Chelsea Handler + Belvedere = what the %$#@ did she just say?

I knew it was a bad sign when there was a huge line out the door and we were arriving right at 10:30. Apparently, Chelsea promised a book signing, but promised it to a THOUSAND people!! Her late show didn't even start until 11:22.... 52 minutes late! I am not ashamed to admit I was already tired (feeling all of my 35 years) and the opening act Guy Branahm still had to perform.

I won't even go over Guys act, it had one theme only and not enough funny bits about that theme (did you know he was gay?) :) to justify it. I liked how he brought in some local material about our city, but he was literally sreaming into the mike.

Chelsea was funny, but only sporadically, thanks to too many sips from her sponsor (Belvedere Vodka). By the time she made it on stage it was already Midnight and she was well on her way to last call. There were some very funny bits, don't get me wrong. One in particular about discovering "the feeling" at a 2nd grade sleepover had me laughing so hard I was crying and afraid I was going to start choking. Chelsea does have a way with getting away with things most of us only think in our heads and she obviously strikes a cord with more than just my fellow thirtysomethings (the place was packed and had 20 yr olds and 40 year olds alike).

I would like to see her again, but would definitely go to the earlier show.... I think they got more "Bang, Bang" for their buck.

Why Can't Hollywood Stay Married??

I can't believe I was shocked to read about Sandra Bullock moving out of the family home with Jesse James, but I really was. Can no one in Hollywood stay married for even a microsecond?? It is so infuriating to constantly read about their disposable marriages and accusations of infidelity. If Jesse really did cheat on Sandra, he is crazy, for sure. It would however give more credence to the so called "Oscar Curse". Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon, Hilary Swank, Kate Winslet and now Sandra Bullock were all separated from their spouses within a year of winning an Oscar.

Is it just that men are that insecure of a powerful, talented woman or does it just simply change the balance of power and traditional roles of men and women so much that it can't be rectified??

I give Monique 6 months, of course, she is the only one that already has an "open" marriage (don't get me started on that)!

Maybe that was the real reason Jesse was tearing up during her acceptance speech, he was really thinking "Oh man, I am so dead.... I knew I shouldn't have slept with that tattoo artist!"

Parenthood is truly "Must See TV"

As a mom to two girls myself, it is so nice to see a show really showcase the good, the bad and the sometimes ugly sides of parenthood. I also found it ironic that I was vacuming up broken glass from a mug that fell off my TV tray while I thought this.

Did I mention that this was all at 10:30 while my 9 month old looked on crying because of the noise from the vacum and I realized I still have to put a load of laundry in so we all have something "green" to wear tommorrow? Sometimes I just need more hours in my day.

This is why TV & movies are important - they can take us to another place for just a little while we try to put everything in perspective.

That being said, Monica Potter really does remind me of Julia Roberts & it's good to see Mike O' Malley from "Yes, Dear" again. When will we find out what's up with the dad having condoms in his desk drawer in the barn??

Catch it tuesday's at 10pm on NBC

How Long Does it Take to Make Your Hair Look that Bad (or, I saw that new Robert Pattinson Movie)

Is it Just Me or Do these two Posters look alike???

I am admittedly, NOT a Robert Pattinson fan. I haven't seen any of the "Twilight" movies, I don't remember him from Harry Potter and every time I have seen him he looks like he just rolled out of bed (not in a good way).

Having said that, I sat down to watch "Remember Me" with the lowest of expectations. I didn't leave thinking I had seen the next "East of Eden" but I didn't hate it either. What I walked away with was a brief look into what may appeal to so many young girls out there. Robert's character Tyler has brooding down pat and his forlorn looks out his apartment window attempt to make you feel his inner conflict. The problem?? His Tyler is not a put upon 17 year old on the brink of adulthood wondering what to do with his life. The fact that we are expected to empathize with his immature 22 year old tirades is insulting. Maybe it's a generational thing and I am ageing myself here, but if you want to see a much better depiction of young angst, rebellion and "daddy issues" go rent "East of Eden" and take in Robert's obvious inspiration for the depiction of this role, James Dean.

Now, for the story; the movie opens in Brooklyn in 1991. A young girl and her mother (an interesting cameo by Martha Plimpton) are waiting for the subway. An attempted armed robbery against them results in her mother being killed in front of her devastated daughter. Flash ahead 10 years and we meet that girl again, now a 21 year old played by Emilie De Ravin of "Lost" fame. We see a foreshadowing of events when they show Tyler and Allie in the same college class at NYU.

Tyler is a ladies man and we are led to believe can get any girls he chooses with his tousled hair and love of poetry. A night out at a local club with his sidekick Aiden (Tate Ellington) leads to a fight for Tyler who is misdirecting his anger at his father & would pick a fight with a trash can. The responding cop doesn't like Tylers attitude and roughs him up a bit, sending him and Aiden to jail to cool off. Aiden finds out by chance that the jerk cop has a daughter (have you guessed it yet?) and suggests that Tyler date and then dump her to get back at her old man. Of course that girl ends up being Allie and so the story begins.

The movie may have been marketed as their tale of young love, but it was the tale of Tyler and his 11 year old sister Caroline (standout Ruby Jerins) who really held my attention. I was charmed by her and their sibling banter. Tyler was most empathetic in these scenes, the protective and wise older brother who dotes on his sister after school. I would have liked more scenes of them together.

The real theme of the movie I thought was grief- how we all process and handle it differently. Allie it turns out is just as damaged by her mothers death as Tyler is by his brothers suicide at 22 who he idolized. This gives them a bond and a way into each others world.

The dad Tyler now detests and blames for his families unraveling is played perfectly by Pierce Brosnan who's own grief is disguised by his aloof demeanor and deep pockets. He bails Tyler out of jail not once but twice during the movie.

At 112 minutes, it had my attention throughout & I didn't predict the ending (which I won't ruin). This in and of itself is worth the price of admission sometimes (in this case though a matinee, not a full price show aftr 5).

The last few somber minutes served as a reminder to me how one event can burn itself into your memory making it impossible to forget.

Final Score = A good excuse to buy popcorn and sit in the dark, but don't pay full price

Here Goes Nothing! This is Free Right? :)

So, I always wanted to do something involving movies.... but, then my life happened and now I am the proud mom of 2 beautiful girls and I am still crazy about movies.

Now, to me, not all movies are created equal. There are my art house favorites (Annie Hall, Flirting with Disaster, Me, Myself, I), there are my film noir faves (Double Indemnity, Gilda, Scarlet Street, Niagara) and then there are my gulity pleasure, shame inducing faves like "Kingdom of the Spiders", "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead" and "Dance Till Dawn".

Movies to me are like scrapbooks in my head... I saw "Pretty Woman" after my first crush and I broke up, thought I was "late" while watching "The Favor" and saw "Dirty Dancing; Havana Nights" alone in a theater a few days before I gave birth to my first daughter.

I even have what I affectionately call my "woobie movie", that movie you watch again and again, and AGAIN and even fall to sleep to. Mine used to be Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" but has been Woody Allen's "Manhattan Murder Mystery" for the last seven.

If only I could have figured out a way in the beginning to parlay that passion for movies into a career with benefits and a 401k... but I digress.