Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2002)
b________ A&E Spears makes predictable turn in ’crossroads’ WedNEsdAy, M arc I i 6, 2002 TR e CI ac I< amas P rînt MAGGIE JIRASEK Editor-in-Chief “Crossroads,” a film star ring overexposed pop queen Britney Spears, is the music video tale of three friends going on a road trip, rediscov ering their friendship and ex periencing the drama of life. The film starts with three eighth graders burying a wooden box filled with sym bols of their dreams of the future. The idea is to dig up the very same box on high school graduation night and see how many of their dreams have become true. Four years later, the girls are hardly on speaking terms. Lucy (Britney Spears) is the virginal valedictorian, Kit (Zoe Saldana) is unscrupu lously popular and Mimi (Taryn Manning) is a soon to be mom. On the big night, the three girls meet to dig up the old box, and the next day they find themselves driving to California in a convertible piloted by Ben (Anson Mount), a guy who spent some time in jail and is believed to be a murderer. The girls have various mo tives to go on the trip. Lucy hopes to find the mother in Arizona she hasn’t seen for a very long time, Kit wants to find her fiancé in Los Ange les, who has become vague about wedding plans, and Mimi wants to compete in a record company’s open audi tion. While driving across the country to a couple of ‘N Sync songs, the three teenag ers forget how much they hate each other and drive Ben nuts with their overly girly behav ior. But things don’t always go so smooth, and soon the friends find themselves tangled up in soap opera-like drama. After being rejected by her mom, Lucy finds herself at- Hip JESSE GURZYNSKI Staff Writer Young adults and teenagers now have a place specifically for them in Milwaukie. The Harmony Star res taurant has been open for two weeks now, and is already making enough income to support itself. Harmony Star is designed to be a place where young people can go to meet other people and have a good time in a relaxed environment. The food is inexpensive (most meals are about $4), though on busy nights there is a $5 cover charge. Satur days there will be a poetry slam around 2 p.m., and there is karaoke on Friday and Saturday evenings. Co-owners Brad Younts and Jodie White opened the Harmony Star be cause there existed no place where young adults could go in the eve nings except bowling alleys: Younts said, “I had a co-worker who was 22, and Ms girlfriend who was 20. We were going to go to a bar, then we found out her age, so we went bowling.” White added there was nothing to do for those under 21. Younts said he turned to White and said, “How about a karaoke bar?” “It is a good place for people to sit and relax and have a good time in a non-corporate environment,” said James Coolbaugh Jr., a senior at Milwaukie High School. “It’s giv ing Milwaukie something to do at tracted to Ben and loses her virginity. Kit’s fiancé turns out to have another woman and be guilty of date-raping Mimi. On top of that, Mimi falls down the stairs and ends up having a miscarriage. But don’t worry, what would a Britney Spears’ movie be without a happy ending. At the end, everything works out somehow, and everybody is happy ever after. All in all, I was not very im pressed by the movie. I found myself sitting in a room with a whole bunch of thirteen- year-olds, and I felt like I was back in junior high. I tried to push aside the opinion I had already set in my mind for the pop star, but after the open ing scene, that was very hard to do. I couldn’t believe that the first thing Spears did in her movie debut was jump up and down on the bed in her bra and underpants. That was pretty much the point where I lost all- my respect. Throughout the entire movie, Spears was promoting her songs in a way that just ^eemed cheesy. At one point in the movie, she reads one of her poems to Ben and it turns out to be the lyrics to her song “I’m Not a Girl.” To me, it seems odd to introduce famous material as if it’s new, especially if it’s your own material and you are starring in the movie. I felt like I was watching a Britney Spears’ music video. Part of that was because she was introducing her music on a regular basis, changing clothes every five minutes and showing off her dancing skills. Besides that, the plot just did not seem realistic at all. If it was possible to just take off with hardly any money in your pocket, go to L.A., sing a little bit, make tons of money and become famous in a short period of time, I would not be wasting my time here. But we all know that’s impossible, for us anyways. I guess if you are a Spears’ fan, you will enjoy the movie, just because Spears seems to be the theme behind the theme. Since the movie is very predictable and slow, at least Spears will make it up to her fans by show ing herself off. If you are not a Spears, fan, I wouldn’t recom mend it. To reach Maggie Jirasek e- mail bunny_fl7222@yahoo.com or drop by B-104. for teens 7:30 at night. It’s one of the few teen-friendly environments that the city has.” “It took a lot of effort to make the place ready,” said Younts. “It was a real mess and it took a lot of hard work to make it look good without a lot of money. Young people largely put the place together—it took about six and a half months.” “(In) 80 to 90 percent of the world, young adults walk into an adult en vironment and have to put up with it,” said White. “Hoe, adults come into a young adult environment and have to respect it” “We have been really fortunate, things worked out” said Younts. “Just with Jodi and my experience, we never could have done it on our own, and when the kids found out what we we’re doing here, they wanted to help out. They started asking what we needed. We feel like they were really giving from the heart.” According to Younts, Harmony Star’s environment is very easy-go ing and trusting. They have had a few people walk out without pay ing, but most people are very hon- est and respectful. “The fundamental thing is you respect the people who come in and they will respect you. We’ve had a lot of genuine kids that have left, then come back and paid the bill,” said Younts. Poetry slams are something that JESSE GURZYNSKI / Clackamas Print Harmony Star owners greet the new customers who come to enjoy the under 21 scene. White felt were important to have, since the only places that she knew of that had them were taverns. “The reason why those are important to me is they’re a way of people really making contact,” said White. “In poetry slams ...you get about 12 people to sign up, and there’s a panel of three of their peers. You have three minutes from the time you be gin reading. The judges are sup posed to judge based on audience reaction.” As Coolbaugh said, the Harmony Star is an “all around good place to meet people. Everyone’s real friendly.” Harmony Star is located at 2105 SE Washington, Milwaukie.You can reach the restaurant at (503) 513 6800. To reach Jesse Giuiynski e-mail heterodox@onebox.com or drop by B-104.
