2009 Golden Globe Nominees

Barring any last-minute drama by the fractured Screen Actors Guild — who just announced that they are presenting a strike authorization vote to their membership on January 2nd — this year’s Golden Globe Awards should play out a little better than last year’s lame, strike-addled affair.

Seriously, ask anyone who sat through last year’s Golden Globe “press conference” and they’ll you that that thing was a total disaster. If I never have to sit through Mary Hart and the rest of those old leathery gasbags reading names off a list again, I’ll die a very happy man indeed. Yikes…

But…I digress. This year’s crop of nominees are a pretty cool bunch. Sure, there are way too many nods for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Burn After Reading” (which we both kinda loathed), but I was seriously stoked to see “Slumdog Millionaire”, “Frost/Nixon” and “Milk” sneak in there in some pretty major categories. Those movies rocked hard, so, congrats to everyone involved.

Was really bummed to see Rosemarie DeWitt overlooked for her heartbreaking turn as Globe-nominee Anne Hathaway’s sister in “Rachel Getting Married”. Sure, Hathaway had all the big, “crazy girl makes a scene” moments in the movie, but DeWitt, playing the good, normal sister, stole every scene she was in. So, this is a huge oversight in my book.

I was stoked to see James Franco nominated for “Pineapple Express”. We haven’t seen the movie yet, but he kicked ass in “Milk”, so I’m rooting for him! And to have practically the entire cast of “Vicki Cristina Barcelona” score acting nominations is kind of awesome too. Especially that dreamy Rebecca Hall, who is almost supernaturally hot in both “Vicki Cristina” and “Frost/Nixon”. Yowza!

But I think the thing I’m most upset about today is Anna Faris being totally shut out for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for  “The House Bunny”. Laugh if you must, but Faris was hilarious in the kind of role that category was made for! For shame, Hollywood Foreign Press, for shame…

And finally, speaking of “The House Bunny”, I’m also very glad to know that poor, beleaguered Rumer Willis will finally get to fulfill her long-delayed role as Miss Golden Globes at this year’s show. You go, Rumer!

To see a complete list of all this year’s nominees click here.

“The House Bunny”

I know there might be some haters out there who think this movie looks kinda lame, but let me tell ya, “The House Bunny” is one of the funniest, sweetest comedies I’ve seen in years. A candy-colored gem of a movie headlined by Anna Faris in a truly star-making role, “Bunny” is so funny that you actually miss some of the dialog from laughing so hard. Really!

And with a script this witty and fun, you don’t want to miss a word. I kid you not, amigos, you will be howling with laughter at some of this stuff.

And though some critics have slammed it as a female “Revenge of the Nerds”, as a serious fan of good college comedies, I actually think that is a huge compliment. For like “Nerds”, there is a sweetness beneath the laughs here that really elevates the material way beyond the typical frat/sorority house comedy.

Written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith — the team that brought us “Legally Blonde” and the vastly underrated “10 Things I Hate About You” — and produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison shingle, the movie is such giddy fun that the minute it ended, we wanted to see it again.

Seriously, I haven’t felt that way about a mainstream Hollywood comedy since “Knocked Up”. And though I waited a few days to buy that when it came out, I promise you, I will be first in line at Target when “Bunny” hits DVD!

Channeling Marilyn Monroe at the peak of her comedic skills, Anna Faris is not only hysterical, but also, like Marilyn in her best roles, almost heartbreakingly sweet. Playing a former Playmate tossed out of the Playboy Mansion on the day after her 27th birthday, Faris finds new meaning and her true calling by helping a group of misfit girls save their crumbling sorority house.

I know that sounds like a pretty basic premise, but, trust me, “Bunny” — mostly due to Faris’ sparkling presence — is anything but ordinary. And though she has lit up the screen with some kick-ass comedic performances in the past, this is the kind of role that will make Anna Faris a household name.

And with Reese Witherspoon long having moved on to boring, more so-called “serious” fare, the possibilities for our girl Faris are endless! So, go, Anna!

Of course, as fantastic as Faris is, the movie wouldn’t be complete without the amazing supporting cast, all of whom shine here. Colin Hanks, Christopher McDonald and Beverly D’Angelo (as the aptly named Ms. Hagstrom) all seriously rock, but the sorority girls at the loser house that Faris champions are incredible.

I had never seen Emma Stone and Kat Dennings in a movie before, but they are both spectacular. And I think the biggest surprise for me wasn’t that Rumer Willis can act — because she really can, and she is hilarious! — but that “American Idol” finalist Katherine McPhee can too.

Playing the pregnant sorority girl constantly eating from a jar of peanut butter, McPhee is a natural comedienne. The scene of her squeegeeing her pregnant belly at the car wash is already a classic, and watching her sing a horribly off-key karaoke version of “Like A Virgin” in a bar will have any longtime “Idol” fan rolling on the floor with laughter.

I should also let you know, that I absolutely loathed McPhee on “Idol” and was prepared to do the same here, but she won me over in a big way. I guess you could say that I finally caught the McPheever! Go, Katherine!

Oh, and speaking of singers…Tyson Ritter, lead singer of one of my favorite guilt-pleasure bands, The All-American Rejects, was also surprisingly good. Anyone who has ever seen one of their music videos knows that this dude has charisma, but the fact that he can back up that charm with some pretty decent acting chops is a pleasant surprise. And the goofy chemistry he shares with Stone in their scenes together is perfect. Really fun stuff!

So, if you’re looking for some sweet, frothy Hollywood comedy done right, check out “The House Bunny”. Who knows, if you see the movie in Burbank, we just might be sitting next to you…yep, it’s that good.

Leave Rumer Willis al-o-o-ne!

For some strange reason my ancient WGA strike-era blog post “Golden Globes Update” has been inundated with literally hundreds of hits a week (sometimes a day!) in the past month or so. Looking into the matter I discovered that at least sixty people a day were finding our blog after doing a google search for last year’s Miss Golden Globes herself, Rumer Willis. I know…huh??

Since this made me even more curious, I did a little web investigating and found out two things. One, Ms. Willis — the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore for those of you unaware of her Hollywood lineage — is starring in her first big-budget movie, “The House Bunny” which comes out later this month.

On a totally unrelated note, I know the movie looks kinda goofy, but I will so rent it in a couple of months. Seriously, I think Anna Faris (the titular Playboy bunny in the film) is screamingly hilarious! I kid you not, amigos, she can make even the worst movie funny. Really, she’s that good. But, back to Rumer…

The second thing I discovered in my web investigation is that Ms. Willis has also been the subject of some pretty nasty internet buzz about her looks. And while no one has commented on my blog about this, I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that’s what’s bringing in the hits lately.

So, for all you Rumer Willis haters out there, I say, LEAVE RUMER ALONE! Yeah, she’s got a big ass chin, but she is still really cute and after watching her chat up that old gas bag Al Roker on the Today Show this week, Christine and I are total fans. Ms. Willis was charming, funny and totally entertaining.

I can’t tell you yet if she can act her way out a paper bag, but hey, not being to act never stopped her parents from having long, storied Hollywood careers. So, there’s always hope!

And honestly, I am kinda dying to see how Rumer’s “House Bunny” character goes from nerd in bedazzled body brace — that’s her on the far left in the group pic — to super cute blonde (above) in the course of two hours! If that’s not acting, I don’t know what is!

Oh yeah, and just for the record, Ms. Willis was recently re-crowned as this year’s Miss Golden Globes since she was robbed of the chance to hand out shiny awards at last year’s strike-shuttered “press conference”. So, go on with your bad self, Rumer Willis! See you in January…

Golden Globes Update…

Wow…this week just keeps getting worse and worse for NBC. Not only are they not televising an award show — crews are actually tearing down the set for the show as I type — but they have also lost exclusive rights to their fake-ass “news conference” they were going to hold on Sunday! And that means, no picketing for us…yeah!

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It seems the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the entity behind the Golden Globes, has re-assumed complete control of the press conference and decided that rather than give exclusive rights to the show to NBC, they’d open the event to all media outlets!

Wow…I guess NBC’s plan to reclassify their fizzy awards show as “news” actually worked. The show has become news and as such, is open to all. In the words of “The Simpsons” Nelson Muntz: “Ha, ha!” And while I think NBC can only blame themselves for the enormity of this clusterfuck, I gotta say I feel a little bad for this year’s Miss Golden Globes, Rumer Willis (pictured in the bizarre dunce cap get-up above and a more normal pic below).

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For those of you not familiar with the tradition, Miss Golden Globes is the pretty young thing chosen each year to hand out awards onstage. The HFPA usually choses daughters (and sometimes, sons) of Hollywood celebrities. For instance, last year’s Miss Golden Globes was the daughter of Jack Nicholson, the year before that, it was the daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith.

Sadly, this year’s pick, Rumer Willis (daughter of Bruce and Demi) will now go down in the Hollywood history books as the Miss Golden Globes that wasn’t…

Sorry, Rumer. But who knows, maybe if you’re lucky they’ll let you hold some of the awards at the news conference!