Don’t get me wrong ““ I love Lindsay Lohan.
I’ve probably seen “Mean Girls” more times than I
could count; I bought her album the day it came out; and I even
once briefly entertained the idea of dying my hair red just because
it made her look so vivacious.
But as cool as I think the 18-year-old actress is, I would
never, ever want to be her. That girl lives a tough life. Just look
at her. I know she was just in a car accident, but why does she
look like a train wreck? Between the recent weight loss, the
soon-to-be-jailed father, and her new friendship with Nicole
Richie, something tells me that this underage diva is damaged
goods.
Of course, this is all based on stuff I’ve read about her,
and we all know what they say ““ you can’t believe
everything you read. And what would I know, I’ve never met
her, right?
True, until this past weekend. I got the chance to sit in on a
press junket for her new movie “Herbie: Fully Loaded,”
where I saw the young star in person, and I have to say this: The
last time I was that charmed by someone was when Jesse Metcalfe
told me I had beautiful eyes. Hey, it could happen.
Sure, she arrived a little late, and barely had a voice left to
speak (the night before was the MTV Movie Awards, and apparently
she partied like any college kid would have partied), but she was
amazing. Stunning, funny and surprisingly clever, if you ask me.
She answered every question with ease, and spoke about everything
from being on the front page of every tabloid magazine to celebrity
look-alikes (apparently, she was recently mistaken for a young
Marilyn Monroe ““ I know, I’m as confused as you are) to
her future college plans (a possibility, but right now, she’s
where she wants to be).
That’s when I realized that I had a lot more in common
with Lindsay than I had ever imagined. In fact, America’s
favorite former redhead and I are so alike that it’s hard to
tell the difference between us two buxom young starlets.
Odd Connection No. 1: When I started writing for The Bruin, it
was just about the same time that Lindsay made her first on-screen
appearance in “Mean Girls.” There we go, both emerging
onto the scene at the same time.
Odd Connection No. 2: Lohan’s first movie was
“Freaky Friday” with Jamie Lee Curtis. I sometimes get
told that I look like a young JLC.
Odd Connection No. 3: Celebrity feuds. Most notably,
Lohan’s all-out war with the adorable Hilary Duff. As for me,
more than a few of my columns have incited harsh words and all-out
cat fights. People still give me glares for that time I called the
deceased Pope lame.
Odd Connection No. 4: We’ve both made our mistakes.
I’ve written some not-so-good columns (read the TiVo column),
and she’s made some not-so-good movies (see
“Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen”).
Odd Connection No. 5: We’re both fully loaded. (I’ll
leave that one up for interpretation.)
Odd Connection No. 6: Speaking of “Herbie,” the
movie isn’t all that hot. And with her weight slowly
shrinking, and her reputation as a party-girl/on-set slacker
quickly growing, her career could end quickly and unhappily. As my
final moments at UCLA draw to a close, are mine and Lohan’s
paths destined to cross once more ““ only this time in the
unemployment line in downtown Culver City? As cool as that would
be, I sincerely hope we’ll both go on to better places than
Culver City. But then again, you shouldn’t believe everything
you read.
E-mail Scott at jscott@media.ucla.edu.