Amid Chaos of ‘Sammy and Rosie’s’ World, Details Emerge

Sammy and Rosie live during anarchic times. Riots are happening just below their apartment, and the couple’s sexuality is equally lawless. These young marrieds spend more time in other people’s beds than their own.

Stephen Frears--the director of the overstated but provocative “Sammy and Rosie. . .”--doesn’t quite explain what the street carnage is all about. The 1987 R-rated movie (screening Friday night as part of UC Irvine’s “Global Fishbowl” series) seems to be set around 1985, when riots broke out in South London to protest Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s urban policies.

But we never know for sure. Maybe the disorder is just symbolic, a dangerous visual underscoring of the domestic chaos at the center of Sammy and Rosie’s life together.

Anyway, Frears does explain that Rosie (Frances Barber) is a firebrand when it comes to sexual politics. At the movie’s start, Sammy (Ayub Kahn Din), in a voice-over, tells us that Rosie believes faithlessness is less a crime than jealousy, and she expects everybody to march to her tune of benevolent infidelity. Sammy doesn’t seem to mind at the time; he interrupts his gabbing to enjoy a tryst with Anna (Wendy Gazelle), his American lover.

It takes the arrival of his father (Shashi Kapoor), an important Pakistani statesman with a dark past, and a charming new guy (Roland Gift, lead singer of the Fine Young Cannibals) to get the doubts roiling in Sammy’s head. Sammy, it turns out, is more traditional than he thought.

The father starts talking about Sammy and Rosie having kids and why Rosie is such a runaround. If that isn’t conflict enough, we learn that he’s left Pakistan because of a death threat and hopes to set his life right by reuniting with an old love (Claire Bloom).

But his plans are soon tested by this brave new world he falls into. The looting and burning outside dredge up old memories of his own activist past, and then there are Sammy’s and Rosie’s friends to deal with. The father grimaces while lesbians French-kiss and Rosie smooches other men right in front of him and a chagrined Sammy.

All fairly vivid, but “Sammy and Rosie” is more than just a graphic movie; it also fancies itself an intellectual one. Scrunched between the exhibitionism is much dialogue about the nature of love, men’s and women’s roles and political responsibility, some of it witty and incisive, some of it gassy and pseudo-smart.

Clearly, Frears and screenwriter Hanif Kureishi have filled “Sammy and Rosie” with plenty, which is both a weakness and a strength. It’s easy to watch, especially when you find an incident or snippet of talk that hits home. But there is a lot of stuff to wade through.

Unlike Frears’ earlier “My Beautiful Laundrette” (1985), a small and uncluttered movie that also explored the vagaries of London life, “Sammy and Rosie” is more like a crowded house. Look in some corners and you might be overwhelmed by all the knickknacks. Gaze elsewhere and you may find something that grabs and holds.

* What: Stephen Frears’ “Sammy and Rosie.”

* When: Friday, Feb. 10, at 7 and 9 p.m.

* Where: The UC Irvine Student Center Crystal Cove Auditorium.

* Whereabouts: Take the San Diego (405) Freeway to Jamboree Road and head south to Campus Drive and take a left. Turn right on Bridge Road and take it into the campus.

* Wherewithal: $2 to $4.

* Where to call: (714) 824-5588.

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Yoruba Art and Culture

(NR) Three short films about sacrificial ceremonies, initiations, culture and art of the Yoruba tribe of Africa screen today at 7:30 p.m. at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana. Part of the museum’s Black History Month film series. Free with museum admission, $1.50 to $4.50. (714) 567-3600.

Bad Lieutenant

(NC-17) Harvey Keitel plays a morally bankrupt policeman who tries to pull himself together while investigating the rape of a nun. This 1992 film directed by Abel Ferrara screens today at 8 p.m. in the UC Titan Theatre, Cal State Fullerton, 800 N. State College Blvd. It’s preceded at 6 p.m. by “The Killer,” about a hit man who accidentally blinds a nightclub singer. To make amends, he accepts one last job. This 1990 Chinese film directed by John Woo screens in Chinese with English subtitles. Part of the university’s spring film series. FREE. (714) 773-3501.

Around the World With Thayer Soule: The First 50 Years

(NR) The travelogue producer presents a film highlighting his travels Friday at 7 p.m. in the Robert B. Moore Theatre at Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. Part of the college’s “Armchair Adventure” series. $6 to $9. (714) 432-5880.

Masterworks of Japanese Painting: The Etsuko and Joe Price Collection

(NR) Film highlighting the largest private collection of Edo period screens and scrolls outside Japan is preceded by a lecture by Joe Price on Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. at the Hitachi Chemical Research Center, 1003 Health Sciences Road West, on the campus of UC Irvine. $10 to $20, includes a 5:30 p.m. reception. (714) 850-4335.

Angano . . . Angano . . . Tales From Madagascar

(NR) Documentary film about the oral traditions of the Malagasy people screens in Malagasy and French with English subtitles Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art. Part of the museum’s Black History Month film series. Free with museum admission.