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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.