`All-American Girl' seduces with pathos and creepy moments

When USA Networks announced it was making Mary K. Letourneau's story into a TV movie last August, the jokes abounded - mainly ones about Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" popping up on the soundtrack.

It doesn't, but it's telling that strains of Hans Zimmer's music from "True Romance" dance in the background of "The Mary Kay Letourneau Story: All-American Girl," premiering on cable's USA Network tonight at 8 o'clock.

Telling, because that's the aftertaste the movie's creators want to leave viewers. In its own way, the teleflick seems to say, what happened between Letourneau and her underage lover may have been true love, even if the law doesn't agree.

That notion, along with several modest liplocks and the frenzied beginning of a love scene between Penelope Ann Miller and baby-faced 17-year-old actor Omar Anguiano, is more than enough to give the average person a severe case of the willies.

Letourneau is serving 7 1/2 years in prison for having sex with her student Vili Fualaau, who was 13 at the time. Together they have two children, now cared for by Fualaau and his mother.

You might feel like taking a scalding shower with a scrub brush and lye soap after watching "All-American Girl." It'll make your skin crawl at some moments, and have you cringing at others - not necessarily because of the crime. If you let yourself get taken into the story, you actually might feel sorry for the jailed schoolteacher.

Which from the city and a second developer, Marc Gartin, who owns the theater property and land along 42nd Avenue Southwest near the Admiral Thriftway.

They plan to gather tonight to revise cost estimates and decide how to proceed.

But a sense of bitterness still lingers over the City Council's failure last month - after a year of planning - to make up its mind.

The community and developers had come together with a proposal they thought couldn't be turned down: The city would issue bonds to pay for construction but would recover the money over 40 years from parking revenues and an assessment on local businesses.

Instead, the council voted last month to continue studying the plan. In the eyes of some, the vote essentially killed the project.

Councilman Richard Conlin, who says he thinks the garage would be good for the neighborhood, cited the chaos of events surrounding the World Trade Organization meeting, which prevented council members from getting all their facts together in time for the meeting.

And, stung by criticism over the city's $73 million investment in a downtown parking garage for Nordstrom, council members are more cautious about public-private ventures. The city ended up spending $23 million more than the cost of building that garage.

A new city task force will be created by March to review all such future projects.

"It still needs careful review and analysis," Councilwoman Jan Drago said of the Admiral proposal. "This is the first joint venture, or public-private venture, in a neighborhood business district."

The city wants yet a third parking study undertaken, and another public hearing.

Drago, chairwoman of the council's Business, Economic and Community Development Committee, said she was not surprised John Stone Development of Spokane decided against the parking-garage proposal and went on with its development of a 76-unit assisted-living facility for seniors.

The company says it lost about $100,000 by waiting several months for a decision from the city.

"We held our project back several times," Dee McGonigal, John Stone's project manager, said last week. "We're upset that we weren't able to get something done. That would have been good for the neighborhood."

The company's 38-space parking lot won't be open to the public, except for customers of retail stores on the building's first floor, he said. McGonigal said he didn't want to point fingers at the City Council because elected officials need to study such proposals with "due diligence."

Others are not so charitable.

"The last decision by the City Council was a slap in the face," theater manager Garrett said. Owners of the Admiral, Oasis Entertainment of Port Orchard, have spent $110,000 to upgrade the sound system, and depend on customers from beyond West Seattle, he said.

A parking lot could prevent the theater from going dark again, as it did in 1989 for several years.

But some environmentalists say it's wrong to put up more parking lots because they encourage people to drive rather than walk or take public transit.

Supporters of the Admiral lot say many older residents in the Alki area can't be expected to walk up the hill to the theater. And without adequate parking, they would just get in their cars and drive farther to other retail areas.

Day-time parking wasn't a problem last week in the Admiral district, although it was tight near the library on 42nd Avenue Southwest, which has 500 patrons a day and only eight dedicated spots.

But when the movies start showing and the restaurants start cooking, there's often a crunch.

"By about four o'clock in the afternoon, you can't find a parking space anywhere," said Don Geddes, owner of ZATS a Better Bagel, on California near Admiral. His wife, co-owner Nancy Geddes, says customers won't park four blocks away to get a bagel.

The answer may lie just half a block away, where developer Gartin wants to build a 72-unit condominium complex on top of a drugstore.

Gartin says he still is "very much in favor" of a public-private garage on his property, a project that some estimate would cost $2.8 million. Gartin thinks an underground garage could hold up to 140 public stalls, not counting spots for condo owners.

But he still is going through the planning process, and it could be at least a year before he moves any earth.

Jeff Hodson's phone message number is 206-464-3779. His e-mail address is jhodson@seattletimes.co.