Saturday, March 12, 2005

Fiction: Confessions of a dorm room

People move in and move out. The cycle never gets boring. New posters, new furniture, new people best of all. Sometimes the girls are similar, and sometimes they couldn’t be more different.

Room 78 Somerville has seen it all over the years. Every summer, a new set of girls will inhabit the space. The excitement and chaos of moving in always take a toll on people. The newest girls, Lynn and Brittany, seem ready to crash after check-in this afternoon.

Lynn didn’t know what to expect about her roommate. Having never formally met Brittany, she hoped for the best. Brittany wasn’t too worried because she gets along easily with others.

Brittany reminded Lynn of someone, possibly from her past. Her straight brown hair and big, hazel eyes seemed strangely familiar. But they had never met, so why did she feel that way? She told her mom about it later that night.

“There’s just something about her that I can’t figure out,” she said. “It’s like I’ve met her before. I don’t know. This could be déjà vu or my imagination.”

She confessed to her mom that she was nervous about living with Brittany, but she also said she felt a connection to her.

“I’m sure we’ll be good friends,” she said. “I’m probably just nervous, but after a few weeks everything will be fine.”

They hung up, and Lynn unpacked a few boxes and wrote in her journal. Around 10 p.m., Brittany returned from Wal-Mart. They chatted a while, but soon got ready for bed. After they had both fallen asleep, Lynn dreamed off and on about a small girl who was sitting in her room, playing with Barbies. The girl seemed sad, and in the dream Lynn could sense that she wanted to be with her mother. The girl gazed a picture of a lovely woman, presumably her mother. But as the girl looked at the picture, she became more upset.

“Where is my mommy?” the girl asked, with tears rolling down her cheeks.
In a cold sweat, Lynn awoke with that painful, haunting image of the girl holding the picture. Who is that girl and who is the woman in the picture, she wondered.

Glancing at her alarm clock that displayed 4:37 a.m., Lynn settled back in bed and dozed until it was time for her first class. She and Brittany both had biology together, so they showered and walked to class.

After class and lunch at the Ferg, they headed back to the dorm. They liked their room so far, but they both wished for more closet space and cleaner showers. Their room was at the end of the hall, and it was a fairly quiet section.

“Do you want to go the rec center tonight?” Brittany asked.

“No, I’m too tired, but thanks for asking,” Lynn said.

While Brittany was gone, Lynn read a few chapters of “He’s Just Not That Into You” and painted her nails. She realized that she didn’t even know Brittany’s last name. In fact, she hardly knew anything about her roommate except that she was from Ohio, loved the color purple, and listened to Coldplay.

A few days passed, and Lynn’s feeling about Brittany continued. She couldn’t shake it. How could I know her...she’s from Ohio, and why does she remind me of someone I can’t even think of? She did countless mental checklists of places they might’ve met and even Googled Brittany’s name online. Nothing came up. She tried giving subtle hints to Brittany about her family, talking about her sisters and brother, hoping that Brittany would reveal something about her family. Nothing helped. Brittany acted as if she didn’t have a family, never calling her parents or putting up photos of siblings.

When schoolwork began to escalate in October, the girls rarely saw each other. Brittany did most of her studying at Rodgers, and Lynn struggled to balance her homework load and part-time job at Pepito’s. Lynn started to wonder if she would ever know Brittany as more than just an acquaintance-type friend.

Near Thanksgiving break, Lynn’s aunt, Sandra, called and said she wanted to visit for a few days. They made plans to shop and dine at some great spots. Lynn invited Brittany to join them, and she accepted, which thrilled Lynn because she still felt like a stranger to her and hoped they could bond on the trip.

Sandra arrived the Monday before Thanksgiving, and when Brittany met Sandra, Lynn observed an odd expression on Brittany’s face. It had to mean something, but she didn’t know what. The three headed to the Galleria.

Brittany sat in the backseat and spoke three words at the most on the way to Birmingham. Lynn couldn’t understand why she was acting this way, but she shrugged it off because she wanted to have fun and enjoy the time with her aunt. After several hours of shopping, they drove back to campus. They talked about guys, clothes, movies — normal girl talk. When Sandra asked about Brittany’s parents, she didn’t say much except that they worked a lot (both were doctors) and she wasn’t close to them. Soon, that same expression Brittany had earlier appeared on Sandra’s.

After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Lynn found the courage to say, “Something is strange about this because I feel like we should know each other. Brittany has always seemed familiar to me, but I can’t figure out why.”

Sandra’s eyes brimmed with tears as she spoke, “I can’t believe I’m about to say this. Please try to understand. Brittany, I don’t know how to tell you, but you are my daughter. I gave you up for adoption, and now I’m sitting here with you. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I just can’t believe you’re here.”

Brittany smiled and shed several tears before speaking. “I’m speechless. I guess I always knew I was adopted. I felt it in my bones. I used to stare at my mom’s picture and think, ‘She’s not mine. She doesn’t feel like my mom.’ Now it all makes sense.”

Lynn’s mind flashbacked to her dream of the girl staring at her mother’s picture. It really did mean something, she thought. My aunt is Brittany’s mom, and that means we’re cousins!

“Oh my gosh, Brittany!” Lynn exclaimed. “I knew something was familiar about you. We’re cousins. This is so unbelievable.”

All three embraced and sobbed and laughed in stunned amazement. Their lives would never be the same. Sandra told Brittany that she never stopped thinking about her and always wondered where she was and how she was doing.

“Now that I see you, I can’t get over how beautiful you are and how proud I am of you. I don’t know how your parents will take this, but we need to tell them. I feel like my life is complete now, just knowing that you are okay. I love you so much, and I always will. I know you’re overwhelmed right now, and I promise that I’ll give you time to think about what has happened. Just know that I’m here, and I won’t leave again. I can’t justify what I did. I only thought it was best that someone else take you and give you what I couldn’t. You will always be my daughter though.”

By the evening’s end, mother and daughter had been reunited and reconciled, and Lynn slept better than she ever had. Her roommate would never feel like a stranger anymore.

posted by Lauren Champlin @ 8:42 PM 0 comments

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Movie review--"Almost Famous"

Acting, music make “Almost Famous” best film of 2000
Rock ’n’ roll journey shows price of fame and value of living without regrets.

For a crash course on how to be a rock journalist, check out “Almost Famous.”

Written and directed by Cameron Crowe, the film chronicles a California boy’s life and the many wild adventures he encounters during the late ’60s and early ’70s rock ’n’ roll period.

William Miller, played by Patrick Fugit, grew up idolizing rock bands. Now as a high school student, he dreams of writing about them for glamorous magazines such as Rolling Stone and Creem.

Not only is the acting superb and flawless, but the script is also brilliant. Crowe’s creative genius is apparent in lines such as, “I’m about to boldly go where many men have gone before,” “He says I’m a ‘yes’ person, and you are trying to raise us in a ‘no’ environment,” “Famous people are just more interesting,” and “Can you believe these new girls — none of them use birth control, and they eat all the steak?”

The standout performance belongs to Billy Crudup as Russell Hammond, lead guitarist of Stillwater, the band that William covers on a nationwide tour for Rolling Stone. Crudup’s character, the stereotypical, self-centered rocker, allows viewers a realistic glimpse into the tumultuous lives of rock stars. He never wavers; he never fails to grip you with his insightful facial expressions and transparency. Russell drinks a little too much acid one night at a party and calls himself a “golden god,” an accurate term for how people worshiped him and not the other band members.

The acting is phenomenal, but the movie’s soundtrack adds depth and clarity to each scene. The characters’ emotions are reflected in songs from legendary icons, such as Simon and Garfunkel, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Led Zeppelin and Cat Stevens. The two Elton John songs, “Tiny Dancer” and “Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters,” fit like perfect puzzle pieces.

Jason Lee’s character as Stillwater’s front man, Jeff, is intense, but he has excellent comedic timing, and his long, straggly hair and slender physique give him a believable rock star look. He makes ample use of the F-word, and his jealousy over Russell is a realistic portrayal of the costs of stardom.

Kate Hudson makes her mainstream debut in this film, and it is easy to understand why she won a Golden Globe for best supporting actress. She shines on screen, and her character, Penny Lane, a self-proclaimed “band aide” — not a groupie — is vulnerable, playful and sincere all at once. Penny is a dreamer, and she wants someone to share her dreams with. She can’t forget about her love with Russell, but William is one who gets captured by her spell.

The most engrossing, compelling scene is when Penny’s plane is about to take off. William, who watches from the airport, runs by the window, not wanting her to go. She places her hand on the window, and with the music escalating, it seems as if time is standing still.

Credit the movie’s hilarious bits to Philip Seymour Hoffman as legendary Lester Bangs, editor of Creem magazine, and Jimmy Fallon of “Saturday Night Live” fame as Dennis Hope, one of the band’s managers. Frances McDormand as William’s mother also gives plenty of laughs with her endless warnings about drugs, rock ’n’ roll and commercialization.

While the movie is fiction, much is based on events that Crowe encountered while he was a teenager writing for Creem and Rolling Stone. Crowe’s talent as a writer and director is never more evident than in this film. Watch it whenever you need inspiration or are craving a flashback to the days when rock defined cool.





posted by Lauren Champlin @ 12:27 PM 0 comments