'Eight Heads' offers absurd black-comedy parody

There is funny, and then there is absurd. And when there appears a film starring Joe Pesci and David Spade about eight heads shoved into an oversized carry-on, absurdity reigns supreme.

REVIEW
	Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag At Showcase

The plot is a mix of slapstick parodies with interludes of a serious dilemma. Pesci is Tommy Spinelli, a mobster who has to deliver proof to Big Sep that the murders he ordered were carried out completely, and correctly, hence the eight heads.

Tommy has been through the old mob games before, and he just wants to retire. When he encounters the naive frat boy Charlie Pritchett (Andy Comeau) on an airplane en route to deliver the heads, he would just assume shoot the kid rather than make small talk with his little neighbor.

As Pesci's character discovers that he retrieved someone else's duffel bag, he has a new mission to find the other half of the mistake. Clues lead him to unknowingly calling Charlie's fraternity brothers in Baltimore, who could care less about their pal's whereabouts.

Once Tommy arrives at the house, the film gains momentum. The interactions between Tommy and the two medical school wise guys, Ernie and Steve (David Spade and Todd Louiso), are the best dialogues of the film.

While Tommy, Ernie and Steve bicker about revealing the truth, Charlie is off in Mexico trying to schmooze his girlfriend's parents. The film lacks substance in this location, and we would rather return to the camaraderie in Baltimore than be bored with Charlie and Laurie (Kristy Swanson) in Mexico.

When Charlie and Tommy finally make contact, it is only a matter of time before the plot comes to a single conclusion. After a while, however, the story goes in so many different directions that the humor and comedy that made the beginning worthwhile disappear. Random moments of amusement hardly maintain the momentum that began the film.

The film lacks consistency in its antics. While the facet of the plot with Pesci and the medical students maintains witty and creative dialogue, it makes Charlie and Laurie only seem like flaky additives to fill space.

While Pesci continues with his roles as the crabby over-worked mobster, he still can make us laugh with his attitude and irony. It is unfortunate, however, that the rest of the film does not move with the same personality, thus making the light-hearted mockery too obscure to appreciate. "Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag" pushes the limit on the parodies of a black comedy, and just crosses the line into the realm of the completely asinine.

04-22-97