Burrows No Chump as Far as Bowling, Being a Big Shot

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
November 11, 2003
By Crocker Stephenson
http://www.jsonline.com/onwisconsin/movies/nov03/184058.asp?showheadlines=all

In case you, personally, did not receive a press kit from Mr. Hollywood Big Shot Steve Burrows:

A) Burrows went to Greendale High School, where he was bounced from his sophomore biology class for mounting his fetal pig's head on a bubbler.

B) Has seen Buddy Ebsen naked.

C) Once watched Bob Denver watching "Gilligan's Island."

D) Played that guy with psoriasis in that commercial for Selsun Blue.

E) Bowls 189 (or so he claims).

That's a mighty fancy average for a guy whose shocking new film, "Chump Change," hikes up its shirt like a drunken Green Bay Packers fan cheering on Brett Favre, and exposes the grotesquely bloated underbelly of Tinsel Town.

Burrows, in the tradition of Woody Allen and Mel Brooks, wrote, directed and stars in this harrowing story of sex (the film also stars "Tailhouse Rock's" Traci Lords), violence ("The Godfather's" Abe Vigoda) and comedy ("Animal House's" Tim Matheson).

Burrows is the son of musical saw virtuoso Harry Burrows, who wowed Televisionland during a July 1976 appearance on "The Gong Show."

The legendary senior Burrows was among the stars on hand for a recent screening of "Chump Change" during the International Film Festival at The Oriental Theatre.

Other luminaries included Tripoli Shriners Myron Smith and Orville Swain, as well as accordion player William Krajnak, whose cheerful stylings on the Baldoni kept the capacity crowd tapping its toes while it awaited admission to the sold-out theater.

Smith, dressed in full Shriner regalia, told the following joke to a small group of admirers:

"How many Masons does it take to change a light bulb?"

"No one knows," he said. "It's a secret."

In an exclusive interview shortly before the start of the movie, Lords confided to me that she wore three layers of long underwear during those portions of the film that were shot on location (Milwaukee) during a bitter winter's cold snap.

"That's probably too much information," she said, thus precluding any further underwear inquiries.

Singing sensation Liza Minnelli, who was almost in the movie but who bailed at the last minute, was conspicuously absent from the swell of celebrities.

Note: A DVD version of "Chump Change" is expected to be released by Miramax January 20, 2004.

From the Nov. 11, 2003 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel




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