day 3.188

movie review: l!fe happens

if bridesmaids were to have a baby, it would be l!fe happens. no, seriously. originally titled bff & baby, l!fe happens follows three bffs, roommates kim (the always hilarious krysten ritter, who co-wrote the film), deena (a surprisingly funny kate bosworth) and laura (rachel bilson) as they navigate the single life in lalaland. oh, and kim has a baby. after a one-night stand, kim's world is turned upside down when she winds up preggers. flashing ahead to one year post-conception, the movie marks kim's transition from twenty-something to baby mama. when her baby daddy decides to skip town, kim struggles to strike a balance between friendship, love, work and mommy-hood. when she finally feels ready to re-enter the dating game, kim finds herself lying to potential partner nicolas (7th heaven's geoff stults), pawning off son max on deena. so what happens when everything becomes too much for kim and her lies start to get the best of her, and her roommates? well, you're just going to have to see for yourself. l!fe happens won't hit theaters until later this year, but it's a must see. mixing raunchy with rom-com, l!fe happens holds something for everyone. with a supporting cast including 3rd rock from the sun scene-stealer kristen johnston, american pie's jason biggs and weeds' justin kirk, you'll leave the theater in stitches and won't be able to help yourself from quoting lines like, "i saw a woman in a full burka go in for a bikini wax once. made me think of you" (fyi, that was said by self-made sexpert deena to still-a-virgin laura, making it hilarious). i'd even say director and co-writer kat coiro (in the video above, because there's no trailer ... yet) is the next diablo cody. maybe even funnier.

day 3.101

pilot season, take 2

here's my take on the two networks i didn't hit last week - fox and the cw.

fox

the formerly fourth place net continues to climb up the ratings charts with hits like american idol, glee and (the now defunct) 24. because fox only broadcasts for two hours a night, they have considerably less space for new series - therefore, they order less (natch). so far this season the pilot gaining the most buzz is the half-hour laugher, i hate my teenage daughter. fox nabbed one of the season's most in-demand actors, my name is earl's jame pressly, to headline the series. the plot? two moms (pressly and tony award winner katie finneran) realize they're daughters are just like the girls who tormented them in high school. while i like the plot, i don't think fox has found its footing as far as sitcoms. malcolm in the middle is fox's ones success story, and i think they've tried to recreate that success with this season's raising hope. the only thing is both of those series share a very specific tone, which doesn't appeal to everyone. i think fox needs to embrace the traditional sitcom - laugh track, live audience and multicam, if they want to make something like this work. too bad they never will.

fox has been far more successful with their dramedies. a new pilot from liz meriwether (who wrote this fall's box office hit no strings attached) follows the life of elementary school teacher jessica as she moves out of her now ex-boyfriend's apartment and into a glorified bachelor pad, where three less-than-stellar dudes also live. the fact that fox landed zooey deschanel for this pilot means its bound to be good. deschanel dabbled in tv work, recurring on showtime's weeds, but has never starred. she joins her sister, emily, on the net (she currently headlines bones). it will be important for fox to pair this as-yet-untitled vehicle with a strong series (like glee) if they want it to hit. deschanel's not quite a household name, and doesn't pack enough star power to bring in a huge audience.

the cw

with even less original-programming time than fox, the cw seems to be looking at even less possible pilots. from the looks of it, the teen-centric net has only one viable pilot option - heart of dixie. from the team behind gossip girl and chuck, which just so happens to be the same creative force behind fox's former teen soap the o.c., heart of dixie will track the trials and tribulation of zoe hart, a big time manhattan doctor who inherits a practice in a small, southern town. former o.c. star rachel bilson is set to headline the series, which adds some credibility to the cw. bilson has been a hot property in tv since the o.c. left the airwaves, so its a big get - especially since bilson was attached to star in a pilot for nbc that fell through.

day 319

how i met your mother, rachel bilson.

the casting gods have spoken and how i met your mother may finally have a mother to speak of in the form of rachel bilson. the former oc babe has been tapped for an unknown part in the series extra-special 100th episode, airing in january of next year. while it hasn't been confirmed as to whether or not rachel is actually the mother, all signs point to yes. according to executive producer craig thomas, the 100th episode will be the closest ted (the main character) has ever come to the mother after a long line of fake-outs (i'm still annoyed that sarah chalke wasn't the mom!). there still is the possibility that r bilson is another bump in the road to the mom or she could be a link to the mom. if she is the title matriarch, then i think it's casting genius! i really like rachel bilson and hate that almost everything she's done post-oc has been a one-off guest episode. plus, rachel looks like she could be the mom to the two kids ted tells the story to every episode. the only thing i worry about is, if rachel is the mother, where does the show go from here? can himym survive if we know who the mom is? i guess we'll have to wait and see.

"fame kills" tours

one of the most anticipated tours of the fall - and what was sure to be one of the highest grossing tours ever - has been canceled. the "fame kills" tour, which was to double-bill lady gaga and kanye west as headliners, was pulled from livenation's upcoming events yesterday with no explanation. as of today, the only reason given for the cancellation were creative issues with kanye. big surprise. i'm guessing that the kanye/taylor swift debacle wasn't helping the tour gain momentum and that all parties decided to cut their losses and scrap the whole idea. the good news is that lady gaga has decided to forge ahead and will be relaunching the tour as just hers. gaga's tour will coincide with the re-release of her bestselling album the fame (now known as the fame monster). the newly repackaged disc will feature a series of new songs, including her 5th single "love monster." as far as i can tell, all videos with the demo version of the song have been pulled from youtube but you can easily download the song. it's not that great, but it's allegedly not a completed version. gaga will most likely premiere the song this weekend as part of her performance as musical guest on saturday night live.

day 93

star wars love in the oc 

secretive couple hayden christensen and rachel bilson are reportedly engaged.  and the engagement isn't all that recent.  the pair moved from boyfriend and girlfriend to fiances sometime over the holidays, in december.  the duo have been together since filming began on the 2006 thriller jumper, in which the twosome starred together.  however, the news hasn't exactly been made official.  both rachel and hayden are uber private people and neither ones' reps would comment on the situation.  only "friends" and "sources" have come forward, saying that rachel is thrilled, but no wedding date has been set.  i would think the couple will be a perennially engaged one, never quite getting to the alter.  they just don't seem like the kind of couple to get hitched.  but, if they do, you probably won't be seeing any wedding photos in any tabloids.  the couple would most definitely want to keep everything a private affair, similar to salma hayek's valentines nuptials.  maybe one paparazzi would be able to get a super strong lens to take a pic from a helicopter?

oscars to get musical number

with tony award winner hugh jackman helming the 81st annual academy awards, its no shocker that some flashy song and dance routines will be coming our way when the show goes live sunday night.  but, jackman won't be doing these big production numbers alone.  the award show has recruited some of the biggest names in modern movie musicals to help hugh out, with zac efron and vanessa hudgens from high school musical (and hairspray for zac), amanda seyfried and dominic cooper from mamma mia, and beyonce from dreamgirls and cadillac records all jumping on board.  this is sure to be on crazy number - can you imagine? i can't wait to see what's going to happen.  and what are they going to sing?  maybe these will be the performers for the best original song category? the songs were being compiled into a medley to be performed altogether, with each song receiving about 60 seconds of on air time.  though i can't see this random cast of characters performing songs from wall-e and slumdog millionaire.  either way, we won't have to wait long to find out when the oscars air this sunday on abc.  

lindsay lohan, entrepreneur? 

with her acting and singing career on hold, la lohan has been looking at all the available opportunities to make money.  last year she launched a line of leggings, 6126 (after marilyn monroe's bday), and now she's working on a line of self tanners, stay gold. a real creative name if you ask me.  lindsay didn't divulge exactly what will make the products special, but we're sure they'll make you just as orange as she and her mother seem to be year round.  lindsay is also branching out into other cosmetics with stay gold (also not discussed) and will expand her clothing line to include more than just leggings by 2011.  will lindsay become a force in the fashion world?  that would be interesting to see.  if anything, she'll probably have a jessica simpson style clothing empire  - it doesn't show at fashion week but it super profitable.  like jessica, lindsay jumped on the bandwagon when her look was/is one of the most copied.  why? i don't know.  simpson recently expanded her shoe and hadbag line to include dresses, swimwear, and lingerie.  hopefully lindsay will be able to get both these ventures as well as her original career in order.