'PRANCER' TREADS OLD GROUND.Byline: DAVID David, in the Bible David, d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure. KRONKE TV Critic ``Prancer prance v. pranced, pranc·ing, pranc·es v.intr. 1. a. To spring forward on the hind legs. Used of a horse. b. Returns'' is as obvious and predictable as its title, not that the 1989 theatrical release was brimming with anarchic ideas. In both, a reindeer appears to a troubled child in the woods outside the small town of Three Oaks; the child, believing the reindeer belongs to Santa, befriends it against the town's prevailing conventional wisdom and is ultimately celebrated as a hero with convictions and unwavering faith. Alison, my 8-year-old stepdaughter step·daugh·ter n. A spouse's daughter by a previous union. stepdaughter Noun a daughter of one's husband or wife by an earlier relationship Noun 1. , watched the film enrapt en·rapt adj. Filled with delight; enraptured. , squealing squeal v. squealed, squeal·ing, squeals v.intr. 1. To give forth a loud shrill cry or sound. 2. Slang To turn informer; betray an accomplice or secret. v.tr. with dismay or delight in all the right places; my 11-year-old quickly grew bored with it and found doing her homework a preferable alternative. Your own reaction will probably fall somewhere in between. As the film opens, you may feel you're watching the Downer down·er n. A depressant or sedative drug, such as a barbiturate or tranquilizer. Channel: Charlie (Gavin Fink) must contend with a miserable home life - his mother Denise (Stacy Edwards, in a role considerably softer than ``In the Company of Men'') and father have split up, and his brother Ryan (Robert Clark) is cruelly indifferent. School's not much better, what with the bullies and the buffoonishly evil principal Mr. Klock (Michael O'Keefe) - who is trying to date Charlie's mom. Fortunately, pickin's are better in town: Handyman Tom (John Corbett of ``Northern Exposure'') befriends Charlie and, it turns out, knew Denise in high school. After they meet, Alison noted, ``When people stutter stut·ter n. A phonatory or articulatory disorder characterized by difficult enunciation of words with frequent halting and repetition of the initial consonant or syllable. v. To utter with spasmodic repetition or prolongation of sounds. like that, that means they love each other.'' Charlie comes upon a baby deer near another lying dead in the woods, and comes to the only possible conclusion: This is the son of the original, late Prancer. Very mild humor comes from him hiding the animal in his home: He feeds him junk food junk food n. Any of various prepackaged snack foods high in calories but low in nutritional value. junk food and the deer lathers up in the bathtub, while Mom's blithers by, oblivious. Alison declared, ``If something was weird in my house, I'd find out what it was.'' Soon, ``Prancer Returns'' - which debuts today both on video and on the USA Network - veers into ``Lassie'' territory, with the animal rescuing Charlie but being earmarked for death by the wretched Mr. Klock. Jack Palance has a bit part as a grumpy old farmer who helps Charlie and Prancer prevail. Greg Taylor, who wrote the first ``Prancer,'' earns another payday for merely dusting off the original and slightly retooling it. Director Joshua Butler and the cast invest a lot more heart in the proceedings than deserved, making for so-so holiday fluff. A special town hall meeting is called to decide Prancer's fate, in which the film's most inadvertently amusing line is uttered by a virtual extra: ``We have to be careful how we handle this,'' she intones. ``The eyes of the world are upon us.'' Well, that's a bit optimistic. ``PRANCER RETURNS'' What: Sequel to the 1989 theatrical release: The errant reindeer Prancer returns to a small town to befriend be·friend tr.v. be·friend·ed, be·friend·ing, be·friends To behave as a friend to. befriend Verb to become a friend to Verb 1. another troubled child. The stars: Gavin Fink, John Corbett, Stacy Edwards, Michael O'Keefe, Jack Palance, Robert Clark. Where: USA Network. When: 8 and 10 tonight; also Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Dec. 2, 24 and 25. (Also released on video today.) Our rating: Two and one half stars CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Gavin Fink gazes at a reindeer he believes is part of Santa's team in ``Prancer Returns.'' |
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