Idol Chatter

A lively debate has been going on here between Idol Chatter readers about the controversial comedy “Hamlet 2.” In particular the movie’s big musical number “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” has raised concerns for its irreverent content. I promised I would weigh in once the movie was in theaters, and since it opened in limited release…

Anyone for a 3-hour tour? If you get on the S.S. Minnow and the other passengers are a movie star, a professor, a millionaire and his wife, not to mention Mary Ann, you might want to check to make sure you’ve packed enough to wear for a long vacation. Yes, the S.S. Minnow from Gilligan’s…

Many years ago, when the first episode of MTV’s “My Super Sweet Sixteen” aired, I thought that the network had taken a daring step by reflecting this generation’s craven consumerism and narcissism back at them with the depictions of half-a-million dollar birthday parties and teens with no concept of the value of money or hard…

At the end of every year, Beliefnet selects, with help from our readers, a group of 10 individuals who have made a difference in the world for our Most Inspiring Person of the Year Award. Nominees include celebrities who use their high profile positions to raise awareness for a cause and ordinary people who’ve done…

It’s no secret (ha! I am already making puns) that Oprah Winfrey is many an American’s spiritual guide. There is even a book, “The Gospel According To Oprah” by Marcia Z. Nelson, that “praises Oprah for using her entertainment pulpit to promote such positive spiritual values as gratitude, empathy, forgiveness and self-examination.” And, earlier this…

If Jesus came back today, which television show would be his favorite? A clue comes from Mike Zak, youth director at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in St. Charles, Ill. According to the Chicago Tribune, Zak, a fan of “Home Makeover: Extreme Edition,” asked parishioners to nominate a family that desperately needed a home renovation,…

If you are as saddened as I am by the waning days of summer, I have the perfect movie for you. It’s a gentle, breezy, frothy, old-fashioned story that celebrates all that was once great about the good ole’ days. I am talking about the overlooked romantic comedy “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.” With…

There is no shortage of girl-starpower fueling the “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” about four best girlfriends who find a pair of jeans that miraculously fit each of them perfectly and makes magic happen in their lives–or wait, this sequel is less about the pants. But I’ll get back to that in a…

A coalition of disability group has called for a boycott of the R-rated satire “Tropic Thunder“. They are asking people not to see the movie because they say it demeans, insults, and harms individuals with intellectual disabilities by using the “R- word.” Furthermore, it perpetuates derogatory images and stereotypes of individuals with intellectual disabilities including…

I can forgive NBC’s commentators at the Olympic gymnastics competition, Tim Daggett and Elfi Schlegel, their complaints about the judging, and nagging negativity; they are, after a fashion, journalists and they have to call it like they see it. But if they are journalists, why couldn’t they tell us what U.S. gymnast Jonathan Horton was…

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