I am not a huge reader of chick-lit, but I admit, sometimes I just get the urge and have to indulge! It’s like the 99 times I pass by Mrs. Fields at the mall until that on time I can’t take the fresh cookie smell anymore…. and I get three.

I first noticed “Dedication” at the bookstore where I work. I read the back – it sounded cute and light and had a musical aspect to it, so I thought I would enjoy it.

I visited my library and checked it out? What? I don’t need the other people at work knowing about my vice!

Basically, the story involves a girl, Kate, and her highschool sweetheart, Jake Sharpe. The book chronicles their romance, right from their meeting, flashing back to the eighties while keeping up with the present story. The turning point is when Jake becomes a rock-star while Kate goes off to university. Unfortunately he uses their relationship and Kate’s personal life as obvious inspiration for his songs and sends her life on a downward spiral. They eventually come back together after many years, and this is where the story really gets good.

Don’t worry – I won’t spoil anything. But it is just. so. good. Read More »

What happens when you combine mediocre fiction with a lame film script and a girl who has a hard time being believable in anything?

You get The Nanny Diaries.

Apparently, Scarlett Johansson’s new movie is not just bad, but super bad (and not in that funny, quirky movie of the same title way). Critics everywhere are devouring it and spitting it back out, leaving only the incorporable Laura Linney unscathed. They say she does a good job being a rich bitch.

Everyone else? Horrible.

ScarJo included. Critics picked apart everything from her “leaden screen presence” to her “flustered mannerisms that smack of one too many Woody Allen projects” (seriously, the guy loves her. It’s weird).

As someone who hasn’t been able to believe Ms. Johansson in almost anything she’s done since Lost in Translation, I can’t say I’m surprised.

She’s hot, I’ll give her that, but I’m not sure a family comedy is her forte. I’m not even sure comedy is her forte. She smolders, sure. But she doesn’t pop. Or make me laugh. Ever.

Plus, even though the book was a bestseller, it certainly wasn’t literary gold. You can’t just cut up a beach read and put it on the screen, especially when you’re dealing with issues like class, money, and absentee parenting. Read More »