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Rise of Taj Falls Fast at Box Office By daralyn schoenewald Daily Titan Staff Writer thebuzz@dailytitan.com
“Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj” hit theaters Friday and quickly sank, grossing omly $2.38 million is first weekend. In this sequel to the 2002 movie, Kal Penn reprised his role as the sexobsessed Taj Mahal Badalandabad. Taj leaves Coolidge College behind to become a graduate teaching assistant at the prestigious English university Camford. Taj’s first stop is the home of the Fox and Hounds, an elitist fraternity. Pipp Everrett, Earl of Grey and head of the Fox and Hounds, informs Taj that his letter of acceptance contained a “typographical error” and should actually have read that he was not accepted. Taj is told that while he hasn’t been accepted to the Fox and Hounds, he can be the resident adviser to a group of students who live in the “barn.” Of course the students turn
out to be misfits — there’s one angry Irishman, one promiscuous Cockney, one geek, and one who never talks but seems to be naked a lot. Taj tries to restore their selfesteem by making the barn into something a little cooler. Taj discovers that the Fox and Hounds had also prohibited the misfits from joining their group by using the same acceptance letter trick and vows to stop them by winning the Hastings Cup — a prize the Fox and Hounds win every year. He forms his misfit group into a new group — one he names Cock and Bulls. Taj also sets out to change the curriculum of the school by having his students throw their old textbooks out of the window, creating tension with Charlotte Higginson, Pipp Everrett’s girlfriend and Taj’s supervisor. Throughout the movie, the Cock and Bulls compete against the Fox and Hounds for the Hastings Cup. As per the first Van Wilder movie, the rich guy — Everett —
Photo by: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Inc. Kal Penn stars at Taj Mahal Badalandabad in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj.
feels threatened and makes petty attempts to sabotage the Cock and Bulls, nearly succeeding in having Taj expelled. The plot is flat and the antics that
were amusing in the first Van Wilder somehow come across as grotesque and sexist. The plot was extremely predictable and never came close to
being funny. It is safe to say that if you enjoy movies liberally laced with sexual references and breasts, you will also enjoy this movie.
Sister Act had an Axe to Grind Underground Photo by Kevin Cole
By Kevin Cole
Daily Titan Staff Writer thebuzz@dailytitan.com
Former Cal State Fullerton student Daisy Salas led the twopiece Whittier-based punk rock sister act The Pristines with a string of power chords in front of a small crowd at the Underground Pub last Thursday. Few listeners looked away from the frantic pace of the 12-song set with lyrics laced with curse words and sexually explicit content. “I don’t beat around the bush and make all of these metaphorical lines. I am just straight up, and this is how it is,” Daisy Salas, vocals and guitar, said. Daisy Salas, a student at Long Beach Community College, played an old-school rhythm style on her blue guitar. The older half of the duo was the percussionist Jamie Salas, a student at Cerritos College. Older sister Salas said mishaps at shows have become the norm. Blown amps, broken strings and dead microphones sit atop the list of the more common problems. Starting over has defined the
group that began as the band Cashmere, then Ladies First, before settling into what has been a twoand-a-half year project known as The Pristines. The Pristines thrilled the Pub crowd with tight riffs and a frenzied tempo from start to finish.
When finished with their set the sisters mixed with their fans and visited with the Buzz. Buzz: What was the most unusual occurrence at a show? Jamie: The most unusual occurrence was when they played at Queer Ball at Sol Art in
Santa Ana. Queer Ball was an event to give awareness about the queer, transgender, bisexual community. I think on Daisy’s behalf it was kind of odd because a drag queen got her on stage and started dancing with her. It was really funny. Buzz: Have you ever had to
censor out the expletives? Daisy: We have had to censor ourselves from people asking us to censor our songs. We did a show at Cerritos a couple of weeks ago where they asked my sister to not say the Fword, say bitch, say whore and to not say gay. Buzz: What kinds of music do you like to listen to? Daisy: I like Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill, Brat Mobile and SleaterKinney. They are different, but they are basically about my life. I take little bits and pieces here and there. Buzz: Have you considered enlarging the band? Daisy: We have talked about it and we want to see how far we can get with just the two of us and see the pros and cons of adding someone else. Two people can do so much you just have to put yourself out there and do it. Buzz: Are you planning on touring? Daisy: Sheila Girl is speaking with our manager about doing a small West Coast tour and playing with them again at Warped Tour.
