Even though Jerry O'Connell's latest comedy video isn't as great as the Tom Cruise parody, they might have helped him land a job. The Hollywood Reporter announced that O'Connell has signed to star with Heather Graham in the romantic comedy Baby on Board for Brian Herzlinger. Herzlinger is a relative newcomer and is probably best known as they guy who made a documentary about trying to get a date with Drew Barrymore.

Russell Scalise and Michael Wright's script follows a happily married couple (O'Connell, Graham) whose lives and high-powered careers are thrown into chaos thanks to an unplanned pregnancy. The cast also includes John Corbett (Northern Exposure) and Katie Finneran as a bitter married couple whose bad advice makes things worse for the soon to be parents. Also on board is Ian Ziering (who knew that Steve Sanders was still kicking around Hollywood?) as a gay obstetrician and Lara Flynn Boyle as Graham's demanding boss.

Well, I figured it was only a matter of time before the "Knocked Up/Juno Clones' finally started to trickle into theaters. So as funny as Jerry O'Connell can be, I am a little less sure of Graham's comedic skills. The last time I can remember laughing at Graham was during her brief cameo on Arrested Development back in 2004. Then again, any show that can turn Carl Weathers into a comedy star seems to have the knack for making anybody funny. Baby on Board is set to start shooting next week on location in Chicago, and should make it to theaters sometime later in '08.

Friday Night Double Feature had been lingering in my brain for a while before its December release, stemming from memories of insatiable video rentals, and double or triple-movie theater-going when it was too hard to pick between the films screening. However, it has come to our attention that our friends over at Cinema Blend have their own Friday Night Double Feature. (Nuts!) To differentiate the two, this column is now Cinematical's Friday Night Double Feature, and I definitely urge you to check out their own double-feature picks for more viewing options.

Now, onto the 3-ways. Two of my favorite movies of the '90s, a decade that I spent indulging in hordes of cult movies and youth cinema, happen to both dip into alternative sexual relationships -- Gregg Araki's Splendor and Andrew Fleming's Threesome. What is so great about these films is that they are not stunning, pitch-perfect examples of cinema, but rather, awkward, flawed, and endearing glimpses into expanding sexuality. The characters fail to find one person who can fulfill all of their idiosyncratic desires, and come to realize that if they cannot merge two people, perhaps one person is not enough.

Splendor



When Splendor came out in 1999, it was a bright, fun, and candy-coated surprise from Gregg Araki, the filmmaker who always knew how to deliver humor and romance, but always in a dark and disturbing package. With this story, Araki showed that he was more than f-bombs and Rose McGowan, and used his modern sensibility to revisit retro, pulpy romance. The story is simple -- Veronica has been suffering from a romantic dry spell when she meets two guys in the same night -- the light, carefree and sweet Zed, and the dark, pensive, and serious Abel. Thinking she'll date both and then choose, she quickly discovers that she wants them both, because each man has his own special appeal. Neither romantic choice wants to back down, so they decide to try an open-to-two relationship, which has its sexy perks, and its dramatic troubles.

It's dysfunctional, unlikely, and all sorts of fun. Casting Kathleen Robertson, Johnathan Schaech, and Matt Keeslar was step one. Adding an incredibly-vibrant and colorful world was step two. The final, finishing touch -- a great soundtrack that featured the likes of Everything But the Girl, My Bloody Valentine, and New Order. It's the sort of flick you can laugh with, swoon with, sing with, and just be goofy with.

Watch Kelly McDonald rant on the phone, dubbed-style.

A bottle of alcohol, a love triangle, and a game of Dare can only turn out one way.

Before Splendor, there was Rose, Traci, and Shannen as Valley Girls in Nowhere.

It's that festive holiday time of year, and somehow this makes it difficult for me to focus on the usual types of gossip tidbits as much as I normally might. And you know I am not all that focused to begin with. I stare at a photo of Mel Gibson with food on his shirt, and wonder, "Why should I care about this?" as my mind wanders off to thoughts about whether I need to buy more gift wrap. Besides, I am sometimes a messy eater too, so I can't really pick on Mr. Gibson. And I can't think of anything the least bit cutting to say about director Gus Van Sant being arrested on a DUI charge; I just feel a bit sad. Meanwhile, the gossip world rolls on, at all times of the year, so this week's roundup includes marriage, birth, paternity tests, birthday gifts, and celebrity tattoos.

• It's been a big news week for Britney Spears. Not only did she get a hand tattoo, but was also voted World's Worst Celebrity Dog Owner in an online poll. At least it looks like Santa has brought me my special Christmas present of not ever having to see certain bits of Spears again.
  
• In case you're interested, Defamer provides us with a glimpse of Jake Gyllenhaal's birthday gifts. Or were they gifts for Hanukkah? It's so hard to tell with socks.

It's a slow news week for film-related celebrities. The big gossip item this week was about Nicole Richie's DUI arrest, and I can't count her as a movie actress -- she doesn't even have a House of Wax credit to her name. No one is divorcing, or adopting children from other countries (although Angelina Jolie is thinking about it again), or forgetting to climb into a limo properly while neglecting to wear underpants.

However, I feel lucky because I have been able to indulge my most guilty pleasure when collecting celebrity news: scary photos. For some reason, it seems to be a week when movie stars aren't looking their best. Perhaps it's all that holiday shopping and stress. The bulk of this week's gossip roundup therefore consists of some of the oddest photos I've seen recently. Enjoy!

• Anna Nicole Smith is back in America, after swearing she never wanted to leave the Bahamas. That ought to improve the amount of potential celeb news in upcoming weeks. She appeared in a San Franscisco court this week as part of legal proceedings regarding her late husband's estate.

Unlike our own Scott Weinberg, I am not a fan of horror films. At all. Not only do they not scare me, they typically bore me like nothing else. That said, I will admit to being scared as a child by two films, Poltergeist and Poltergeist III. The former is not that surprising to you, I'm sure, but the latter may have you questioning my credibility once again. Sure, it isn't a good movie (evidenced by its 15% on Rotten Tomatoes and its 3.6 rating on IMDb, not to mention Scott's claim that it's, "easily one of the worst movies ever made"), but it is really creepy, and it still continues to hold a unique power over me. Every time I watch it, I do double-takes at mirrors for days -- I just have to make sure that my reflection doesn't stay behind when I walk away. Okay, so really it's just that early scene with Tom Skerritt and Nancy Allen that gives me the willies, and I admit that I often lose interest half-way in, but I really do love the premise and I can't say I never watch the movie all the way through.

The thing I don't understand is how Poltergeist 2: The Other Side is lauded as being the better of the sequels. That movie, aside from giving me an early fear of tequila, isn't scary, nor does it have an interesting plot. Yes, it introduces us to the whole Reverend Kane storyline, but only as a set up to part III, in my opinion. The thing is, you can't beat any pic that primarily takes place in a tall building, especially when it deals with frightening creatures. This was the '80s, and the time had come for the haunted house to become the haunted skyscraper. It works for Ghostbusters, it works for Gremlins 2 (which came later, in 1990) and it works for Poltergeist III. I know I'm not the only one who thinks so, either.