10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 22, 2000 WB's satirical 'Grosse Pointe' spoofs teen dramas, itself ARTS Indie rockers shoot to kill at Ann Arbor's Io-fi Gun Shop venue By Melissa Gollob For the IDail Trying to get a jump-start on other networks delayed'by the Olympics, the W11 begins its fall season early with] network comedy 55 Grosse Pointe The WB Tonight at 8:30 pm. thlough they s' mt Darren Star's first "Grosse Pointe." No, this is not a new show about our friends who live on the bor- der of Detroit. Instead, it focuses on a parody of five stereotypical actor s who hegin to look like old miiem- hers of "Bever- ly Ilills, 90120" as they try to get ahead even to have it all. highlighting the ironic fact that actors do not possess the personali- ty of their characters. Quentin (Kohl Sudduth) is H unter's soap opera boyfriend. He tries to hide his bald spot by wearing a toupee and doing every t h ing possible to keep it a secret. Meanwhile, new girl Courtney (Bonnie Somerville) becomes so over-whelmed by the lack of moti- vation and preparation by the rest of the cast, so different from "actual" acting, that the token gorgeous guy, surfer Johnny (Al Santos), eventual- ly shows her the tricks of the trade when he teaches how to hold her script so the camera can't see it. His own motivation is driven purely by his loins and his desire to surf and smoke as much as he can. Rounding out the cast is Marcy (Lindsay Sloane. "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch"). ier Tori Spelling- like looks and antics help the show emphasize the outrageous personali- ties that befall teen icons as their fame grows. Marcy is so self-con- scious about her weight and popu- larity that she ridiculously repeats the mantra "I love myself. I only eat good foods. Everyone likes me." Marcy is a nice girl with low self- esteem, too sweet to be in such a ruthless business. By being gullible, she gets continually gets stepped on by everyone on the show as they feed their need for stardom. "Grosse Pointe" is a direct shot at the teen television genre that stemmed from Darren Star's rela- tionshiip with Teen K ing Aaron Spelling. Much of this satire is based on the Spelling hit "Beverly Hills 90210" and other popular WB teen dramas like "Dawson's Creek." It reinforces the idea that these high school dramas are more interested in good-looking actors than talent or real-life storylines. Exploitation is a major theme throughout the show. From IIunter's daily scheming to a Make-A-Wish Foundation kid who blackmails Quentin into getting him a line in a scene, the show illustrates that everyone can easily exploit actors, Just as long as their image doesn't get damaged. Like watching TR L's top ten videos, the show boasts hit soncs from N'Sync, Brittany Spears and By Rebecca Parks For the Daily I i Photo courtesy of The Wt3 Grosse Pointe: "Hate us because we're beautiful." Limp Bizkit. Although it makes an honest effort to enhance the charac- ter's personalities, the music falls short when the sound bites last only ten seconds. Along with all the actors "real" problems, they actual- ly do tape a primetime soap opera coincidently named, "Grosse Pointe. however, the taping of the show, and the actual show run so closely together that most of the time it's hard to tell where the soap ends and the show begins. "Grosse Pointe" may not be a thought provoking comedy like Dar- ren Star's other hit "Sex and the City,"' but a half hour of watching good-looking people mess Nwith each other's heads is worth a look. Cosigner makes the kind of endear- ing indie folk-pop that grabs you and sticks with you for days. The band is primarily the work of Stephen Tootle, a .vh R native of Visalia, Calif. and a doc- Cosigner toral student in history at Ohio The Gun Shop University in Tonight at8p.m. Athens, Ohio. After playing with a'number of bands in Califor- nia, Tootle had to leave them behind after deciding to go to Ohio for his doc- torate. Tootle decided to tour as Cosigner. because he didn't like the idea of "being a solo guy with just his name out there." These days, Cosigner is a solo act during the winter months and more of a band when Tootle is at ho* in California. In keeping with its roots as a solo act, Tootle writes and sings all of Cosigner's songs and also plays most of'the instru- mernts. The songs are mainly about the pressures of relationships and school and come off as a cross between Neu- tral Milk Hotel and the Beach Boys. The band has a new seven inch single out on Visalian Records for the song "Soft Drowsy Song," a sweetly ambiva- lent tale of being in love with the wrC girl. Also appearing at the Gun Shop on Friday night is A-Set. Another solo act with a band's name, A-Set is the brain- child of California-born Alfred Men- duno. After playing in several California-based bands, Menduno moved to Chicago and formed A-Set as a means to showcase his own songwrit- ing ability. Appearing at the Gun Shop this F@ day with Cosigner and A-Set are East Lansing's Brand New Blue and Royal Oak's Whitey. The Gun Shop is located at 1315 Sheehan in Ann Arbor. Lcading the cast is HIlunter (Irene Molloy), the spoiled trouble-making star who is threatened by the new girl on the set. While Hunter back stabs behind the scenes, her charac- ter is the victimlized, cirl next door r 0 As you consider career choices, think Podiatry. With the aging population, the need for Doctors of Fbdiatric Medicine has never been greater. For more information on this growing field, and to get a toehold on a great career, visit the website of the school of Podiatric Medicine nearest you. 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