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This week's reviews: 'Spider,' Hootie, 'Deal'
(PEOPLE) -- This week PEOPLE.com looks at the film "Spider," Hootie & the Blowfish's self-titled album and "Let's Make a Deal" on the NBC. Movie review: 'Spider'
Playing a mentally ill man who speaks only in incomprehensible word fragments, Ralph Fiennes in "Spider" mumbles his way to one of the better performances of his already distinguished career. He can do more merely muttering than many actors can do with all of "To be or not to be." This intriguing puzzle of a film by creepy director David Cronenberg ("Existenz") takes viewers deep into the twisted mind of Dennis "Spider" Cleg (Fiennes). After being released from a mental institution to which he was sent at age 10, Cleg wanders through his old London neighborhood. Memories of his childhood with his folks (Miranda Richardson and Gabriel Byrne) and a murder come flooding back, but are his recollections right? This is a strange film, requiring patience and attention from a viewer, but the pieces all fit by the end and the acting by Richardson and Byrne, in addition to Fiennes, is first rate. Bottom line: Weaves a fascinating web Music review: 'Hootie & the Blowfish'Hootie & the Blowfish (Atlantic) After selling more than 16 million copies of their debut album, 1994's "Cracked Rear View," Hootie & the Blowfish went belly up with their last disc of new material, 1998's "Musical Chairs," which sold fewer than 1 million copies. Fans should give a Hootie about the group's latest, though, which finds the quartet delivering the same agreeable, rootsy pop-rock that led to early hits like "Hold My Hand" and "Only Wanna Be with You." Unlike frontman Darius Rucker, who last year tried a radical neosoul makeover on his overlooked solo debut, "Back to Then," the group has chosen not to mess with a dependable formula. They still sound like the ultimate bar band. Upbeat tracks with sing-along choruses, like "Space," are exactly what we've come to expect from them: songs that will sound great blaring out of your car stereo. They are balanced by bittersweet ballads like the folky, aching "Tears Fall Down." For his part, Rucker brings some of his new soulfulness to the cautionary tale "Little Brother," but he sounds corny when he tosses in urban slang: "How you gonna say what you can and can't do/ Sittin' in the crib parked in front of the tube." The band also ventures into country territory on the hokey "Little Darlin'." They're more successful covering the Continental Drifters' 1999 tune "The Rain Song," with Drifters Vicki Peterson and Susan Cowsill adding sunny harmonies. Bottom line: Solid if unspectacular TV review: 'Let's Make a Deal'NBC (Tuesdays, 8 p.m. ET)/ Game Show Network (check listings) Do you start every weekday with an old Game Show Network rerun of "Let's Make a Deal" (9 a.m. ET), staring at the outrageously attired participants as they flip over the fabulousness of the prizes behind Door No. 1, 2 or 3? If so, I urge you to reassess your life, but I can't stop you from watching NBC's prime-time revival of the raucous series, which starts a five-week run March 4. Monty Hall, who emceed the show in the '60s, '70s and '80s, is an executive producer of the hour-long 2003 version. Because youth must be served, the host's job has been taken over by 31-year-old Billy Bush, an "Access Hollywood" correspondent and presidential cousin. Though less nimble than Hall in his prime, Bush functions adequately and could grow up to be Pat Sajak one day. Unfortunately Vance DeGeneres's comedy bits aren't worth two cents, and the new "Deal" seems desperate to be seen as more risqué than the original. One contestant on the premiere dresses as a pimp. How thoroughly modern. At 7 p.m. on March 4, Game Show Network offers the first airing anywhere of "Let's Make a Deal's" 1963 pilot, and this historical treasure tops the new version in entertainment value. It's fun to watch Hall test his trading skill on audience members who seem to be dressed for a church service rather than a game show. The wacky costumes came later, but you can sense the hit potential. Bottom line: The old one's a better deal -- Terry Kelleher
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