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BEST INSIDE INFORMATION ABOUT A CONTROVERSIAL PLACE
Thousands of people pass by Portland's Lovejoy Surgicenter on the corner of Northwest Lovejoy Street and 25th Avenue without really knowing what goes on inside the two-story cinder block structure. But as the nation's largest abortion provider, the clinic is sinister to some and a sanctuary to others. Local writer Peter Korn spent an entire year inside Lovejoy Surgicenter and produced a portrait of the abortion controversy that is much more comprehensive than what appears on the TV news every time the clinic is damaged by a bomb or arson fire. LOVEJOY: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF AN ABORTION CLINIC (Atlantic Monthly Press, 306 pages, $23, ISBN 0.87113.659.7) puts a human face on the people who work in the clinic, the women who utilize its services and the people who oppose its practices. Because of Korn's book, it is now possible for polite patients to greet the protesters outside the clinic by their first names. BEST NOVEL BY A LOCAL AUTHOR ABOUT MEN BEHAVING BADLY
Pacific Northwest fiction usually sports at least one fly-fishing scene and always bemoans civilization's encroachment on nature. Often, there is a wise and mystic Native American character tying the whole story together. But this year, two Portland residents have written novels about whiny white guys who search for self-identity within an urban landscape. Chuck Palahniuk'sFIGHT CLUB (W.W. Norton, 192 pages, $21, ISBN 0.393.03976.5) is about an emotionally repressed guy who befriends his maniacal alter-ego, Tyler Durden. Their celebration of violence includes a fist-fighting support group for men that culminates in big explosions (rumor: Fight Club may be coming soon as a summer blockbuster movie starring Brad Pitt). On the other hand, Blake Nelson's book EXILE (Scribner, 288 pages, $11, ISBN 0.684.83838.9) features a mopey New York poet named Mark West who indulges in drink, drugs and dubious dating. He is sent (exiled?) to the hinterlands of Portland, where he learns absolutely nothing about himself. We threw Fight Club's Durden into a basement with Exile's West. Feisty Durden easily beat the crap out of the wussy scribe, despite West's lethal poetry slam. We predict the same results if the two authors squared off in real life, considering that Palahniuk works for a tough Portland truck manufacturer and Nelson writes for sissy Details magazine. BEST THEATER PROGRAMS
There's no need to take a good magazine to read while waiting for the show to begin at PORTLAND CENTER STAGE; they will supply you with one. The theater's glossy programs are packed with excellent essays, biographical sketches and production notes that are both entertaining and, rare to find elsewhere, literate. Remember: The seats nearest the stage offer the best light. BEST WAY TO START A VIDEO LIBRARY
Considering that more than half the movies ever made have already disintegrated, maybe it's time to get your own archive started. A good place to begin is the "previously viewed" SALE BIN AT AREA VIDEO STORES, where many movies enjoy a brief purgatory just prior to final erasure. Viciously teased by the glossy New Releases and sniffed at by the gilded Classics, the sale tapes timidly huddle in their plastic corral by the register, awaiting rescue. If you poke around diligently enough among the Kevin Costner overruns and Twister multiples, you'll find a bountiful garden of '30s spy serials, '70s paranoia movies, '80s boob romps, singing cowboy musicals and super low-budget blaxploitation pictures. And beneath that, as if those withered genres wouldn't be enough to merit some rummaging time, the previously viewed bins occasionally exfoliate some totally unforeseeable mutant blossom. Recent treasures from the bins at Videoland (5408 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) include such brilliant failures as Legend of Boggy Creek II: The Legend Continues, a hybrid horror movie, nature documentary and travelogue for the state of Arkansas; Wizards of the Lost Kingdom, a sword and sandals picture featuring a cast that's obviously drunk; andCrucible of Terror, an early '70s bummer movie whose satanic plot captures the bleak cynicism of a moment many of us were unwittingly born into. For those willing to gamble, the battered remainder tapes very often grind to life to reveal tiny gestures and whole fantasy lives nearly forgotten to the world. And they only cost about four bucks apiece. BEST CHEAP THEATER
If your hunger for theater of the absurd remains unsated, a mere $1.05 will get you a ticket to BUS NO. 15. Here a cast of the aberrant, crazed and junk-sick perform paranoid monologues ("The C.I.A. sentenced Jim Backus to Gilligan's Island"), bird acts with molted parakeets and surreal dialogues:
"Like, Waco..."
"Marilyn Manson, man."
It's the perfect end to a dull night of straight theater. BEST WAY TO EXPERIENCE THE COLUMBIA GORGE WITHOUT ACTUALLY GOING THERE
It's raining, windy and cold, yet you can't fight the urge to visit the Columbia Gorge. Why risk death, dismemberment or getting really wet when you can pop in a video, sit back, relax and watch WATERFALLS OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE? Available from Justice Productions, 3335 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR 97214, e-mail: fallsvideo@inetarena.com.) Justice Productions, a local film and video company, takes you on a 30-minute tour of the majestic gorge and its ever-flowing columns of white water. The video visits Latourell, Bridal Veil, Wahkeena, Horsetail and, of course, Multnomah Falls, zooming in and fading periodically to enhance nature's tranquility. New Age fans can crank the volume and hear synth-drenched sonic waves by New Song International, Paul Christanson and Kyle Lewis. Or you can dispense with the TV speakers and throw on your favorite psychedelic rock CD to accompany this pleasant voyage; there's even a rumor that Roger Waters wrote Dark Side of the Moon in exact synchronization with the Waterfalls of the Columbia Gorge video! BEST THEATER CAFE
The Common Grounds Coffee House (4321 SE Hawthorne Blvd.) has much to recommend it, not least of which is the Stark Raving Theater directly behind. But the REXALL ROSE (2403 NE Alberta St., 282-9781) rates higher for both its unaffected Bohemianism and its care to cater to vegans and vegetarians. Plus, it's the best java you can get in a chipped mug. BEST GALLERY
Local art dealers and collectors would have you believe that Portland is at the center of this century's gold rush. True, rarely have bank accounts been so swollen, and rarely have the names of local artists so often graced the pages of national magazines. But the fact is there are only a handful of galleries in Portland that could hold their own nationally, and the best of the bunch is the PDX GALLERY (604 NW 12th Ave.). The spirit of true independence defines this small, intimate gallery that is just a year old: PDX doesn't participate in First Thursday and opens its doors a mere four days a week. Showing some of the region's finest talent with little in common except for the diminutive scale of their work--Eric Stotik, D.E. May, James Lavadour and Molly Vidor among them--PDX plays the art world game on its own terms. Eschewing all the tea-party conventions of the Pearl District, PDX relies instead on the stature of its national-caliber artists and the peerless reputation of its owner, Jane Beebe. BEST EMERGING GALLERY
Having served as underlings to the late William Jamison at the Jamison/Thomas Gallery, Charles Froelick and Shannon Adelhart (who has since left for law school) opened the FROELICK ADELHART GALLERY (817 SW 2nd Ave.) in 1995. Situated across the street from the Yamhill Market and the World Trade Center, the gallery's downtown digs may be symbolic of its larger role within the art world: a major player, but healthily outside the fray of the Pearl District. Like the PDX Gallery, Froelick Adelhart represents an eclectic group of independent-minded artists with a commitment to talent both established and emerging: Kevin Kadar is one of the region's best painters; sculptor Christine Murakishi and assemblagist Gabriel Manca are two young artists worthy of acclaim. All galleries have an air of chatty decorum that can be annoying and inhibiting--this is the art world, after all. But Froelick Adelhart is one of the few galleries that has always welcomed with open arms both the serious and the casual artgoer--a reflection of Froelick's easy-going manner and belief that art should touch everyone's life. BEST NEW WAY TO TURN COUCH POTATOES INTO OUTDOOR TYPES
If your beloved's TV-screen pallor is starting to scare the kids, lure him or her outside with free movies. This August, the Northwest Film Center plans to hold "MOVIES BY MOONLIGHT," something it hasn't done in several years. The first program--Wednesday, Aug. 6, in Washington Park Amphitheater--is a selection of live-action and animated shorts; bring a blanket and a picnic. On Saturday, Aug. 9, at a downtown location to be announced, the subject will be classic jazz, with a screening of great musical celluloid from the 1950s and '60s. Both programs are free and begin at dusk, so that sofa slug can't use poverty or fear of sunburn as an excuse. BEST PRIVATE SCREENING ROOM
Howard Hughes never stood in line at the multiplex--why should you? This summer, skip the shopping mall blockbuster drivel and sold-out art films at KOIN and make your own movie madness at the AVALON THEATER (3451 SE Belmont St., 238-1617). Ostensibly it's a video arcade, but in the back--behind the rows of Street Fighter II games--is a small theater in virtual disuse. For $15, the manager will project your favorite video onto the big screen, hang up the "private party" sign and leave you alone for two hours. It's up to you to bring the video and, unlike in most theaters, you can also bring your own food. Think of the possibilities: moviehouse make-outs (you, a date and Last Tango in Paris); family film feasts (your siblings, Chinese take-out and Eat Drink Man Woman); ballistic birthday bashes (a dozen 6-year-olds, some Hostess treats and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). Up to 15 guests are included in the initial price; after that, each person is a dollar more. In a city that has no revival houses, this could be your only chance to see the beloved classics on a big screen. BEST CAFE ART
Portland's dens of coffee and chai have become chock full of the city's most promising, if unheralded, artists. In fact, it seems de rigueur to supply a shot of visual art with a shot of caffeine. Like their more official counterparts, most cafes have revolving shows each month. But one cafe stands above all others, in part because the only revolving policy is the one that welcomes customers through its establishment. Located in a historic Victorian house in Southeast Portland, THE PIED COW (3244 SE Belmont St.) offers one constant, never-changing visual pleasure equal to the city's museum offerings--the Pied Cow house itself. Even if you had the money, you could not build this house today, nor could you duplicate the loving touch of owners Brad Willard and Jennifer Adams. From the beautifully painted exterior to the ornate interior fixtures and tableaux of photos, objects and second-hand furniture, the Pied Cow is not simply the city's best cafe, but an expression of artistic temperament. BEST ACT III THEATER
We'd love it if we had another Cinema 21--one that showed more independent films, as well as revivals such as a Robert Mitchum memorial film series (Northwest Film Center, are you listening?)--but sadly, Portland can't seem to support a revival house. Portlanders do go to the latest movies, however, and seem to be content with (or endure) some of the worst atmospheres in the city. Many Act III theaters are too bright, obnoxiously decorated, have small screens and bad sound, and make you feel as if you were stuck in a pinball machine rather than a theater lobby. One big exception is the EASTGATE THEATER (2025 SE 82nd Ave.). The free-standing marquee is a nice touch, as is the small number of separate theaters (three) and fewer people crowding the aisles. The interior decor is not the most attractive (the decade of gorgeous movie theaters passed 40 years ago), but it's a vast improvement over the jarring, popcorn/urine-smelling theater lobbies in the "grand mall seizures," as one local critic put it. Upon entering Eastgate, one is calmed by the psuedo-Hilton feel, which boasts a fiber optic chandelier giving off a soothing yellow light and black and blue carpeting that hides any noticeable dirt or squished up Ju-JuBes. Blue curtains surround the theaters, the screens are huge (the biggest in town) and the sound is often quite good. Best of all--and this is seriously lacking from all other Act IIIs--is how dark Eastgate is, a plus when you don't want to see the face of the patron in front of you when you hiss, "Quiet down!" BEST MEETING OF RIGHT-WING NUTS AND LEFT-WING WACKOS
During each night of the run of WACO: THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, a recently released documentary suggesting that the government knows a good deal more than it is willing to admit about the Waco incident, survivalist gun nuts mingled with tree-spiking Marxists at the Clinton Street Theater. United by their mistrust of government and a common interest in plaid flannel shirts, the politically mixed crowd proved that anti-politics can make strange bedfellows as well. BEST LAWN ORNAMENT THROWN OUT OF A PICA SHOW
Rubberneckers delight: Big-hipped, buxom and bikini-clad NANCY is something worth slowing down for. The 7-foot-tall cement vision of a woman ready to water her lawn was created by artist Ben Rosenberg as part of PICA's recent Garden Show, which ran from June 12-July 12 in the Lutz Tire Building on Northwest 15th Avenue and Savier Street. Nancy was the centerpiece of Rosenberg's bright and kitschy installation, Howdy Neighbor. On opening day, visiting curator Victoria Beal decided that sassy, pink-lipsticked Nancy just didn't fit in with the more delicate aesthetics of the show. Rosenberg had to remove Nancy from the installation, and she was hidden in the dark, behind the bathrooms, far away from the rest of the show. But you can't keep a good woman down. Nancy is now watering along Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard. BEST WAY TO GET NAKED CHICKS
When musician Dan Reed's film MUD THERAPY called for two female actresses who were "comfortable with their bodies and able to play sexually explicit scenes requiring partial nudity for low-budget pay," some wondered if there would actually be any film in the camera. Reed (pictured)--whose first big acting role as an Indian chief in Gus Van Sant's troubled Even Cowgirls Get the Blues ended up on the cutting-room floor--insists that his passion for filmmaking went beyond gallivanting with half-naked starlets. Really. "The film is about three dirty souls trying to come clean and find peace in their lives," explains Reed, who also scripted the film. Reed plays a convict who escapes with the help of a thrill-seeking woman named Sierra (Kim Kopf) and kidnaps Maria (Nicole Zanzerella), the daughter of a molesting governor, in hopes of getting at the politician through his "pride and joy." BEST FORUM FOR LOCAL FILMMAKERS
One obstacle daunting local guerrilla filmmakers has always been a lack of venues willing to exhibit raw, homegrown celluloid. Strangely, Portland's omnipresent McMenamins chain has proved to be the one Portland institution willing to shed light on local talent. Since March, the McMenamins-ownedMISSION THEATER (1624 NW Glisan St.) has been hosting a monthly forum called Cracked Lens for independent filmmakers to show and discuss their works. The seeds of the series were planted four years ago, when the McMenamins announced that they would fund a film project if any interested employees had some cinematic visions burning in their brainpans. The result was a short montage of vignettes produced by several employees under the moniker On Tap Production. A program to debut their work later took shape as Cracked Lens. "It was all to aid the independent filmmaker," Mission manager Caroline Rouwalk says of the forum. "They get to show and share their work with other filmmakers and have discussions--what kind of pains they went through, how they put it all together, etc. Hopefully word will get around the film community that we want to show their films." To submit work to Cracked Lens, call 223-4527 or 235-5009. BEST PORN MOVIE
No one can accuse local art Svengali Jacob Pander of pandering to people's expectations with his sexually explicit aesthetic autopsy THE OPERATION. The 13-minute, 16mm film, co-created with Marne Lucas, features a striking surgeon doffing her protective suit and performing a thorough examination of her patient before a group of motionless observers. Shot in infrared, the film's provocative images flare and ooze like molten lava, creating an unsettling blend of prurience and poetry. For more information on the film, described by Desire Magazine as "a mind fuck of a surreal masterpiece," write: 210 Productions, 625 SW 10th Ave., Suite 121-C, Portland, Oregon 97205-2788. BEST PREMISE FOR A LOCAL FILM
Most films are shit, but it is an exceptionally rare occurrence when actual fecal matter plays an integral role in a script. Filmed on location in Portland by Impromptu Pictures, THE MORTIFICATION MANis based on the true story of a Midwestern gent trapped in a sweltering outhouse. After a balmy summer's night spent chest-deep in a pit of human waste, the luckless wallower is so traumatized by the event that he'd rather die than tell anyone of his dung-induced humiliation--that is, until the townspeople get a whiff of his odious disgrace. This 30-minute visit to Dante's Port-o-let is part of a planned feature entitled Don't Freak 'Til It Happens, which Impromptu hopes to fund through the circulation of this preliminary episode. Last year, The Mortification Man was the first production from Oregon ever to be accepted to the prestigious London Film Festival. BEST-INTENTIONED LOCAL FILM PRODUCTION
Starring Green Bay Packer Reggie White as a pro football star who retires to coach at-risk teens at a Portland high school, 37-year-old Portlander Paul McKellips' film REGGIE'S PRAYERis rife with good intentions. First, the $5 million production was inspired by the filmmaker's dismay at the prejudice he felt pervaded the O.J. Simpson trial. "I was shocked at how many all-consuming and detrimental remarks were made about African-Americans in general instead of strictly at O.J. at the trial," McKellips says. "Racism didn't exist in my neighborhood when I was growing up, but I soon became aware of it in movies--African-Americans depicted as robbers and crack addicts. It was really important for me to portray black males as the one thing I rarely saw them as in movies: normal people." Second, there's the film's message. "The film's primary message is that winning is not everything, it's how you play the game of life that's important," says McKellips. Third, there's the fervor of the film's lead, quoted in the Sporting News as saying that acting was "another way God is using me to serve him." And finally, the film's première last September at Portland's Performing Arts Center benefited the fire-gutted Immanuel Christian Fellowship Church, Portland Public Schools' Performing Arts Program and Reggie White's church in Knoxville, Tenn. BEST SIGN THAT THEATER COMPANIES CAN HAVE THICK SKIN
Say what you will about its productions, but you have to admire PORTLAND REPERTORY THEATER's pluck in turning negative reviews into an ad campaign. This is a good-humored, not to mention dramatic, piece of promotion. Here's hoping the theater's next season is a success. At any rate, we'll leave the tomatoes at home. |
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