A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

 they teach my landlord how to generate that much water pressure ? ) Parents who

 sit through the film ( MPAA Rating : G ) will have ample time to devise answers

 , as the characters aren't interesting enough to hold the viewer 's attention .

 Irene and Curdi are perfect Victorian children who make waxworks figures seem l

ively . Curdi just wants to do good deeds ; Irene will only go where the magic t

hread of her great-great-grandmother 's ghost ( Claire Bloom ) leads she takes n

o real risks and therefore doesn't really grow . The animation , done by crews i

n Wales and Hungary , looks like Saturday-morning kidvid . Director Jozsef Gemes

 , is widely respected for his epic paint-on-glass feature , `` Heroic Times '' 

( 1982 ) : He deserves better material as do the children who 'll be parked at a

 matinee of `` Princess '' while their parents shop in an adjacent mall .

 CANNES , France Sitting on the terrace of the Carlton Hotel , his lime green pa

nts and lavender socks resplendent in the morning sun , Lloyd Kaufman president 

of Troma Films , casts a benevolent eye on Margot Hope , the fetching writer-pro

ducer-director and star of Troma 's latest extravaganza , `` Femme Fontaine : Ki

ller Babe for the CIA . '' `` Margot , '' he says , searching for just the right

 way to be nice , `` your film is much too good for the American Cinematheque re

trospective . '' Not really , because nothing is too good or , for that matter ,

 too bad for the feisty folks from Troma , who in truth will be feted with a thr

ee-day Cinematheque retrospective in Los Angeles starting June 10 in honor of 20

 years in the business . Longer , the New York-based company boasts , `` than an

y other independent distributor and most Hollywood marriages . '' Complete with 

personal appearances , this may be the first Cinematheque series to come with wh

at it calls a surgeon general 's warning : `` These films are often repulsively 

violent and sexually explicit . Not for children ( and many adults ) . '' `` We 

are especially pleased to be finally honored in Los Angeles , '' was Kaufman 's 

official response to the event . `` The international flights to the other tribu

tes were just getting too expensive . '' Kaufman , who likes to claim that the c

ompany name is Latin for `` excellence in cinema , '' wasn't just being hyperbol

ic . Troma 's films have been the subject of retrospectives in London , Tokyo , 

Munich , Toronto and San Sebastian , plus a monthlong `` Aroma du Troma '' tribu

te at the American Film Institute in Washington . Why Troma ? Is it because star

s like Kevin Costner can be seen just getting started in Troma 's `` Shadows Run

 Black '' and `` Sizzle Beach USA '' ? Or because Kaufman and company vice presi

dent Michael Herz have co-directed something like 30 films , a feat worthy of th

e Guinness Book of World Records ? Or is it simply that , as Kaufman has put it 

, `` we 're the smallest , cheapest movie studio in America '' ? `` In the entir

e history of the movie business , '' he says with his usual sang froid , `` ther

e has never been a movie studio that existed for 20 years without a hit . And so

 long as we continue as the heads of Troma , we will continue this perfect track

 record . '' Self-mocking and with a genius for self-promotion , the Troma Team 

, as Kaufman likes to call his group , clearly did not get to where they are by 

taking themselves too seriously . `` We enjoy what you in the media call sex and

 violence , '' says Kaufman , who has been known to brandish the actual shoestri

ng his movies cost . And though his cheerfully tasteless films are as likely to 

be admired for the spirit in which they 're made than the quality of the executi

on , one of Kaufman 's most accurate boasts is that `` when you see something by

 Troma , you may love it or hate it , but you 'll never forget the movie . '' A 

sentiment that goes double for the publicity that goes along for the ride . For 

while most critics have not actually sat through many of Kaufman 's films , almo

st everyone in the business is familiar with the clever and cheeky titles and ad

 lines that are stuck on them . For instance : `` Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD : America 

's First Accidental Oriental Crime Fighter ! '' `` A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinos

aur Hell : The Pre-Historic and the Pre-Pubescent , Together at Last ! '' `` Man

iac Nurses Find Ecstasy : Their Weapons Are Sterile , Their Bodies Are Fertile ,

 and Any Thought of Escape Is Futile ! '' `` Redneck Zombies , '' filmed in ( wh

at else but ) Entrail-Vision : `` Tobacco Chewin ' , Gut Chompin ' , Cannibal Ki

nfolk From Hell ! '' This kind of zaniness is visible also in the Troma Times , 

the company 's genial newsletter whose motto is `` Dictated but Not Read .. . or

 Even Thought About . '' And it shows up in the `` Troma System '' infomercial t

he company has put together , complete with bikini-clad Tromettes , which satiri

zes self-help ideologies as it pushes the sale of various kinds of Tromabilia . 

When you ask Kaufman where he and Herz learned the basics of filmmaking , he is 

likely to answer , `` if you read the reviews of our movies , you will see that 

we did not learn . '' But in fact his film education began at Yale , where he an

d Herz met and where movie buffs in his dorm made him familiar with the efforts 

of Joseph E. Levine and Roger Corman , shrewd producers who inspired his own wor

k . When he and Herz founded Troma , tiny budgets were the order of the day , th

e plan being to make films that would have negligible theatrical releases but ma

ke most of their money in video , cable and overseas markets . Kaufman calls `` 

The Toxic Avenger '' `` our Mickey Mouse , the movie that put us on the map . ''

 Familiarly known as Toxie , it is a movie so successful it inspired a TV series

 , hundreds of licensed products , two sequels ( one called `` The Last Temptati

on of Toxie '' ) already released and a third ( `` Mr. Toxie Goes to Washington 

'' ) is in the planning stages . Set in Tromaville , N.J. , `` the toxic waste d

ump capital of the world , '' `` Avenger '' details the awful circumstances that

 turn health club mop boy Melvin Furd , `` 98 pounds of solid nerd , '' into `` 

the first superhero born out of nuclear waste . '' Another Troma classic is `` C

hopper Chicks in Zombietown , '' which explores what really happens when an all-

female motorcycle gang takes a breather in a quiet hamlet mainly populated by th

e undead . Typical dialogue , from the leader of the gang to her troops : `` You

 're the Sluts . Try and act like it . '' The company has been associated with s

ome classier films as well : `` Def by Temptation , '' a slickly made ( by James

 Bond III ) and stylishly photographed ( by Ernest Dickerson ) all-black horror 

film about a sexy succubus who has her way with men and a genuine sleeper , Bob 

Dahlin 's 1986 `` Monster in the Closet . '' Better films may actually be in Tro

ma 's future , since the company has created a subsidiary called Fiftieth Street

 to concentrate on doing just that . And then there is the projected `` Tromio a

nd Juliet , '' a no-doubt liberal adaptation of Shakespeare 's play . And after 

that ? `` We 've become an institution , a national treasure , '' Kaufman has sa

id , probably more than once . `` It 's not going to be long before Troma will b

e awarded the coveted Nobel Peace Prize . ''

 Election-year politics are about to torpedo one of the few functioning mechanis

ms to cut government waste . Last week the Clinton administration , looking ahea

d to the 1996 election , appeared ready to cave in to a congressional proposal t

o delay the 1995 round of military base closures . Some members of Congress are 

pushing for the delay because they fear the backlash from voters adversely affec

ted by base-closings in their districts , while the administration has its eye o

n the electoral map . A good number of the estimated 70 bases to be axed in 1995

 are in states such as California , Florida , and Texas that are crucial to Clin

ton 's chances for reelection in 1996 . And as George Bush learned , nothing bre

eds anti-incumbency quite like unemployment . But if it 's successful , the effo

rt to delay base closings in 1995 will have several damaging consequences . It w

ill saddle the Pentagon with unnecessary costs at a time when its budget is badl

y stretched . It will taint the highly effective Base Closure and Realignment Co

mmission ( BRAC ) , and it will hurt , not help , communities that will inevitab

ly lose bases . From its peak in 1985 , the overall defense budget will have fal

len 40 percent by 1999 , force structure will have declined by 30 percent , and 

spending on new weapons will have been slashed by a whopping 65 percent . Meanwh

ile , despite rounds of base closings in 1988 , 1991 and 1993 , only 15 percent 

of domestic base infrastructure will have been cut . The 1995 round of closures 

is expected to be as large as the three previous rounds combined , and would bri

ng infrastructure cuts more into line with reductions in other areas of the budg

et . Proponents of the delay are quick to point out that savings from base closi

ngs haven't been as great as expected . But the administration 's own figures in

dicate that annual savings from closed bases will reach $ 4.6 billion by 2001 , 

half of which will be generated by the 1995 round of closures . The military ser

vices are counting on that money to fund new equipment and training . Delaying t

he 1995 round by two years would be an outright waste of $ 2.3 billion each year

 at a time when the Pentagon 's six-year budget is already underfunded by as muc

h as $ 100 billion . According to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sam N

unn , `` The longer we delay closing unneeded bases , the longer it will take to

 achieve real savings , and the more the other parts of the budget readiness , p

ay , procurement , and research and development will suffer . '' The delay would

 also undermine the BRAC , which Congress created in 1988 specifically to take p

olitics out of the base-closing process . Between 1977 , when Congress ceded its

elf the authority to close bases , and 1988 , not a single base was closed mostl

y because no member of Congress in his or her right mind would vote to close a b

ase and thereby put voters out of work . BRAC changed all that , by placing the 

onus for base closing on an independent commission . With political cover , Cong

ress was able to close 103 bases . But suborning BRAC to the politics of the ele

ction year will anger those who have already lost bases and make it difficult to

 generate support for future base closings . Yes , future base closings . Becaus

e even after BRAC 's current authority ends in 1995 , there will still be a grea

t deal of excess infrastructure that should be cut . Finally , members of Congre

ss seeking to hold up the 1995 base closure round argue that by postponing the p

ain for communities they are helping them . Nothing could be further from the tr

uth . Research by Business Executives for National Security shows that a well-or

ganized community with a head start recovers from a base closure quickly . After

 a base is turned over to the community , an average of two civilian jobs are cr

eated for every military job lost . Most jobs are recovered within five years af

ter the base 's doors finally close . But the longer a community waits , and the

 more it resists the inevitable , the more difficult and costly the process beco

mes . Uncertainty will add to the woes of base closure communities if the 1995 r

ound is postponed . The military will lay off workers on excess bases even if th

ey remain open for two more years . Delaying closure will only destroy the commu

nities ' chances to replace jobs they are already losing . Unless the Clinton ad

ministration overcomes its election year myopia , it could instigate a return to

 the hollow military of the 1970s . On the other hand , a strong signal from the

 White House supporting the base closing process as planned would sink efforts t

o place cynical political expediency before fiscal responsibility and military p

reparedness .

 HOLLYWOOD In `` The Endless Summer II , '' creator-narrator Bruce Brown takes p

ains to tell us how much has changed since he began filming his definitive surfi

ng movie , `` The Endless Summer , '' 30 years ago . He takes pride in the inter

national appeal of the sport he helped popularize and ticks off its various inno

vations . He does not shy away from showing how crowded some Hawaiian beaches no

w are or how the once-deserted beach at a still-choice surfing spot near Cape To

wn , South Africa , is now covered with expensive condos and tract houses . To h

is credit , he makes a passing acknowledgment of polluted waters . What Brown is

 really doing , however , is shrewdly getting such matters out of the way in ord

er to celebrate all that mercifully hasn't yet changed : fabulous beaches that a

ttract world-class surfers to ride the most spectacular waves . Brown 's conceit

 is that a couple of likable young surfer pals , Robert ( Wingnut ) Weaver he ha

s the dark hair and the blond Patrick O' Connell , are such fans of the original

 `` Endless Summer '' that they dip into some surfing prize money to finance a g

lobe-girdling retracing , more or less , of their surfing counterparts in the fi

rst film , Robert August and Mike Hynson , who were in search of the perfect wav

e . While it 's anybody 's guess if Brown 's mix of awesome surfing sequences in

terspersed with travelogue material and good-natured cornball antics will play a

s well as it did decades ago , this `` Endless Summer '' is no less endearing th

an the original . That this sequel is as fresh as it is is probably in large par

t due to the fact that Brown deliberately backed off from further surfer movies 

after making the first `` Endless Summer '' ( which was part of an entire cycle 

of surfer epics , all the others lesser efforts ) . Wingnut and Pat 's journey t

akes them from Southern California to Costa Rica ( which Brown intercuts with si

de trips to Alaska and Hawaii not involving his stars ) , to France , South Afri

ca , Fiji , Australia , Bali and Java , which from the looks of it just might be

 the most glorious , unspoiled place to surf on the face of the globe . Along th

e way Wingnut and Pat meet champion surfers like Tom Curren ( in Biarritz ) and 

Laird Hamilton and Gerry Lopez ( in Java ) . They also meet several men from the

 first film , hearty rugged types like John Whitmore of Cape Town and Nat Young 

, of Brisbane , Australia , a veritable Crocodile Dundee , who takes Wingnut and

 Pat riding the rapids in a rubber raft . ( Neither August or Hynson appear in t

he sequel . ) Accompanied by Gary Hoey and Phil Marshall 's driving score , `` T

he Endless Summer II '' ( MPAA rating : PG , for brief nudity and mild language 

) is such a pleasure to watch , so effective in its ability to take you away and

 into the healthy , carefree world of surfing , at once exciting and uncomplicat

ed , that you 're actually sorry when it 's over .

 HOLLYWOOD Woody Harrelson is the only reason to subject yourself to `` The Cowb

oy Way , '' but to be a straight-shooter about things , he is not reason enough 

. Instead of enhancing his surroundings , Harrelson 's breezy , amusing performa

nce simply underlines everything the rest of the film is not . Based on yet anot

her idea from the cornucopian mind of producer Brian Glazer who , if the press n

otes are to be believed , came up with this gem `` while horseback riding in his

 native California , '' `` Cowboy '' will be recognized by film buffs as a rewor

king of the tip-top `` Coogan 's Bluff , '' directed by Don Siegel and starring 

an especially laconic Clint Eastwood as an Arizona lawman out of his element on 

the steamy pavements of New York . It is perhaps a sign of cinematic inflation t

hat this time around `` The Cowboy Way '' is forced to send not one but two stan

d-up Western gentlemen into the wilds of Manhattan to right a wrong and see that

 justice is done . New Mexico cowboys Pepper Lewis ( Harrelson ) and Sonny Gilst

rap ( Kiefer Sutherland ) are a formidable team-roping combination and best pals

 since they were toddlers . But , in one of the film 's many bogus plot contriva

nces , Sonny has been giving his partner `` the Eskimo treatment '' since Pepper

 was a mysterious no-show at the finals of a key tournament . `` There we were ,

 one steer away from the national championship , '' grouses Sonny in one of the 

many pieces of presumably authentic Bill Wittliff dialogue . Pepper , you may be

 sure , had his reasons for staying away , but once revealed they , like much el

se here , turn out to be as lame as an overworked plow-horse . Sonny and Pepper 

's best pal is a wise old Latino named Nacho ( Joaquin Martinez ) who accuses cr

anky Sonny of having `` the heart of a tiny raisin . '' But before he can explai

n where he got such a gift for metaphor , Nacho is called to New York to try to 

rescue his daughter , Theresa ( Cara Buono ) . She , illogically enough , is a d

ewy illegal just off the boat from Cuba who is in the unfortunate clutches of a 

bunch of slimeballs ramrodded by the nefarious Stark ( Dylan McDermott ) . Force

d to work in a sweatshop while Stark practically drools over her needlework , Th

eresa is clearly in need of the kind of help only two hopelessly naive cowboys i

n Manhattan can provide . As directed by Gregg Champion , whose only previous th

eatrical feature was the forgotten `` Short Time , '' `` The Cowboy Way '' has a

 tendency to milk every bumpkin-in-the-big-town situation it can think of . As a

 result , elements of `` Midnight Cowboy '' ( Pepper catching the lascivious eye

 of effete fashion folk ) awkwardly joust for position with cartoony violent ech

oes of `` Home Alone . '' Getting bruised in the melee are some usually reliable

 actors , including Ernie Hudson as a mounted policeman who loves the West . Esp

ecially lost is Sutherland , whose thankless role as the straight-arrow , censor

ious Sonny mostly calls on him to frown and say , `` I 've had it with you , '' 

to the irrepressible Pepper . Losing patience with Pepper is always understandab

le . A macho pain in the neck who never stops talking and preening , he could ex

asperate a saint . But thanks to Harrelson 's casual flair and his considerable 

comic energy , Pepper grows on you so much that his rare absences from the scree

n bring the picture to a dead halt . While this is not a performance that wins a

wards , it does demonstrate the kind of star presence that the movies can never 

have too much of . What `` The Cowboy Way '' ( MPAA rating : PG-13 for `` violen

ce , some language and comic sensuality '' ) does best is underline how much mor

e there is to Woody Harrelson than how he looks in his underwear or with a hat o

ver his private parts .

 What if we found a rehabilitation method that could take violent criminals and 

greatly reduce their likelihood of committing further crimes ? What if this prog

ram dramatically raised the odds that prisoners would never return to prison , w

ould instead become law-abiding , tax-paying citizens ? The crime legislation no

w being considered by Congress should have extra money for this proven crime-pre

vention program . Right ? Guess again . Congress is eliminating all of its fundi

ng . For this is the federal Pell Grant program , which for two decades has enab

led convicts to secure a college education while in prison . The Pell Grant prog

ram provides federal money to finance higher education for lower-income American

s . Since its inception , prisoners , whose income is effectively zero , have be

en eligible to apply for these funds . This has enabled colleges and universitie

s to establish extension programs , sending books and professors into the prison

s . More than 35,000 inmates are enrolled around the country . However , both th

e House and Senate versions of the crime bill forbid the use of Pell Grant funds

 by prisoners . In most states , which have no network of state funding , this w

ould effectively mean the end of prison higher education . As a volunteer profes

sor at the Maryland State Penitentiary , I have seen the difference a college ed

ucation can make . For the past two years I have been meeting weekly with prison

ers to study philosophy . We have ranged from Homer to Gandhi , Socrates to Sart

re . The men I teach have serious criminal histories . Many are murderers , comi

ng from a background of rage , ignorance and despair . But the chance at educati

on has given them a new purpose , and made them feel they can turn their lives a

round that when they get out ( and most of them will ) , they 'll have marketabl

e skills and credentials . Typically , such a prisoner can tell himself : I don'

t have to base self-esteem on the gold chain around my neck and the gun in my po

cket . I 'm a college graduate . Recently I was at a prison function for inmates

 who were alumni of the Coppin State college program speeches , banners on the w

all , honorary awards , standard stuff . But most striking was the sense of hope

 and pride in the room anything but common in a maximum security penitentiary . 

The keynote address was given by Stanley Covington . Released from the penitenti

ary five years ago with a college degree , he is now project director at the Cen

ter on Juvenile and Criminal Justice , where he heads up a program for Washingto

n , D.C. , youth in trouble . Another student from this prison is Charles Dutton

 , producer and star of the `` Roc '' show . Then there is H.B. Johnson Jr. , a 

student I met through my prison class . This year he won ( for the second time )

 the Baltimore WMAR-TV contest for best play by a black dramatist . He came into

 prison with an eighth grade education . Sentence commuted , he left prison last

 December a college man and a playwright , novelist , newspaper columnist and pu