Frances Conroy

New in Town is packed with a lot of bad, wrong-headed moves including small-town stereotypes, predictability, conventionality, and in one bizarre scene, hard nipples. Despite a talented and likable cast with wonderful character actors like J.K. Simmons and Frances Conroy, this romantic comedy was probably doomed from the start due to a script that can't decide if it wants to be Fargo, Norma Ray, or Working Girl.

That said, there is something in this movie that no script can write in and that's some honest-to-goodness chemistry between the two leads. Maybe I'm a sucker for Harry Connick Jr., maybe it's rare to witness some genuine onscreen sparks, or maybe I've been suffering too long from generic rom-com fatigue. Whatever the reason, I couldn't help but get a moderate case of the warm fuzzies after watching it.

To see some more of my thoughts on New in Town, read more

The trailer for the romantic comedy New in Town, starring Renée Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr., seems to tell the whole story, and it looks like a predictable story at that. As the plot description states, "Renée Zellweger stars as a Miami-based consultant whose latest assignment, to restructure a manufacturing plant in small-town Minnesota, causes her to reconsider her professional and personal objectives once she settles into her new life."

And yet, if it's so predictable, why did I laugh out loud a few times while watching the trailer? There's something kind of adorable and funny about this movie, and I'm actually excited to see it. New in Town (which was previously titled Chilled in Miami) opens Jan. 30. To check out the trailer, read more

Lily Tomlin! Frances Conroy! Hooray for some great new blood on Desperate Housewives! Overall I think this week's episode is better than the others have been thus far this season, but in particular, it's so awesome to see these new ladies reinvigorating the show. Tomlin plays Mrs. McCluskey's saucy, smart-talking sister while Frances Conroy (known to Six Feet Under fans as Ruth Fisher) is a massage client of Carlos's who has a very, ah, "special" relationship with him.

The theme, of course, is "dangerous women." To chat about the goings-on in this episode, read more

• Having recently taken on Gossip Girl books and Dancing with the Stars, The New Yorker now turns its attention to The Hills.
• 300 director Zack Snyder is set to direct an animated film adaptation of Guardians of Ga'Hoole, writes ComingSoon.
• Variety reports that the romantic comedy HangingOutHookingUpFallingInLove has just added an ensemble cast which includes Janeane Garofalo, Jenna Elfman and Rita Rudner, among others.
• Kristen Johnston will join Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway and Candice Bergen in Bride Wars, writes Hollywood Reporter.
• Meanwhile, Danny DeVito has been cast in When in Rome alongside Kristen Bell and Will Arnett, reports ComingSoon.
• And, some TV casting news: TV Guide reports that Albert Brooks will play Nancy's dad on Weeds, while Variety has news that Six Feet Under mom Frances Conroy has joined the cast of a CBS comedy pilot.
• Lifetime will adapt two of bestselling author Patricia Cornwell's novels into TV movies, Zap2It reports.
• Billboard has news that My Morning Jacket will make their SNL debut on May 10, and will perform material from their upcoming album Evil Urges.
• Apparently, The New York Times reports, many people who call to vote for American Idol can't get the numbers right and bother off-duty notaries and the like instead.

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