April 22, 2004

Whoa!  American Idol threw me for a loop last night (me and about 30 million other people, right?) when one of the judges' favorites, Jennifer Hudson was voted off the show.  My heels have been firmly dug in the ground against watching reality shows over the last few years but I've finally caught the bug and become certifiably addicted to this one.  I can't miss it!  I spend Tuesday nights frantically herding my kids to bed by 8 so that I can accurately gauge each contestant's performance.  My untrained ear aside, I scoff and shake my fist at Randy, Paula and Simon when they dare to disagree.  My husband is hooked and our best friend Jay lords his Idol authority, having watched last season as well.  The three of us spend a lot of time trying to convince each other of what "pitchy" actually means.  I'm soooo hooked.  And if you're interested in my opinion, I think Fantasia Barrino is the coolest contestant. I hope she wins.  I think George Huff has the most amazing attitude and when he starts bouncing like he's front and center in the Gospel Revival tent, my heart gets tugged toward him.  Two weeks ago, I was enamoured of the departed JPL (John Peter Lewis).  His rendition of Elton John's "Rocket Man" made me a little misty eyed and I cursed profusely when Simon told him how heinous it was.  :(  I agree with Simon that LaToya London has the best voice in the competition.  She is a professional wedding singer and her performance experience is evident.  She probably deserves the win, but her personality hasn't won me over - not that she's done anything to turn me off, just nothing to really turn me on.  Last week, it looked like Fantasia, LaToya and Jennifer Hudson were the frontrunners, with the judges pointing out that it was becoming a competition of the Divas.  Based on talent and the ability to perform and convey charisma, it seemed that the remaining contestants, 16 year old Diana DeGarmo, 17 year old Jasmine Trias and 16 year old crooner Jon Stevens were practically non-factors.  This week it was revealed that all three youngsters had actually received the highest amount of votes, with the so called Divas comprising the bottom group.  Poor George Huff was instructed to join the top four without being told who they were, and of course he was mistaken.  When it was pointed out that he should join Diana, Jasmine and Jon, everyone on stage was visibly shocked and Jennifer Hudson almost dropped her teeth.  To her credit, Fantasia laughed. ;)  The judges took turns looking disappointed and grim, giving us a little lecture about how voting should be based on talent.  I just thought it made clear that the majority of the voters are 14 year old girls (cuz Diana and Jasmine are like, so keewwl) and the elderly.  Because that Jon Stevens boy is just darling.  These kids today could take a lesson!   

I am always hesitant to get attached to television shows.  (Yeah, like you're gonna believe that sentence considering the 20 years of General Hospital that I've endured as well as the fangirl zeal of the previous paragraph?)  Honestly though, I don't watch ER, The Practice... not even Alias.  I guess I'm part bohemian and adverse to schedules. Then there's the compulsive part of me that knows that I wouldn't want to miss an episode and I'd have to adhere to the schedule.  I just elect to avoid the stress of having my psyche go to war with itself and never watch any of them.  I've seen Amber Tamblyn's "Joan of Arcadia" and think that it's enjoyable but rarely make myself switch to it on Friday nights.  Monday nights are a different story.  Las Vegas is a show I could watch for the next decade.  I don't think many critics agree with me - there's a lot of "it can't decide what it wants to be" chatter among them - but I love it for it's indecision.  It's sometimes sexy, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and it always leaves me wanting to know more about every character.  It doesn't hurt that the cast has much to offer in the way of eye candy for both sexes.  The NBC web site offers biographies for each actor "http://www.nbc.com/Las_Vegas/bios/" that will convince you.  Go, visit.  Josh Duhamel shines as Danny McCoy, the not so dumb jock who plays second in command at Big Ed Deline's (James Caan) luxury Vegas hotel/casino, The Montecito.  As a soap fan, I wanted to root for his character to ultimately pursue Vanessa Marcil's Sam - who could argue that Leo and Brenda might be white hot in the chemistry department?  But Nikki Cox (who is engaged to Bobcat Goldthwait, oddly enough) as Mary makes a compelling case for Danny's affections.  And former model Molly Sims as Delinda, the ex-girlfriend who also happens to be the boss' daughter brings interesting angles to the equation.  James Lesure and Marsha Thomason round out the cast of Montecito employees as Mike Cannon and Nessa Holt. The Montecito is a fabulous setting, the girls have great clothes and Josh Duhamel spends time chasing and tackling bad guys as well as driving a cool old muscle car.  The plots can be pretty soapy (John Claude VanDamme playing himself and dying in one episode) and it's not always intellectual (the hotel plays host to wet t-shirt contests, hot dog eating contests and the like) but it's consistently entertaining and well-acted.  If you haven't watched it or if you only saw it once, caught a glimpse of Paris Hilton and thought "Horrors! I can watch no more..", give it another shot and let me know what you think.  The upcoming episode (Monday, 9pm EST) involves a diamond heist and a psychologist arriving to determine the mental health of the casino's staff. And I mentioned the eye candy, didn't I? 

When it comes to choosing eye candy and let's face it, celebrity boyfriends, I'm a Ben Affleck kinda girl.  He's tall (*sigh*), smart (*sigh*) and has that Boston thang going on...like the high school quarterback showing up at the front door on a cool fall evening.. whisking you away to the Homecoming dance and surprising you later with a poem...oh gosh, somebody stop me - I'm sounding like such a dork. Ben's just that guy that you know your mom would love.  By the way, my other hearthrob is Colin Farrell, who is decidedly NOT the guy that mom would have loved - more like the ones I dragged home who were never welcomed back.  But still, a girl requires balance in these most serious matters and anyway, we're talking about Ben and he's the good boyfriend.  I went and saw Jersey Girl last week.  It was a precious departure from my normal routine that virtually never includes skipping out to the movies at 4 in the afternoon.  I wasn't expecting much from the movie after three weeks of less than stellar reviews from critics and lackluster box office.  Still, it was Ben.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the beginning of the movie (where Ben's character Ollie falls in love with Jennifer Lopez's Gertie in New York City) and was wishing that it had lasted longer.  Quickly, the movie shifts to the Jersey town where Ollie grew up and there's where it begins to falter.  Though I was most amazed by how much I enjoyed George Carlin playing Ollie's dad and doting Grandpa to the "Jersey Girl" (I really, really don't enjoy George as himself) who was named Gertie as well.  First off, what's with the names in this movie?  Ollie and Gertie?  Kevin Smith couldn't come up with something slightly more this century?  Anyway, it started out with a boatload of potential for me since I can be a huge sucker for daddy/daughter/grandpa type chemistry and Ben, George and movie newcomer Raquel  Castro had it in spades.  It just fell flat with the writing. Ollie's love interest Maya (Liv Tyler) was brought in under the umbrella of researching family men who rent pornography.  She offered sympathy sex to Ollie on their first "date" after getting him to confess that it had been seven years since he had been with a woman sexually.  It seemed really tainted and out of place in the movie when the core was about something much more than dad finding a new girlfriend.  Kevin Smith flubbed it.  Enjoyable for the actors and really fine performances but I decided to make the story up as it went along and my version was much more fun and with positively no porn research included.  Jersey Girl should have been sweet and straight and Kevin Smith should stick to movies that you'd never consider inviting your ten year olds to watch.   I really hope that Ben's next few movies are different than the last few or he may be looking at a much earlier start to the career in politics that he's mentioned being interested in.  Poor guy. 

I hope you're enjoying the Spring and finding entertainment in unexpected places.  Please e-mail me if you have any comments or any suggestions for how I might continue the column in the future.