This Side or the Other

Proving that Gone Baby Gone was no fluke, Ben Affleck's The Town is an excellent addition to the Made in Boston canon of films. Mr. Jennifer Garner — who co-wrote, directed, and stars in this Charlestown-set story of a bank robber trying to go straight, even though he's in too deep — may get criticized for only making movies that are based here in Beantown, but hey ... why mess with success? Clearly, the guy knows the town and he makes movies that have a real sense of place and look, sound, and feel authenticious (to use a great made-up word from this film).

In The Town, Affleck plays Doug MacRay, a career criminal, who falls for Claire, a woman involved in a recent bank robbery (Rebecca Hall, from Vicky Cristina Barcelona), who doesn't realize he was the ringleader. Claire provides the inspiration and incentive Doug needs to turn his life around, but not before he tackles one last job: robbing Fenway Park. At the same time, FBI Special Agent Frawley (Jon Hamm) is hot on the trail of Doug and his gang, which also includes Doug's BFF, Jem (The Hurt Locker's Jeremy Renner).

Acting in The Town is excellent across the board; in addition to those mentioned, the cast also includes Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper, Titus Welliver (aka Lost's Man in Black), and Blake Lively, whose drugged-out townie is a long way from Serena van der Woodsen. Affleck keeps things moving, and does a particularly nice job with the robbery and chase scenes, which are staged and shot impressively. I'm not sure Affleck was right to cast himself as Doug — his portrayal of the guy is too "nice," especially when contrasted with Renner's hothead, which makes you wonder why he hadn't tried to get away from it all much sooner — but another actor also may not have been so sympathetic, and as an audience member, you want to root for his character.

You also want to root for Affleck, and The Town gives us more reason to do so. It's an exciting, compelling, and fun film, one that does Boston proud. I'm giving it a B+.

Love Stinks

If you don't already hate Valentine's Day, you will after seeing the movie Valentine's Day. A film seemingly devoid of purpose after February 14, this cinematic waste of time employs practically every romantic comedy cliché in the book: Best friends who realize they're attracted to each other! A hot chick who can't find love! An old couple who learn a secret about their relationship after all these years! A precocious kid who pines for an older woman! A naive woman who realizes her boyfriend is still married, and exacts revenge in front of the wife! Two virgins who are about to have sex for the first time — until one of their parents catches them! A cynical man who hates the holiday but somehow manages to fall in love anyway! Stevie Wonder singing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered ... I'm Yours" on the soundtrack! Characters singing "I Will Survive!" A sassy black woman played by Queen Latifah! A sassy Latino sidekick (played by George Lopez)! An unseen radio DJ doing voice over! Oh, and this being 2010, two characters who turn out to be gay and a Bollywood-style dance number! (Whoops. There's a spoiler or two in there. I guess I just saved you $10.)

Yes, Valentine's Day, with its holiday-centric story and large ensemble cast (including Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Shirley MacLaine, Anne Hathaway, Hector Elizondo, Jessica Biel, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Topher Grace, Taylors Swift and Lautner, Grey's Anatomy stars Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane, and my beloved Jennifer Garner), wants to be Love, Actually. But it's not. It's not even as good as last year's large-ensemble rom-com, He's Just Not That Into You (which I actually kind of liked). Rather, it's over-stuffed, overly long, really obvious, predictable, and pandering, and just an embarrassment for nearly everyone associated with it. Sure, I didn't groan as often as I thought I would, and for the first third or so, I thought this was actually kind of a light, fun flick, but some plot twists (such as the ones mentioned above) you can see coming from miles away and director Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman) takes his sweet time letting them play out. Ultimately, this is a film that's even more of a chore to get through than the day on which it's based.

Neither a good date movie nor a worthwhile anti-holiday movie, Valentine's Day instead confirms that February 14 is the stupidest of days, the most Hallmark of holidays. (And I actually like Valentine's Day!) That's why the movie gets a D from me.

Oh, To Be David Letterman

As the ZZ Top song goes, "She's got legs ... she knows how to bruise them." (Or something like that.)

Jennifer Garner was on The Late Show recently, and David Letterman got the chance to play doctor for her. Suffice it to say, he made me really jealous. :-) Watch for yourself.

Jimmy's "Revenge"

You may recall a couple weeks ago that Sarah Silverman announced on her boyfriend Jimmy Kimmel's show that she was, ahem, sleeping with Matt Damon. Well, last night on his post-Oscars show, Jimmy got his revenge with the help of guest — and Matt's best bud — Ben Affleck, not to mention a boatload of big names (watch for the cameos by Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford). Check it out.



Not to state the obvious, but if this has any shread of truth (and yes, yes, I know it's a big joke), then that certainly paves the way for me and Ms. Garner.

Good Show!

What can I say about this year's Oscars? It was the best, most enjoyable show in quite some time. The winners were spread out across a few films (even The Bourne Ultimatum won three), and most of the winners spoke very well. Of course, I was very happy about Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova winning Best Song for "Falling Slowly," the song from Once (and I loved what Glen and Marketa had to say — and that Marketa got a second chance to speak), and I liked that There Will Be Blood won not only for Best Actor but also for Best Cinematography. I liked the "surprise" of Tilda Swinton winning Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton too; that category could have gone any one of four ways, with all four deserving of the award. But really, my favorite part of the show was not Jennifer Garner (surprise!) or even Keri Russell but Jon Stewart, who simply rocked as the host. He had so many great lines, he had a lot of confidence, he was hip and cool, and he just did a really nice job. I loved when he came back from a commercial break and was playing Wii Tennis. (Here's a link to the text of his very funny monologue.) The show felt like it moved very quickly, even if it did last about 3:17, and I just had a great time watching. I even enjoyed the montages — especially the Bee one (me! me! me!). Props to Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen for their presenting. And on the subject of Jen Garner, no one knows what was up with that Gary Busey ambush, but here's how he defended himself. So, another year over. Now onto a new year of movies.

Whoa ... Pretty Woman

People, look at this photo and tell me now you understand why I'm just a little obsessed with Jennifer Garner. Wow. She looks amazing. Click on the photo for a much bigger version. (Thanks to Jen-Garner.net.)

So Close, and Yet ...

Dear Cat,

Just thought I'd write to say I hold you personally accountable for the fact that Jennifer Garner and I are not together right now.

As you know, Ms. Garner holds a special place in my heart — despite her already having a husband and a child — and when I heard the news that she would be filming a movie, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, not just in Boston but right on South Street in front of Les Zygomates, a short walk from our office, you knew what a big deal this was for me. At last, this would be my chance to meet the former Ms. Sydney Bristow in person and profess my love to her. You agreed to walk with me at lunchtime today to check out the set and that was very nice of you to keep me company. And how exciting was it when we got there and we could just walk around and see it all — the lights, the cameras, the New York City cabs, and even better, the fake snow and Christmas decorations. (It was Christmas, Cat! My favorite time of year! How perfect!!) Suffice it to say, I was giddy. Jen was nowhere to be seen, but she would be out soon, and I would see her acting right there a few feet in front of me. How cool is that??! All the fates were aligning; it was actually going to happen. Jen would see me from across the street, watching her, smiling my adorable smile, and she'd be too distracted to even look at her costar, the shirtless wonder himself, Matthew McConaughey. She'd stop filming, would walk right over to me, we'd introduce ourselves, I'd say something witty and charming (of course), she'd smile and laugh, all the other bystanders would wonder who this random guy in the crowd was, but they'd be so overcome with emotion watching us and our love blossom that they'd burst into spontaneous applause, and, well, the rest (including Ben Affleck) would be history. We would go off and live happily ever after, in Newton. I was thisclose to making my dream a reality. Oh man, it was actually going to happen ...

... And then you asked me to leave, and you denied Jennifer and me a love that would have inspired others. A love that was fated in the stars. A love that was destined for greatness. Why did we have to leave?? Were you really too cold standing there on the sidewalk? Was the production assistant really that rude to you when she asked us to move over? I was hungry too, but some things are more important than lunch. I missed my chance at true happiness. You broke my heart, Cat. And now, Jennifer Garner and I will never be together. I hold you responsible for this tragedy. ;-)

Sincerely,
Martin

Bright Guy, Big City

So yeah, I took a couple days off from work last week and spent them down in New York. And for the first time in a long while, most of the time was spent in the city, playing tourist. Here are some snapshots from the weekend.

O Christmas Tree: Bean, meet the Christmas tree at 30 Rock. Decided to get my Christmas on, so I spent a bit of time at Rockefeller Center trying to take the perfect picture of the big tree (after all, it's never too early to start working on next year's A Very Marty Xmas CD). But as I kept learning, it's hard to take a picture of a lit-up tree at night. My damned camera didn't seem to want to focus. This one here is probably the best one I took.

Number one or number two, it's completely up to you: Best thing ever was Charmin's second annual, temporary, free public restroom next door to the Virgin Megastore in Times Square. That's all it is. You go up a tall escalator, wait on line, and you get to use one of the 20 or so toilets. They were spotless (cleaned after each use), colorful, and the attendants were having such a good time helping out that it was hard not to smile. As marketing gimmicks go, this one was pretty fun. And it was really convenient, because at the time, I really had to go.

People watching: Mitzi, Fetus, and I had a very very very minor celeb sighting Thursday night when we spotted Danny, from the New Orleans cast of The Real World, in the Times Square Toys 'R' Us just wandering around. And it occured to me how none of the current viewers of that show must know who he is. I think I also saw Andre 3000 from OutKast there. Oh, and Sean Dugan, an old college roommate, was on the same train into the city on Friday, but we didn't get a chance to talk. And though she's also on Broadway these days, in Cyrano de Bergerac, you'll be happy to know I did not stalk wait for Jennifer Garner outside the stage door.

Flame on: Turned a corner at 9th and 44th on Friday and saw this taxi on fire. No one seemed to know how or why it happened. And while I knew the thing could have exploded at any second, for a change I did the stupid thing and got out my camera to take a picture, instead of running for cover. (What?! It's not like the other people doing the same thing were any smarter than me.) Thankfully, the NYFD showed up just in time and put the fire out.

Show time: As I've previously mentioned, seeing Spring Awakening was unexpected. Here's why. After lunch with Anna on Friday, I decided to hang out in Times Square and go to a couple places, then head back to meet up with Mitzi, Jason, and Fetus for dinner. Long story short, a couple guys on the corner of Broadway and 44th were selling discounted tix to a few shows, including Spring Awakening. Of course I was skeptical, and I did some background checks, even asking a cop a few feet away if he knew if the guys on the corner were scalpers. As it turned out, they were totally legit. So I took the chance, changed my plans, and saved $40 on top seats (12th row center) for what ended up being an awesome show. Money well-spent, even if at the time I felt like I was a total sucker buying Broadway show tickets from a random guy on the street.

Hmmmmm...: Believe it or not, I so enjoyed the day and a half that I spent in New York City that for maybe 15–30 minutes I actually thought about moving there. The cold winds snapped that thought out of me quickly enough, but I suppose that only goes to show you how good a time I had in the Big Apple. I need to do stuff like this more often.

The Cautionary Whale

If you enjoyed the raunchy unplanned-pregnancy comedy Knocked Up earlier this year but wished it was a little bit sweeter, then Juno is the movie for you. It's the very funny story of a sardonic high school girl (Ellen Page) in Minnesota who gets bored, has sex with her awkward best friend (Michael Cera), and then finds herself pregnant. Not ready to deal with being a mother (and an adult), Juno decides to give the baby to a seemingly perfect couple (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) she finds in the Pennysaver.

Alright, so maybe that first paragraph does a disservice to the movie. In actuality, Juno is one of those quirky little films that packs in a lot of laughs and a lot of heart, and announces the arrival of an original new voice and a great young actress (it's sort of like this year's Little Miss Sunshine). That's the hype you'll be hearing from now until the Oscars, but it's actually true and well-deserved. The writer is Diablo Cody (a former stripper making her screenwriting debut here), and she has crafted a screenplay that is so packed with laughs and strong characters that it reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite in that every other line is quotable and hysterical. And Ellen Page (who was in, among other things, the third X-Men movie) plays Juno confidently, but as the character begins to learn more about herself and the people around her, she becomes more and more endearing. I'm sure we all can remember a person from high school who acted like and thought they had everything all figured out, but really was very unsure of him/herself. That's Juno, and Page captures all of that uncertainty in a star-making performance. Both women will be Oscar-nominated for sure.

Of course, there are other folks in this movie, and it's worth noting that my girl, Jennifer Garner, also acquits herself quite well. She and Bateman (reteaming again after The Kingdom) are at first the perfect adoptive parents — so perfect they're quite scary — but as with Juno, beneath the surface they are not what they seem. Michael Cera is more awkward here than he was in Superbad — just check out those shorts — but he, too, is sweet and endearing. And Rainn Wilson (from The Office) makes a brief appearance early on and utters what will likely be the film's most quoted line, "That's one doodle that can't be undid, homeskillet."

I suppose it'd be wrong to overlook director Jason Reitman's work here because a good screenplay is only half or a third of what makes a movie great. But Juno's screenplay is so good, so quotable, so original, so funny, so winning, so clever, and so dominant here that it's impossible to really notice anything else. It's that tandem of great words and a perfectly-cast actress that makes Juno a real must-see. I'm giving it an A–.

Local Boy Makes Good

In the opening scene of Gone Baby Gone, Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) talks about how the neighborhood you grow up in is what makes you who you are. And clearly, that pedigree is all over Ben Affleck's film. I'm a Brookline kind of guy, and I don't know Dorchester from anything, but this movie just feels, looks, and sounds authentic. (And for the record, yes, I know Ben's from Cambridge, not Dorchester. Close enough.) From the accents (though they're stronger at the beginning than at the end) to the shots of the streets and people of the neighborhood, there's no mistaking that this is a set-in-Boston movie. Hell, Ben even gives a special thanks to Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz in the closing credits.

Gone tells the story of the search for a missing four-year-old Dorchester girl. Early on in the search, the girl's frantic aunt hires Kenzie, an investigator who gets people to talk because he's a local boy and knows the neighborhood and, most importantly, works independently of the police. Kenzie works with his girlfriend, Angie (Michelle Monaghan), and the two initially feel like they are in over their heads because the cases they typically get involved with don't ever involve the possibility of a dead body. But they uncover some details the police weren't paying attention to, and soon they're also collaborating with two cops (including one played by Ed Harris) and their Chief (Morgan Freeman). And that's just part of it. Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (who also wrote the book Mystic River), and adapted by Affleck and Lehane with Aaron Stockard, it's a layered plot with twists and turns that I didn't see coming.

Acting across the board is excellent, from Casey Affleck on down. Clearly, working with his brother suits Casey (though he was also good in The Assassination of Jesse James ...). But Ben's made a compelling movie that is a great compliment to Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, with its working-class neighborhood setting and missing person plotline. It's pretty exciting that the movie turned out so well, because I think deep down Affleck's a good, decent guy (and he certainly has great taste in women), and he was due for something to turn out so well. I mean, you could say the guy didn't really stretch himself, given that this is such a Boston-centric film. But Gone Baby Gone more than that, more than Good Will Hunting too, and it's a very impressive achievement. I'm giving Gone Baby Gone an A–.

Not Quite Fit for a King

Terrorism, at least on the surface, is a pretty senseless act. It's often marked by big, loud actions that do nothing more than disrupt an otherwise peaceful existence. Though this analysis might be weak and simplistic, I find it an apt way to begin a review of The Kingdom because similarly, the movie is often big and loud, and on the surface, it's pretty empty.

Kingdom tells how a group of FBI agents go to Saudi Arabia to investigate a terrorist bombing in an American compound by an Osama bin Laden wannabe. It stars Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, and Chris Cooper, but none of those folks — not even my beloved Jennifer Garner — give a performance that makes much of an impact. Jeremy Piven's also in the film, but he seems totally miscast. He's playing an ambassador, but I kept giggling every time he was on screen waiting for him to bust out an Ari Gold–ism.

Which is not to say The Kingdom is a bad movie necessarily. But it sets everything up and then in about 15 minutes it blows up into explosions, chases and gunplay, and then it's over. Essentially, it turns a timely setting into a convenient place for an action flick. And it's a good last 15 minutes, but sort of a waste nevertheless. So I'm giving The Kingdom a B-. Sorry, Jen.

Not Such a Great Catch

The trailer for Jennifer Garner's latest film, Catch and Release, doesn't exactly promise a very good movie. So the good news is that the trailer gets it partly wrong. For example, Catch is not a fun, cutesy romantic comedy about a woman getting over the death of her fiancee by falling in love with his best friend. Instead, it's a rather serious film about a woman whose fiancee dies just days before the wedding, and who, in dealing with her grief, learns surprising things about him and herself. Alright, fine, she does also fall in love with his best friend, but she does it reluctantly. And even better, that's not really the crux of the movie. So I guess the film's surprising depth is what redeems it from being a typical January throw-away.

Still, let's not go too far with praise here. While the romance doesn't feel totally forced, it does feel unrealistic. And Kevin Smith, playing a role probably meant for Jack Black, should probably stick to films he writes and directs, where he usually plays a character named Silent Bob. Overall, the screenplay (by Susannah Grant, who also wrote Erin Brockovich and In Her Shoes, and who makes her directorial debut here) could have used some pruning; the generally likable cast helps a great deal to overcome its limitations. Still, I just didn't get into the story enough and found certain plot details predictable or unnecessary. And Jennifer Garner just isn't given enough opportunities to smile. When she does, it basically makes the movie worth watching — as does the scene where she's wearing her wedding dress. Catch earns points for being better than expected, but loses some for just not being compelling enough. So, I'm giving it a B–.

Oh, Baby

I know I'm late to the discussion on this, but since I've been asked a couple times today, let me add my two cents ...

Say what you will about her father, but Suri Holmes Cruise (or whatever her name is) is one adorable baby. As What Would Tyler Durden Do? says, the only way the photos from Vanity Fair could be any cuter would be "if there was a baby tiger and a baby panda dressed in little Halloween costumes in the background. The tiger would be dressed as a pirate and the panda would be a ghost in a sheet with holes cut out for eyes. And then they went to the house and the person ran out of candy after giving candy to the baby pirate tiger, so the baby ghost panda didn’t get any, so then the baby pirate tiger would share his candy with the baby ghost panda. Other than that, I think the cuteness is pretty much maxed out." Click on this link to see all the sickeningly sweet cuteness. (Or click here if the other link has been taken down.)

Good for Katie, I say. If this is the type of child she produces, Katie can procreate with me any day of the week if she'd like to. Otherwise, fine, I suppose I'll settle for Jennifer Garner. But damn. I can't get over how f'in cute this baby is.

Bring Out the Goat

Women think they have a pretty easy solution for dealing with a skin blemish. All they do is apply some makeup, or strategically style their hair, and voila! the blemish is gone. (No, that's not a sweeping generalization or stereotype. Not at all. Ha ha ha.) Well, I like to think men have just as simple a solution. It's a game I like to call "Fun with Facial Hair!" (Yes, the exclamation point is part of the trademarked name.)

Take me, for example. Thanks to my latest sunburn, I've got a strip of pretty sensitive skin just above my upper lip. So how have I dealt with it? By letting my goatee grow in again. Now, you see, goatees and me have a funny relationship: generally, I don't like them — on me or on other people (especially women). And yet, from time to time I get in that lazy mode and decide to let my own grow in for a week or two. I'm told it actually looks quite good on me, so I tend to keep it on longer than I intend to.

But really, I know I just don't rock the goatee as well as, say, Ben Affleck, who lets his grow in all the time. (Hmmmmm ... does that mean Jennifer Garner likes 'em? Let me reconsider my thoughts on goatees for a minute ... Interesting. Never really thought too hard about that. Maybe I should keep mine permanently. Will that draw her to me? It's worth a shot. Hmmmmmmm.)

Anyway, so this week I've got a goatee. I wish I could say it was masking my entire sunburn, but thankfully I've got shirts that do that just fine. (And wouldn't it be scary if I was that hairy?!) Still, the hair around my mouth seems to be doing the trick. No more irritated skin in the early morning when I take a sharp razor to my face while I'm still half asleep. So even if growing a goatee is just a short-term solution to my problem, it's still a solution. And now that I think about it, if it brings me one step closer to Jennifer Garner, well ... who am I to complain? Maybe next time I'll grow one without having a sunburn.

She's Here to Stay

According to Us Weekly and the Boston Herald, Jennifer Garner is moving to Boston full-time because she wants to raise her daughter, Violet, in an "un-Hollywood" environment. Of course, this means her husband, Ben Affleck, will also be living here, but that's just a sidenote. I'm more excited by the fact that my letters, emails, phone calls, visits, television commercials, web sites, blog postings, and good wishes haven't gone unnoticed. Welcome to town, Jen! Let's do lunch sometime soon.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby

So I feel like I'd be remiss (and I know I'd hear it from at least one of my readers) if I didn't acknowlege that today is Jennifer Garner (ahem) Affleck's 34th birthday. You may know that I'm a bit of a fan of Mrs. Affleck's, so I wish her nothing but the best as she begins another year with us. And incidentally, though I never saw the last five episodes of Alias, I couldn't be more excited for its return this Wednesday night at 8 p.m. So again, happy birthday, Jen! I hope we can celebrate together sometime soon — maybe one of the upcoming times you come to Boston to show off your beautiful baby, visit with Ben's mother, and go to a Sox game with your husband. Let me know.

New York, Schmew York

There's nothing like a list to get people talking, and New York magazine's recent list of the 123 Things to Love About New York has inspired a great rebuttal by blogger Jonelle about the 123 Things to Love About Boston. Wanted to provide a link because it's worth reading.

Of course, Jonelle's list got me thinking about the reasons why I love Boston. So here goes with a few reasons why I love this city:

1. Because of Patriots Day: Not just that we get a day off on what is usually one of the first really nice days of the year, but also because the general great mood in the city resulting from the marathon is infectious and exciting. Additionally, there's nothing quite like the period a half hour after the winners come down Boylston St., when the rest of the runners turn that corner to a thundering ovation from the crowd. I love being a part of that every year.
2. Because like 'em or hate 'em, the college kids keep Boston perpetually young
3. Because only those who live in L.A. think four seasons are overrated (Ya hear that, Todd?)
4. Because there's really only one thing you can count on: When the weather gets worse, the T service gets worse
5. Because no one can ever take away how exciting the two weeks of the 2004 ALCS and World Series were
6. Because of the Chicken Milanese at Al Dente in the North End
7. Because I can never take enough pictures of 500 Boylston St.
8. Because brunch at Johnny's Luncheonette in Newton Center kicks any other brunch's ass
9. Because we're only an hour from Providence, where Waterfire is one of the best things to do in the summertime
10. Because of Cindy Fitzgibbon, who brightens my day even when it's cold, cloudy, rainy, or snowy outside
11. Because the $12 seats at Fenway are infinitely better (and more fun) than those for double the price in the Grandstand
12. Because of the Boston Metro hawker in South Station who always greets people with the same "Free Metro, good morning."
13. Because if Jennifer Garner will marry a local boy, then there's hope for me too
14. Because the MFA once had a Wallace & Gromit exhibit
15. Because you can't walk along the river in New York (I mean, you could, but why would you want to?)
16. Because of the AMC Fenway movie theater: best presentation of movies, worst parking lot
17. Because even a single guy like me never feels truly alone here
18. Because of Friday night walks from my office to the Hynes Convention Center T stop
19. Because areas like Brookline are suburban, and yet still 10 minutes from downtown
20. Because of Ezra's column in the Improper Bostonian

Alright, that's all I've got for now. I'm sure I'll think of some more and maybe I'll just add them to this posting. But while I'm at it, what's on your list? What did I forget?

I Broke My Silence for This?

Is it possible for me to like Jennifer Garner any more? Before last night I didn't think so.

George Bush Hates Black ... Sabbath

Laughed pretty hard at the Emmy awards this evening. Ellen DeGeneres was her usual funny self, Zach Braff's English accent was hysterical, the montages of comedy show writing staffs were great as always, the Eva Longoria jokes at the start of the show were good, and Jon Stewart ... man, that guy just rocks.

And it's a good thing I laughed as hard as I did because the awards themselves made me wanna scream. I mean, the fact that Terry O'Quinn, ahem, lost for his performance on Lost was just a crime. It also would have been nice had Jeremy Piven won for his performance on Entourage, so the fact that the award went to Brad Garrett of all people was just annoying. I mean, it's so frustrating when the same people win (or are nominated) year after year. Thank God it was Everybody Loves Raymond's last season — and that this is Will & Grace's last season.

On the other hand, big ups to J.J. Abrams for his Emmy win, to S. Epatha Merkerson for beating Halle Berry and giving the most memorable acceptance speech of the night, and of course, to Lost for winning Best Drama Series. And I'm so happy that Felicity Huffman won for best lead actress on a comedy; her role on Desperate Housewives might not be the most comedic, but she's overdue for recognition.

It was also nice to see David Letterman make a rare Emmy appearance. His tribute to Johnny Carson, while serious and maybe a bit too long, was heartfelt and well done. No surprise. Here's just a short quote from an AP story about the show:

Letterman recalled how Carson was asked once by a Tonight show audience member what had made him a star. "I started out in a gaseous state and then I cooled," Carson said.
"Johnny Carson's star never cooled," Letterman said.

Simple and perfect. And then Jon Stewart's line soon after — "The way that he feels about Johnny Carson is the way that all of us, the comedians of our era, feel about him" — was not only so great, but also a nice slap in Jay Leno's face.

I suppose it was also nice to see Desperate Housewives get, I suppose some would say robbed of its Emmy for Best Comedy Series, but did it have to go to Everybody Loves Raymond? I mean, really. Though I guess as long as it wasn't Will & Grace, I have to be happy.

Finally, no offense to my friends and family members who have or will be pregnant, but has a woman with child ever looked as beautiful as Jennifer Garner did?

Ahhhhh ... awards shows. You've gotta love 'em. Or at least I do.