and their effects. The level of slapstick humour in Nice Dreams is strictly juve- nile, but its Restricted rating in Ontario limits attendance only to Stacey Keach repeats the role of a narcotics detective he creat- ed in Up in Smoke, Evelyn Guerrero reprises her Donna role from Next Movie and Dr. Ti- mothy Leary appears as him- self. Cheech and Chong's own char acterizations are still little more than imitations of stereotype TOs "hippies". Somewhat surpris- ingly, they fail to exploit the potential comedy in their dope- peddling as "good-humor" men. There's no real plot line, just a string of loosely connected im- provised skits that usually lack timing in execution and any sort of verbal or visual climax. Any degree of comic originality - and it was minimal - that could be seen in Up in Smoke was already absent in Next Movie. As for Nice Dreams, it's all tedious repetition of predictable gags and forced - and frequently obnoxious - characterizations. This 'comedy's' not very funny In 1978, they starred in their first movie, Up In Smoke, essen- tially an extended version of their improvisational comedy routines, most of which had to do with dope-taking. a role he" repeats torrriiG', Dreams. _ Richard (Cheech) Marin, an American of Mexican heritage, and Edmonton native Thomas Chong, of Chinese and Scottish- Irish extraction, met in Van- couver in 1968, formed a comedy partnership two years later and during the '70s had a successful recording and touring career. Their next movie. simply called Cheech and Chong's Next Movie, saw Chang assume the role of the pair's screen director, Or, maybe, he was a genuine Cheech and Chong “fan". The other half dozen or so of us in the theatre watched the latest Cheech and Chong "comedy" in silence. Perhaps the lone laugher was recalling funny moments from the Three Stooges short or the Mr. Magoo cartoon that had preceded the feature attraction. Certainly, there's nothing in this picture to amuse or entertain general comedy-loving nudi- ences. It's strictly fan-fare, with its particular variety of low humor most appreciated ap- parently by those providing their own "highs". By Victor Stanton One person at the Saturday matinee of Mee Dreams laughed quite frequently. Burt Lancaster does a superb job as Lou, providing a strong central figure to arouse and hold the audience's interest through- out, a flawed but sympathetic character. In pivotal but less dominant roles, Robert Joy (Dave) and Hollis MacLaren (Chrissie) are completely convincing, Minor roles also are played with distinction, many by famil- iar performers from Canadian TV and films, among them Al Waxman of King of Kensington fame. Singer Robert Goulet makes a cameo appearance. Atlantic City is a very good movie that lacks only a certain scope or profundity that would have made it a great one. Susan Sarandon and Kate Reid, as Sally and Grace respectively, are equally persuasive in roles that are almost like young and older portraits of the same per- son. (Both actresses won Genies, with the third award going to the picture's art director.) The richness of this movie lies in the subtleties with which these characters have been written, directed and performed. Chief of these is Lou, a num- bers runner and former small- time hood; Sally, an oyster-bar waitress and aspiring casino dealer; Grace, a onetime beauty queen aspirant and mobster's widow; Dave, Sally's husband who had run off with her sister, and Chrissie, the sister, now pregnant and involved in a dan- gerous drug-dealing scheme with Dave. New York playwright John Guare's screenplay effectively meshes the character of the city itself with those of five persons whose lives for a time intersect there. The famous resort city, ttlmed amidst the contemporary demo- lition and reconstruction that is reshaping it into the East Coast version of Las Vegas, reflects both the faded elegance and the crass opportunism found among the human characters portrayed on the screen. those juveniles of 18 years and over. Directed by the celebrated French film-maker Louis Malle and set in the American city of the title, this is a movie about losers and dreamers. but it is neither depressingly downbeat nor falsely sentimental. Ananttc City .. - It's a rare movie these days that devotes itself to t study of characters who are totally be, lievable as real people. Alb-tic City, a Canadian. French co-production "which re- cently picked up three Genie (Canadian Jilnt) Awards, is just that “Not movie. Enjoying a llte of leisure. Thomas Chang and Richard Cheech Marin are waited on by three lovely ladies. The two star in Cheech and Chang's Nice Dreams. Jaycees to host B.C. theatre troupe E3 The unique open air theatre troupe from Armstrong, B.C. will present afternoon and evening shows to entertain all ages. Horseplay, the evening musical theatre presen- tation is a Caravan original. An unlikely outlaw, Grandma Mulvaney and her unlikely partners in crime, four singing and dancing horses take on local authorities, meatpackers, mysterious gov- ernment agents, htulti-national oil companies and old age in an action-packed show. Showtimes are 8 p.m.. July H. The K-W Jaycees will host the Caravan Stage Company, a horsedrawn theatre troupe during Canada Day celebrations July 1-5 at Waterloo Park. The afternoon carnival, Tobootenay, is full of tales of fantasy and romance. Story telling, wagon rides, forge displays, and a potpourri of strolling jugglers, tumblers, minstrels and clowns are some of the acts. It will be shown Sunday, July 5 at 2 p.m. Caravan will arrive in Kitchener-Waterloo via IN WA TERLOO PARK The K-W Jaycees are a non-profit young businessmen‘s community organization who present such annual events as the KW Santa Claus Parade, Oktoberfest Spielcasino, BF Good- rich Jaycee Tire Safety Campaign and other community projects. Highway 8 and King St., Tuesday, June 30. Reminiscent of turn-of-the-century touring thea- tre caravans, the troupe's fiveowagons will be pulled by Clydesdales with an escort of eight outriders. The shows are presented within the circle of wagons. Tickets are limited to 600 per evening show and 700 for the Sunday afternoon Tobootenay. They can be obtained by writing the K-W Jaycees, PO. Box 163. Kitchener, or visiting George Kadwell Records, Waterloo Square and Stanley Park Mall, The Wine Glass, 266 King St.W., Kitchener or Big Steel Man at Fairview Park Mall. Prices are $6 for adults and $4 for seniors and children under 16.