Other Crap:

Daily Box Office - Friday, March 17, 2006

• V for Vendetta did take the top spot, but its grosses were softer than anticipated

The trailer for La Mujer de Mi Hermano

• "After almost ten years of marriage, the stunningly attractive Zo� realizes that her marriage to Ignacio no longer carries the passion and spark it once had. Emotionally adrift, she is left to search for those sensations once again, and soon finds herself seduced into the arms of Gonzalo, her husband's brother. At first, Zoe becomes reinvigorated by the romance. But her decision soon launches a series of events that drives these three people through a gauntlet of revenge, secret and despair that will unravel them all."

The High-Def trailers for Trust The Man

• A smart, sophisticated comedy about the challenges of love and marriage among modern day New Yorkers, "Trust the Man" features the romantic escapades of two couples: a successful actress (Julianne Moore) and her stay at home husband (David Duchovny); and her slacker younger brother (Billy Crudup) and his aspiring novelist girlfriend Maggie Gyllenhaal). The film follows these four on their pointed, often surprising and frequently hilarious search for love in the midst of careers, family, infidelity and the ever-daunting search for Manhattan street parking.

The Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Characters

• The Thing is Jewish?

Jennifer Connelly nude sex scenes compilation Video

62-Year-Old Grandmother Tackles Robbery Suspect

Aussie government orders spoof site shut

• "A spoof John Howard website that featured a soul searching 'apology' speech for the Iraq war has been shut down under orders from the Australian Government."

Google wins a court battle

• "In a legal win for Google, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a writer who claimed the search giant infringed on his copyright by archiving a Usenet posting of his and providing excerpts from his Web site in search results."

"South Park Creators Respond To Episode-Disappearing Scientologists"

Movie Reviews:

Yellow asterisk: funny (maybe). White asterisk: expanded format. Blue asterisk: not mine. No asterisk: it probably sucks.

"Going Steady"

Going Steady (1979) is the middle film in a Golan Globus teen love trilogy, all made in Israel, and all directed by Boaz Davidson. The three main characters from Going All the Way are back. The series continued with Shifshuf Naim. They are also known as "Lemon Popsicle 1, 2 and 3." This one is about three High School friends and their trials and tribulations with life, and especially with girls. These lives are not so different than what I experienced in the same era in Southern California. Evidently, both an English and an Israeli version were made.

As the film opens, the three friends are cruising the boulevard and listening to the radio much like the start of dozens of other movies. They pick up three "motorcycle chicks" and take them to the beach, hoping to get them to skinny dip. The boyfriends show up, and take of with both the girls and the boy's clothes.

Then Benji meets Tammy, and he is hooked. The film lovingly chronicles teen courtship. It works for several reasons. In structure, it is the standard Hollywood Boy Meets Girl plot line, which is neither good nor bad. Yvonne Michaels as Tammy is completely irresistible. Benji is something of a character, adding more than a little humor to the role. A scene where he eats raw vegetables in the library to get her attention is hilarious. There is also a nerdish girl with glasses who dates Benji's fat friend just to be near Benji, and who is not above moving in for the kill when Benji and Tammy have a spat, thus adding a bit of realism, showing that not everyone in High School gets the person of their dreams.

The sound track is a hit parade of late 50s and early 60s songs, Including:

Tammy
Lucile
Runaway
Yakkity Yak
Splish Splash
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
Because I Love You
Kisses, Sweeter than Wine
Save the Last Dance for Me
Only You
To Know Him is to Love Him
Theme from a Summer Place
Pretty Darlin'
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
I'm Sorry
Just the Beat of My Heart
Lets Twist Again Like We Did Last Summer
End of the World
My Little One
Bebop A Lula
Stranger on the Shore
High School Confidential
Tequilla
Tell Laura I Love Her

Those who remember the era will remember most, if not all of the music. For the rest, this is what we listened to before the Beatles.

Yvonne Michaels shows a breast with no head, but it is her, and is seen nude from the side with not much exposed. Rachel Steiner as the nerdish girl shows breasts.

IMDb readers say 4.3. This film has a lot of heart, and is just unique enough to ad cultural interest to a believable teen story. Add a great soundtrack, and this adds up to a C+, as a worthwhile teen romantic comedy.

Rachel Steiner Yvonne Michaels