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PAGE 16 â€"â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 20, 1982 ©46 AIANTIO YyAO2MOIW 3 MikOnan Having taken a foothold among the various Oktoberfest events, the Great Barrel Race sponsored by Waterioo Jaycees and Labatts was once again a most popular item on Uptown Waterloo King St. Saturday. Above, Mark (Whitey) Lobsinger and Dennis Dosman of Kent Hotel had a little trouble getting momentum up for their second heat. At left, B&W Boilers celebrate after winning their second heat while at bottom Janet Micak (left) and Cathy Stroh of Kent Barrel Beauties exhort their mates to get it in gear. Rick Campbell photos Victor Stanton Chronicle Special For many people, My Favorite Year may well turn out to be, for the best of reasons, their favorite movie of the current year. MOVIE REVIEW Certainly, it‘s deâ€" lightful comedy fare of a sort seldom seen on the screen these days â€" a rich blend of mature humor, likeably eccenâ€" tric characters and a satisfyingly involving madcap plot. Several similar movâ€" ies, primarily from the late 1930s, have been labelled as *"*screwâ€" ball" or ‘"crazy‘‘ comeâ€" dies â€" including such classics as Bringing Up Baby and You Can‘t Take It With You â€" and My Favorite Year stands on a par with the best of them. It‘s a picture about television, the way it was in the early ‘50s. The particular year of the title is 1954, and the person doing the reâ€" membering was at that time a fledgling writer for a live TV comedy show called The Comeâ€" dy Cavalcade. The main plot has to do with an episode of the show that is to guest star a famous Hollywood actor, celeâ€" brated equally for his swashbuckling roles onâ€"screen and his alcoâ€" holic and womanizing binges offâ€"screen. It becomes the young Peter O‘Toole, as hardâ€"living movie idol Alan Swann arrives at his Waildorf Hotel suite and is "helped‘‘ to his quarters in the movie ‘‘My Favorite Year‘‘. Favorite year may just be favorite movie writer‘s task to ensure that the actor stays sober and available for the telecast. Winding in and around the main plot are several subâ€"plots, one involving. the show‘s host in a danâ€" gerous feud with a Jimmy Hoffaâ€"type union boss and another highlighting a developâ€" ing romance between the young writer and a producer‘s executive assistant. Screenwriters Norâ€" man Steinberg and Dennis Palumbo deftly and amusingly tie toâ€" gether these diverse elements while always managing to maintain an acceptable balance between credibility and wackiness. If the script itself abounds in warmth, charm and ‘wit, direcâ€" tor Richard Benjamin infuses the onâ€"screen production with an equal abundance of vigor and imagination. Benjamin, formerly better known as an actor, demonstrates a great deal of flair and competence in hanâ€" dling both the producâ€" tion and performance aspects involved in movieâ€"making, all the while keeping his directorial presence unobtrusive. The contribution of production, set and costume designers, and the many other behindâ€" theâ€"scenes craftspeople responsible for the overâ€"all look of the picâ€" ture, are major to the enjoyment one feels in watching My Favorite Year. The recreation of the ‘50s is richly deâ€" tailed, but at the same time isn‘t allowed to become distracting. The flavor of the period is thorough but always supplemental to the story. Ultimately, of course, it is the perâ€" formers who endear this movie to its audiâ€" ences. In one of the showiest movie roles of the year, Peter O‘Toole is superâ€" lative as the actor Alan Swann, an Errol Flynnâ€" like characterization that also might be looked upon as a rather astute bit of typeâ€"castâ€" ing. There is no denyâ€" ing, ho wever, O‘Toole‘s mastery of comic timing and sense of benign exaggeraâ€" tion. It‘s a perforâ€" mance that could well bring the flamboyant actor his seventh Acaâ€" demy Award nominaâ€" tion. [ Truly one of 1982‘s movieâ€"going highâ€" lights, My Favorite Year is an excellent bet for pure entertainment appealing to audiences of diverse ages and tastes. _ .