“Hot” year predicted for speech, debate teams
“Hot” is how Coaches
Frank Harlow and Connie
Connor describe this year’s
Speech and Debate teams.
The Speech team, to date,
includes Carolyn Adamson,
Melanie Wright, Gina Van
Cleave, Kym Day, Susan
Liston, Alice Storme and Judy
Smith. Of the group, only
Adamson and Wright are
returnees.
The Debate team has not
been chosen as yet, Connor
said. She expects several of the
Speech team participants to
try out.
“We have a lot of what I
like to call ‘untapped talent’
right now,” Harlow said, in
reference to the lack of ex­
perience. “However, I think
we’re going to have a hot
year.”
The first test for the all­
female Speech team will be at
Lower Columbia Community
College in Kelso/Longview,
Wash., Nov. 12. The follow­
ing weekend, Nov. 17-19, the
team will stake a claim at
Clark College of Vancouver,
Wash.
Between then and now,
Harlow and Connor hope to
put in 40 hours of practice.
“That’s the minimum needed
to be competitive,” Harlow
said. Practice for the Speech
team includes mock competi­
tions, writing assignments and
watching video tapes of
themselves speaking, which
allows the competitors to see
and hear their strengths and
weaknesses.
Harlow puts his people
through an admittedly
rigorous program. However,
“I can just about assure peo­
ple that if they do what I tell
them, they will ‘trophy’ at a
tournament,” he said.
The workouts for the
Debate team are equally
tough, Connor said, adding
“It’s all strategy, blood, sweat
and tears.” Connor is in
charge of the Debate team,
while Harlow spearheads
Speech.
The national topic for
debate this term is “Resolved:
That United States higher
education has sacrificed quali­
ty for institutional survival.”
Connor said she is happy
with the topic selection. It will
be used by debate teams across
the nation for Winter 1983.
CONNIE CONNOR:
“It’s all strategy, blood,
sweat and tears.”
FRANK HARLOW: “I
can just about assure
people that. . . they will
“trophy” at a tourna­
ment.”
Photos by Joel Miller
J Moore, Steenburgen save
so-so “Romantic Comedy”
By J. Dana Haynes
Of The Print
~
Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen’s
new romantic comedy, “Romantic Com­
edy,” is not bad. With that kind of talent, it
should be great.
“Romantic Comedy” is the story of Jason
Carmichael (Moore), a rich and successful
Broadway playwright. The show begins at his
wedding, where he meets would-be playwright
Phoebe Craddock (Steenburgen).
Instantly: Deep stares, awkward silences
and subdued sparks pass between the two. Ah
well, Carmichael agrees to take Craddock on as
his new writing collaborator, but marries the
rich, beautiful fiance' (played by Janet Eilber)
anyway.
Time passes. Nine years, in fact.
Throughout that time, the team of Carmichael
and Craddock write several smash hits arid a
few flops. Steenburgen is still in love with
Moore, who is still in love with Steenburgen
and married (faithfully) to Eilber.
Enter Ron Leibman as a nice, down-to-
earth journalist (a contradiction in terms,
perhaps) named Leo who wants to marry
Phoebe.
And so Director Walter Hill gives us the
eternal-triangle-plus-one. It’s the stuff that
good romantic comedies are made from.
Unfortunately, that’s all there is to this
movie. For an hour and 45 minutes, the
characters exist. Nothing much else happens.
Not that light comedy should do any more than
make one smile and make one’s disposition
sunnier. Still, there should be some meat on
even the thinnest plot. Here, the audience is left
wanting more.
Part of the problem comes from Bernard
Slade’s script. As good as the cast is (and they
are good), they have nothing in particular to
do. Moreoever, this is one of the least original
scripts ever written.
Another major fault, also chalked up to
the lack of originality, is the similarities bet­
ween “Romantic Comedy” and. “Arthur,”
Dudley Moore’s smash hit from a few years
ago. In both, he plays a very rich, Americaniz­
ed Englishman with a weakness for the bottle,
Wednesday October 19, 1983
the curse of the marriage to the wrong (through
no fault of her own) woman and a true-love
with whom propriety forbids he fool around.
The third big flaw is in Walter Hill’s direc­
tion. The movie seems ridden with mistakes in a
way that a professionally-made Hollywood film
shouldn’t be. The pacing is off, the editing
questionable, and the actors confined
throughout the movie to one or two
claustrophobic sets.
There are also flat-out flubs here. Francis
Sternhagen, who plays Carmichael and Crad­
dock’s manager, drives a spotless, brand new
car throughout the show. Nine years go by but
its still the same shiny-new car. Also,
throughout one deep, romantic scene, a boom
microphone appears and disappears from the
top of the screen. How any director or editor
could miss that is beyond me.
The really weird thing is: I liked this show.
Not because of the rather boring script or
mediocre direction, but because of the actors.
Moore is the embodiment of easy charm and is
always a pleasure to watch. He is, in every way
save height, the modern-day Cary Grant. Jason
Carmichael is not an interesting character, but
somehow Moore has fun playing him and
passes that feeling of fun on to the audience.
Steenburgen is also wonderful to behold.
This is, unfortunately, another stock “Steen­
burgen” role for her: The pretty, intelligent,
but slightly daffy liberated women. She played
this same person, with a different name, in
“Time After Time” and “Going South.”
Francis Sternhagen is terrific. She played
the tired, dead-ended doctor in “Outland” and
was completely overlooked by reviewers and
audiences alike. Again, the role of Blanche, the
manager, is a low-key, supporting role and not
that many people will take notice of her. Pity:
She’s a top flight character actress.
In the end, “Romantic” comedy is just not
bad. It is fluffy and forgetful, yet appealing.
Like so many romantic comedies (“Authur,
Author” and “Only When I Laugh,” as ex­
amples), in a year or two we’ll have a tough
time remembering its title.
“Romantic Comedy” is playing at the
Clackamas Town Center, Washington Square,
Hollywood and Rose Moyer theaters.
DHAP6ODY!
‘1st Place’ nationally
Rhapsody magazine is on­
ly two-years-old. It is not,
however, without experience.
This week, it received a na­
tional rating of “First Place
With Special Merit” from the
American Scholastic Press
Association.
Rhapsody, The Print’s
sister publication, is Cla­
ckamas Community College’s
magazine of art and literature.
At the end of the 1982-83
school year, Editor-in-Chief
Steve Lundgren sent all three
issues (the magazine is
published once per term) to
the American Scholastic Press
Association in Wheatly, N.Y.
Rhapsody received a
rating of 350 points out of 400
for content coverage, 150 out
of 150 for design, 170 out of
200 for organization, 180 out
of 180 for presentation and 60
out of 70 for creativity, for a
total rating of 910 out of
1,000.
“I’m humbly ecstatic,”
Lundgren, 19, said. The
strong showing for the
magazine was especially
welcome when considering the
lack of experience in last
year’s staff. That was Lun­
dgren’s first year at the Col­
lege, having graduated from
Colton High School the
previous year.
The only other full time
employee for Rhapsody was
Troy Maben, associate/
photographic editor. “Ob­
viously, the people who helped
get a major portion of the
credit,” Lundgren said, mak­
ing special note of Maben’s
contribution.
This year also promises to
be good for Rhapsody. Both
Lundgren and Maben have
returned to their respective
roles, but with a year’s ex­
perience under their belts.
Lundgren’s plans for the
magazine? “I’m just going to
try to improve the sucker,” he
said. “This year, we’re
shooting for 990 out of
1,000!”
GAMES GALORE
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