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Bob Roberts

"Bob Roberts," a political movie released in the heat of a presidential election year, entices and entrances the viewer as it skewers the senatorial candidacy of its title character, a right-wing folksinger and fencing enthusiast. The film is done in the style of a British documentary, with Brian Murray playing the Alastair Cookeesque tweedy host Terry Manchester. The effect is to put the audience on the campaign trail and amidst the rabid, swarming, red-white-and-blue masses of Roberts fans. It's a tribute to idealistic caring and muckraking investigative reporting and a giant dis to Wall Street, greed and image control. Tim Robbins directs and stars.

Husbands and Wives

Woody Allen's latest film about two New York couples reevaluating their marital commitments is not what you would call a happy movie--the film has an edge of loneliness and desperation only heightened by Allen's real life domestic crisis. The most appealing aspect of the movie, surprisingly, is its "connection" with college audiences. Allen's seduction of his student is indispensible for those who always wanted to know the motivation behind all the encouragement we get from our instructors on writing assignments. In reality, though, how many women our age would be attracted to a 57-year-old Woody Allen look-a-like dressed in earth tones?

Mr. Saturday Night

In "Mr. Saturday Night" Billy Crystal portrays Buddy Young, a comic who has spent fifty years fighting his way to the middle. Young's story is presented in the form of flashbacks which reveal how Buddy is his own worst enemy, ruining his chances for success and alienating those close to him. The movie entertains by presenting Young's more obnoxious moments and leaves you believing in the goodness and brilliance of a fat, balding has-been.

Singles

The stars of Cameron Crowe's movie are nubile twentysomethings Bridget Fonda and Matt Dillon. The substance revolves around the relationship between these central players. Dillon sings in a band and Fonda runs a cafe that serves as the pack's home base and a focal point for the film, a la the Bensonhurst coffee shop in "Jungle Fever." "Singles" is an intelligent film that delivers an apolitical portrayal of contemporary urbanities. It does little by way of metaphysical beef that we might digest, but it does resolve that handsome, white, comfortable, post-college Seattlites can cultivate healthy heterosexual friendships both with and without fooling around.