'Stars and Bars,' U.S. As Land of the Odd
By VINCENT CANBY
Published: March 18, 1988
LEAD: Toward the middle of ''Stars and Bars,'' Henderson Dores (Daniel Day-Lewis), a New York art-auction-house representative, arrives in Atlanta to register at one of those multi-story theme parks that are now the fashion in hotels in this country. The room clerk, smiling, gives Henderson his key and says, ''Follow the path through the atrium, then take the scenic elevator to the 35th floor.
Toward the middle of ''Stars and Bars,'' Henderson Dores (Daniel Day-Lewis), a New York art-auction-house representative, arrives in Atlanta to register at one of those multi-story theme parks that are now the fashion in hotels in this country. The room clerk, smiling, gives Henderson his key and says, ''Follow the path through the atrium, then take the scenic elevator to the 35th floor.''
It's another adventure for the impeccably tailored Henderson, an upper-middle-class Englishman for whom America is a coast-to-coast Disneyland. He makes his way through a man-made jungle of flora and chirping fauna to arrive at a boat landing. A smiling attendant greets him, draws up a canoe and directs him to paddle across to the elevator bank.