Art to heart

Blond bombshell meets tall, dark and handsome. Yet another night
of blind date debauchery hits the streets of Westwood, combining a
leafy dinner with a short trip to the infamous sculpture garden and
a movie to heighten understanding of familiar relationships.

This week our blind daters were Julia Lea and David Ghiyam. Lea,
who her friends say is a charming girl whose face lights up the
room, is a second-year psychology student. Ghiyam’s friends
describe the first-year sociology student as suave and confident,
as well as charming.

Starting with dinner at Damon and Pythius, the two talked about
everything from their college experiences to their future goals and
even their reactions to blind dates.

“My first impression of Dave was that he was cute and a
very good height,” said Lea. “He acted like a complete
gentleman when he shook my hand and opened the door for
me.”

Ghiyam was most struck by Lea’s sweet and friendly
demeanor, as well as her ability to keep up interesting
conversation while dining on their salads.

“When I first met Julia, she struck me as extremely sweet
and friendly,” said Ghiyam. “I went into the date
thinking that Julia was going to be timid and shy, but she
definitely kept the conversation going and kept it
interesting.”

After finishing their meals, the two were scheduled to see a
play. Of course, planning is sometimes off, and after running
around North Campus looking for the play, the couple soon realized
it wasn’t happening that night. So, instead of enhancing
their theatrical knowledge, the two journeyed back to Westwood to
become film critics and watch “Raising Victor
Vargas.”

Though Peter Sollett’s film about love and familial
relationships between main character Victor and his grandmother,
brother, sister and his girl, “Juicy Judy,” won awards
at the Cannes and Sundance film festivals, it did not get good
marks with these daters.

“The plot of the movie went extremely slow, which made it
easy to understand, but also left me uninterested sometimes,”
said Lea. “There was also a lot of symbolism through the
actions of the characters which gave us a look into different
reactions to teenage emotions and family relationships.”

Ghiyam, a fan of movies that have interesting and convoluted
plots that make viewers think, also wasn’t impressed with
what the film had to offer.

“What struck me most about the film was the lack of
background music,” said Ghiyam. “The dead silence for
minutes ““ though making us concentrate on the actions of the
characters ““ made it easier to lose interest in the
movie.”

While the film wasn’t a great hit with the two, they said
it had some more entertaining moments.

“The characters of the movie were extremely dynamic and
realistic,” said Lea. “The (actor) who played Victor
did an impressive job at conveying his emotions ““ his
character was definitely one everyone could seemingly relate to at
the end of the movie.”

Not only did the characters help to bolster the entertainment
value, there were also some hilarious scenes, according to Ghiyam,
that made it memorable.

“The opening scene with a larger women trying to seduce
Victor and the scene where Victor is shot down by a girl all add to
the human aspect of the character and make him even more believable
and entertaining,” said Ghiyam.

Though the film did have some redeeming qualities, it was not an
overall hit with the pair. Both commented that this was not a
“first date movie” because of its seemingly profound
complexity and outright bore factor.

“It wasn’t really a date movie,” said Lea.
“It seems to be more for an artistic, avant-garde movie-goer
rather than people who just want a relaxing evening of
entertainment.”

From witnessing the coming of age of a self-styled Latino
Casanova to munching on spinach, corn and carrots, the two blind
daters added love and entertainment to their vast knowledge.

“The date was, overall, an awesome experience,” said
Ghiyam. “I felt comfortable with Julia, and we had great
conversation. I’d definitely be willing to go on another
blind date in the future, but I think it’d be more
entertaining if the date had twists to it ““ like a third
person.”