Radio Review of ‘All About Steve’

Just wanted to say thanks to my friend, Liz Lane, for the enjoyable discussion of All About Steve on The Current FM this morning.

And if you want to check out that other blog I mentioned to all those radio listeners on the broadcast, it’s called Manna For The Moment.

OK, here is the run-down on the new romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, and Thomas Haden Church – in audio format.

‘Julie and Julia’ Sizzles on Screen

Here’s one movie idea that isn’t half-baked. Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, is scrumptious on-screen entertainment!

Writer/Director Nora Ephron (You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle) dishes up a great plot that interweaves two true stories – one about a New York woman named Julie Powell (Amy Adams), who, while working at a dead-end job, gets the crazy idea of cooking up 365 days of Julia Child’s famous recipes and then blogging about them, and the other about how Julia Child (Meryl Streep) went from bored housewife living in Paris to culinary star and American icon.

The ‘Ugly’ Side of Relationships

I know I should have had very, very low expectations for The Ugly Truth, since I knew the premise of the film was a fiery relationship between a control-freak TV producer trying to keep her self respect (Katherine Heigl as “Abby”) and a raunchy-but-devastatingly-handsome cable talk show host who just happens to be Abby’s newest on-air project (Gerard Butler as “Mike”).

This Sony Pictures film isn’t just about the “truth” about relationships: i.e., women want the romance and a man who will meet their unrealistic,10-point checklist, while guys simply want an approachable, beautiful woman who can be sweet librarian by day and bedroom tease at night. It’s the truth about a society that is morally crumbling.

‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’: A Well-Fashioned Comedy

Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) has a love for fashion. If it is anything designer, she’s got it. And she pays for all of it by credit card. (She has at least 12 of what she calls those plastic “magic” cards.)

Rebecca’s dream job is to work as a fashion journalist for Alette Naylor (Kristin Scott Thomas) at coveted Alette magazine. But when an icy, long-legged diva named Alicia Billington (Leslie Bibb) takes the only available slot at Alette, Rebecca ends up getting a job as a personal finance writer at sister publication Successful Saving.

Since Rebecca didn’t inherit wise money management skills from her frugal parents Jane (Joan Cusack) and Graham (John Goodman), saving money is a subject that she knows nothing about.

However, when she writes an article that likens money issues to shopping, Rebecca hits a nerve with her new boss, the handsome Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy), and the public; thus, getting her own financial column called “The Girl in the Green Scarf”.

What I Learned From ‘Shopaholic’

New stilettos, a fabulous Coach bag, a faux fur jacket – advertisers say we can have all this and more with that shiny plastic credit card… or maybe several of them. And time and time again, our culture has fallen victim to that trap. Never mind that we can’t afford these things, don’t truly need them, and don’t have anywhere to store them. We got the “cash back” and travel points. Plus, it’s “normal” to be in debt. Everyone else is, so who cares? Thus begins the vicious cycle we call consumer debt.

But knowing that our consumer debt can ultimately lead to business failures, foreclosures, divorce, bankruptcy, and even suicide, it is time that we have more voices speaking “enough is enough – there is a better way.”

The true call for change must begin with personal responsibility. That’s why I love Confessions of a Shopaholic (now out on DVD!). We are enlightened both about the scary potential consequences of out-of-control credit card spending and the way out of the debt cycle – all within the context of a funny romantic comedy.

‘The Proposal’: An Engaging Comedy

Beautiful but hard-nosed editor Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is about to get shipped back to Canada at the height of her career at Colden Books when she gets the brilliant idea of wedding her hardworking, faithful male assistant, Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds), so she can stay in country.

But there is just one problem. Margaret’s immigration office, Mr. Gilbertson (Denis O’Hare), is bent on proving the wedding is a sham and threatens a stiff prison sentence for Andrew and instant deportation for Margaret should the engagement prove fraudulent as he suspects.

Despite the obstacles, the couple decides to continue the farce as planned by telling the engagement news at the 90^th birthday celebration of Andrew’s Grandma Annie (played by Betty White).

‘Transformers’ Review to Post Tomorrow

Last night I went to a screening for the new Michael Bay sci-fi action/adventure film starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. I can’t disclose my review yet. (Awww! Man!) I can’t give my official two cents until opening day, which is tomorrow, because that’s what the studios stipulate if you go to a film screening as press. My hope is to get the review up tomorrow afternoon, since I will be taping my Current FM radio review of the new romantic comedy The Proposal in the morning from the comfort of my home. 

— Laura J. Bagby

Chill Out with ‘New in Town’

Out now on DVD!

Just released on DVD and Blu-ray this week, New in Town is sure to thaw your spirits, warm your heart… and maybe even make you want tapioca pudding!

When the corporate branch of Munck Foods in Miami decides to implement major changes at its New Ulm, Minnesota, plant, power-hungry businesswoman Lucy Hill (Renée Zellweger) is on the next plane to the frozen little town to cut losses – and inevitably jobs.

But no sooner has Lucy settled into town than she has a complete change of heart. Lucy begins to warm up to the quirky, but good-hearted blue-collar town – and her new love interest, the plaid-shirt-wearing union rep., Ted Mitchell (Harry Connick, Jr.). But then she hears the bad news that corporate wants to shut the plant down completely.