Wednesday, October 14, 1998
Insipid ‘Martini and Olive’ tastes of stale ’70s spoof
THEATER: Musical review dried up by incoherent story line,
reliance on hackneyed subject, flat acting
By Louise Chu
Daily Bruin Staff
Spoofing a bad show usually requires one minor detail: that your
show must be good.
As technical a detail as it may be, "Martini and Olive ‘On the
Rocks’" tends to overlook the stipulation for 90 minutes of bland
medleys and unexciting humor.
Like the recent movie "Night At The Roxbury," which extends the
"Saturday Night Live" (SNL) skit to full-length feature form,
"Martini and Olive" is much more entertaining as a five-minute
sketch. Wait a minute. It is a sketch … on "Saturday Night
Live."
The show is vaguely – um, extremely – similar to the recurring
SNL skit, featuring Steve and Eydie, the energetic, middle-aged
couple who entertains at local Bar Mitzvahs and weddings. With
Eydie at vocals and Steve at keyboard and harmony, the two perform
popular ditties with a special little twist.
In this production, Minnesotan lounge lizards Tony Martini
(Grant Richey) and Olive Heatherton (Judy Heneghan) team up as a
song-and-dance duo, reviving familiar songs of the ’70s. Part talk
show, part lounge act, part odd melodrama, the show jumps around
from segment to segment without transition or reason.
The show opens in a blinding dance number with the spunky pair
and their SwizzleStick Dancers. The group doesn’t shock the eye
with fabulous moves. If anything, the intentionally awkward
gestures are obnoxiously overshadowed by the gaudiest polyester
prints of the artistically misguided decade.
While the quintessential flashy garb coupled with ’70s standards
– including "Muskrat Love," "Shaft" and, who could forget "Shake
Your Booty," which seems to provide for a grand old time – it’s
been done.
The spoof is mildly entertaining for the first, oh, say, 10
minutes, but Heneghan plays like a Cheri Oteri (of SNL fame)
wannabe, and Richey’s chauvinistic character comes off as unlikable
and as laughless as his booty-wiggling dance moves. Neither has
much magnetic appeal (except, maybe, in their collection of
metallic accessories).
The show itself has little direction. After the opening dance
bit through a hearty barrage of disco tunes, Martini and Olive sit
to read fan mail and take questions from the audience. Suddenly,
the audience-interactive performance turns into a strange
observation of their relationship woes.
One question from the "audience" comes from Grenadine, Tony’s
stylist, whom he has hired as Olive’s understudy without her
approval or knowledge. After a tension-filled scene, Martini and
Olive dispense another rousing medley.
In the course of the show, they also somehow flash back to their
first encounter on a dating game show, in which Tony exudes
homosexual undertones beneath his misogynistic exterior.
If this description sounds confusing, then it has well reflected
the show. The plot jumps awkwardly from skit to skit, yet fools
itself into thinking it’s a flowing production.
"Martini and Olive" utilizes every played-out cliche imaginable
and compiles it all into an over-the-top spoof that deserves to be
spoofed itself. There are only so many times that "YMCA" can be
unleashed for a good laugh. And there are only so many times when a
reference to bean bag chairs and long hair will incite a nostalgic
guffaw from the audience.
The only salvation for the feeble act was Heneghan’s booming
vocals and genuine enthusiasm. At least in imitating SNL’s skits,
she caught some of Oteri’s pep and Ana Gasteyer’s (who plays
middle-aged Eydie) comedically talented vocals.
Perhaps if SNL had not popularized the corny couple and if Oteri
never made it big with her trademark energy, Martini and Olive
would thrive in the disco-glittered spotlight. Or maybe not.
Judy Heneghan (left) and Grant Richey star in "Martini and Olive
‘On the Rocks’", a 1970s comedic musical review Photo by Tom
Michlitsch
Grant Richey and Judy Heneghan play happy psychedlics.
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