"Girl Interrupted"
3 out of 4 stars

'Girl' having some fun
By Kim Ayer - Staff Writer

The '60s were a storm of change and confusion. It only follows that those caught up in it would be confused as well. "Girl Interrupted" follows Susanna Kaysen (Ryder) through the two years that she spent in a mental institution trying to bring order to her life.

The movie begins with Susanna attempting suicide. Through flashbacks, we see that she has just graduated from high school and is the only person in her class not going on to college. She has a family that is more concerned with appearances than actual feelings, and she is sleeping with a married man twice her age.

To cope with her feelings, Susanna has interruptive visions of the past and beats her wrist against the wall. She ends up swallowing an entire bottle of aspirin to drive her visions away. After her suicide attempt, Susanna's parents send her to Claymoore, a mental institution, for a quick recovery.

Compared to her fellow patients, Susanna seems normal, although somewhat rebellious. Withdrawn and nervous at first, she eventually opens up to those around her. Among her new friends are a pathological liar, an anorexic, a bulimic, a lesbian and a sociopath named Lisa (Jolie).

Together, they use laughter and late-night visits to a bowling alley in the basement to cope with their illnesses. Lisa is the most destructive of the patients and ends up becoming Susanna's best friend. Lisa's mood swings are extreme and progress steadily as the movie unfolds.

"Girl Interrupted" deals with the serious subject of mental instability by juxtaposing light-hearted comedy with somber drama. The cast includes many of Hollywood's rising young stars. Jolie is striking in the role of Lisa. She is entertaining while in good humor, and equally captivating as a crazed sociopath toward the end of the film. Ryder is perfect as Susanna. She brings an innocence and realism to the reflective nature of her character.This is one of the few films to come out of Hollywood which succeeds in presenting strong, intelligent female characters who are not only completely believable, but who also cannot be squashed into cliched stereotypes.

Goldberg turns out a surprisingly well-balanced performance in the modest role of the nurse Valerie, who nudges Susanna through her journey. Jared Leto fans will be pleased to see him make a brief appearance as Susanna's love interest. My only complaint would be that some of the performances from the supporting cast were a little overdone.

Director James Mangold ("Copland") allows the characters to develop smoothly over this two hour and 40-minute film. A notable aspect of his direction is the smooth transition he makes between Susanna's daydreams. Using eye-line matches and connective sounds, Mangold effectively blurs the reality in Susanna's life.

"Girl Interrupted" is an incredibly touching film that forces us to think about the fine line between madness and sanity. When the movie is over, it is questionable whether Susanna needed to be in the institution at all. Many of the qualities that defined her as having a "borderline personality disorder" are things that are common to most people in society today. With an outstanding cast and excellent performances, it will most likely be one of the major Oscar contenders this year.

"Man on the Moon"
4 out of 4 stars

By Ryan Vooris - Contributing Writer

Andy Kaufman was a man who lived -- and died -- and was never understood. Fifteen years after Kaufman's death, Jim Carrey brings to life one of America's most entertaining and complex personalities.

Directed by Milos Forman ("Amadeus"), "Man on the Moon" follows Kaufman's life though his early stand-up gigs, to his role on the hit TV series "Taxi" and into the bizarre world of inter-gender wrestling, where he himself challenged and beat over 400 women. The film is also full of delightful cameos from some of today's biggest celebrities, including David Letterman, Lorne Michaels and Norm MacDonald.

The star of this movie is undoubtedly Carrey because he totally becomes Andy Kaufman. His recent win at the Golden Globes for best actor is well-deserved and it is likely just the beginning for Carrey's trophy case. Using mannerisms as simple as eyes that dance with confusion, Carrey shows us the workings of a man who never really wanted the audience to understand exactly what was going on. It is a truly haunting performance in a movie as original and inventive as Kaufman himself.