Lemonade Mouth: Just Another DCOM?

Everyone knows about the Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs) that are constantly pumped out and hyped up by Disney Channel. Some sink into oblivion, some are okay, and then there's the holy grail of DCOMs-High School Musical. So how does the new DCOM Lemonade Mouth stack up?

[CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT!]

The plot, unfortunately is all too predictable and somewhat unoriginal. Its vaguely a mix of the plots of the High School Musical, Camp Rock, and Cheetah Girls movies. The movie starts out by following the stories of the five different band members. They first meet in detention and soon start singing and playing together. The music teacher hears them and encourages them to become a band and play at the Rising Star Competition-the winner of which gets a recording contract. She hopes the band can show the school that the arts and sciences matter just as much as sports. (Ms. Darbus's goal in High School Musical) Working together as a team and supporting each other (Cheetah Girls) the band soon becomes a local sensation, spreading their message of "being heard" (a lot like Stick With the Status Quo from HSM). Right before the competition, however, the band hits major road blocks in the form of injuries and fights within the band (Cheetah Girls 1,2,+3; Camp Rock 1+2). After a few hours in jail, however, they realize that friendship is stronger and get back together. When the leave the police station they are determined to perform at Rising Star, but their injuries prevent them from giving a performance at all. However, even though they loose; they know that their friendship is forever, have learned valuable life lessons, and become famous on their own. (Cheetah Girls 1+3; Camp Rock 1+2). In the end their success and determination results in their high school building a new auditorium and paying more attention to the arts and sciences. (again HMS).

The characters, however, are certainly interesting. Each as there own problem that they rely on their friends to deal with: divorce/new mom, mom dead/dad in jail, not living up to a dad's expectations/boy trouble, not living up to an older brother, and not fitting into a genius family. Although almost every DCOM involves similar problems (including HSM, Cheetah Girls, + Camp Rock), it still gives depth to the story line and allows regular kids who may be facing similar issues relate to the characters.

One thing that did surprise me was the issue of a dad in jail and a parent dating a much younger woman. These issues certainly happen in the real world, but Disney has always deemed such issues as too old for the channel. Recently, the channel has been integrating older dialogue into their shows (ex: A character on the comedy Shake It Up said he thought the word couture meant "lady parts") In most cases, I think that Disney is going a little too far; especially since Disney was always considered "safe" programming for concerned parents. In Lemonade Mouth, however, I think Disney is simply recognizing changing times and offering guidance on problems that many of its viewers face.

Finally, we come to the music. The music isn't Grammy winning, but its not that bad either. The songs are upbeat and catchy, without being HMS dance numbers. They have lyrics you can sing along and that get stuck in your head. I honestly wouldn't mind listening to them on the radio.

Overall I would give Lemonade Mouth a B+. True, it's a typical DCOM, and not incredibly original, but it's still a fun, upbeat movie to watch. Am I going to rush out and buy the DVD? No. Will I watch it when they play it on Disney Channel now and again? Sure.

Spring Fever

It is the last day of school before April vacation and every EBHS student's thoughts are on the upcoming vacation and imminent end of the year. I recently sat down with junior and sports star Jess and asked her to share her own thoughts.

Q: The last few weeks have been quite hectic. How busy have you been?

A: Pretty busy considering I have two proms coming up. They are two months apart, but I've been making all the appointments and stuff. Plus I have track and work.

Q: What do you plan to do over vacation?

A: Probably sleep, hang out with my friends, work, go to track.

Q: Have you gotten any homework to do over vacation?

A: Yeah....I don't want to talk about it. Sore Subject.

Q: What do you think the teachers do over vacation?

A: Not homework, and not going to work, and not going to track; and I'm jealous.

Q: You mentioned the upcoming proms; tell me about them.

A: EB's prom is April 29th and I'm pretty much all set. Coyle's prom is May 26th and I'm not at all set for that one. I'm wearing the same dress for both.

Q: What does your dress look like?

A: Its blue and its mermaid style and it has a sparkly beady thing right there (pointing to left side).

Q: What part of prom are you most excited for?

A: To wear my dress. I've been staring at it for two months and I haven't gotten to wear it yet. I only wore it at the fitting and the lady still has it.

Q: Do you think you can make it through the last thirty days of school?

A: Absolutely Not!

Q: What do you want to do during the upcoming good weather?

A: Hopefully go to the beach.

Q: How do you think it will feel when the seniors leave and we become seniors?

A: Awesome, but I'm friends with a lot of them so I'll miss them. It will be cool to eat outside; well I've already eaten outside, but it will be cool to be allowed to eat outside.

London Teen Shot Outside Bank

The following is a news article based on the events of the Alex Rider novel Scorpia by Anthony Horowitz:

Late yesterday afternoon a fourteen year old South London boy was shot on Liverpool Street outside the Royal and General Bank.

The teen-who's name was not released to protect him-was apparently leaving the bank when an he was shot in the chest by an unidentified shooter.

Witnesses quickly rushed to his aid, finding him unconscious and unresponsive. Police and EMTs quickly arrived on scene.

The teen was brought to hospital-the name of which was also not released by police.

Witnesses gave this account of the violence:

It was late afternoon and the congested London streets were full of cars, taxis and people trying to get home.

One of those people was this young teen. He was seen leaving Royal and General, apparently walking towards the tube station.

Suddenly, a single shot rang out and the young lad collapsed onto the sidewalk. He had a deep chest wound and large amount of blood quickly pooled around his body.

Several witnesses rushed over to the boy. A few phoned 999 for help. Others took off their jackets and sweaters, covering the boy and attempting to stop the bleeding.

Police and EMTs arrived within two minutes. The EMTs tried to stabilize the boy and stop the bleeding. They say that he was semi-conscious when they arrived, but was in complete shock and bleeding profusely. He muttered something about seeing his parents again before completely loosing consciousness.

The boy was rushed to hospital where he underwent an emergency heart surgery. The doctors expect him to make a full recovery, but say he will have to undergo months of physical therapy.

Meanwhile, the police are still searching for the shooter. They set up road blocks around the area, but to no avail. It is believed that suspect fled before the police arrived.

Witnesses are also having a hard time identifying the shooter. No one seems to be able to tell where the shot came from or saw anyone particularly suspicious in the area. Similarly, witnesses saw neither a person fleeing the scene nor a get-away car.

Due to the lack of motive and openness of the crime, police believe that it is a random act of violence-possibly gang related.

Opening Day

Spring has arrived, and one of the world's greatest sports has once again started up for the season. No, no, I'm talking about Opening Day at Fenway (though di-hard fans around New England were dancing around their kitchens to "Sweet Caroline" Friday). I'm talking about the Dog Show season.

The Muddy Paws Dog Show kicked off at 8:30 AM at the Osterville Community Center on the Cape. Three different clubs attended the event, bringing around 40 participants. Crate space was limited and at times everyone felt like sardines, but we savored every minute. It was finally time to put all of our winter training and practice to the test.

That practice certainly showed. Every club and every member exhibited excellence in both showmanship and obedience. The competition was very stiff and the final results/scores astounding.

Satucket River Dog Club-my club-was no exception. Our novice kids looked perfectly at home in the ring. One of our novice members received a first in her showmanship class. Another received seconds in both obedience and showmanship, which when combined with her knowledge score, made her the best overall junior. The Seniors didn't do half bad either. Returning veteran Katie received a 2cd in Graduate Novice Obedience and a 2cd in Advanced Showmanship. Jack received first place in Novice A obedience with a score 0f 199 out of 200. I received a third in Novice A Obedience with a score of 193 and third in Advanced Showmanship. Both my score and Jack's score are qualifying legs towards our CD-Companion Dog-titles. (3 scores-legs-over 175 with more than half of the total points earned in each category)