Burnt Toast by Teri Hatcher: The Book Review

Posted on February 27, 2010 Written by ripitup

image via http://ebooks-imgs.connect.com/ebooks

Teri Hatcher plays Susan Mayer in Desperate Housewives and Susan is my favorite among them all. Sure, there are thing I can relate in most of the women there but Susan is the one that I identify them most. OK, so I’d have kicked Carl’s ass a long time ago and I’m not that big on kids, but personality-wise we have a lot in common. (I’d love to say looks too, but the woman is fitter at 45 than I am at 25 so…) Susan seems so natural, it is impossible to imagine that there is not anything from Teri herself in her. Both Susan and the show are extremely entertaining but the show started in 2004, and I already knew about and liked Teri before that.

I liked watching “Lois & Clark: The new adventures of Superman”. I love Superman (it is a habit from Christopher Reeve days) and the show was fun enough. She also played in Tango and Cash, alongside Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell. A funny cop movie where she plays Stallone’s dancer sister. She is pretty and fun to watch. But I never really followed Hatcher after Superman. She wasn’t in anything I had seen and it was like she had fallen from the face of the earth. Apparently she had, a little bit.

The book:

It is hard to believe that Teri Hatcher is single. It is even harder to believe that she is approaching 46. But most importantly, I find it really odd that she chose to stay away from spotlight. She got married, got a kid and decided to be a full-time mom. She had money, the husband and the baby, so why shouldn’t she? But of course things didn’t go as planned. She got a divorce and money started to melt away. So she had to go back to acting and take care of her daughter.

Burn Toast is about her journey in life: how she ended up an actress, what she learned and what she got through. She talks sincerely about her life, career, kid and relationships. It is a fast and easy read and the book shows a lot of times that there are in fact a lot of smilarities between Teri and Susan.

It isn’t really a self-help book. It is about one particular journey that a lot of people (obviously, especially women) can identify with. It will surely be more interesting for aspiring actresses, single moms and/or Teri Hatcher fans.

It is light and true to heart. I enjoyed it.

6 Hollywood Stars That Would Make 20-Year-Olds Jealous

Posted on January 19, 2010 Written by ripitup

Looking younger rocks. A close friend of mine hadn’t enjoyed this when he looked 19 (when he really was 27) and was asked for his ID all the time at the entrance of clubs. He is happy that he is not getting ID-ed any more but he still barely looks over 22 at his 30s and he is absolutely loving it.

Of course sometimes there is surgery but some Hollywood stars have made a habit of leaving healthier life styles, working out and looking even better and fitter than their early age. This is good news because they keep getting lead roles and even when they are cast as parents, they have enough scenes to show that they rock. What can I say? For some lucky stars, 40s are the new 30s.

Marisa Tomei

Born in 1964.

Yeah, Marisa can pull it off. She is pretty, young and just lovely in every role. She has a lot of leading roles but even when she is the supporting actress, it is always a pleasure to watch her. You can check her out in What Women Want and Someone Like You.

Terry Hatcher

Born in 1964.

Teri Hatcher is the sexiest Desperate Housewife.

In one of the episodes, Susan (Thatcher)’ s husband Mike (James Denton) gets a plumbing gig in a strip club. When Susan argues that he can’t go, Mike rebels and he claims it is an innocent act and she can’t forbid him. Of course being Susan, she finds a great way to make her point. The next time Mike has a job there, he finds Susan on the stage, stripping. She rocked! Boys, think again before going to a strip club. Because we’ve got a great way to prove our point!

I do have Thatcher’s book Burnt Toast. After all, who better to talk about being fit, healthy and making it in Hollywood?

Timothy Olyphant

1968

I already did a full post on Tim. You can find all about him here.

Hugh Jackman

1968

Have you seen X-Men Origins: Wolverine? If you haven’t, you are missing out on a great action flick. And boys, if you are interested in building solid muscles, I’d suggest buying Men’s Health magazine with Hugh on the cover. In the long run, it really would make you happier than Maxim or Playboy. ; )

Gerard Butler

1969

There’s not much to say, except: This guy rocks. He totally blew it for other guys, as Conan O’ Brien puts in one interview. Oh well, I’ll just link to my review of the Gamer featuring the trailer. Yeah, he kicks ass. A lot.

Justin Chambers

1970

Justn Chambers of Grey's Anatomy — Justin Chamber plays Alex Karev in Grey's Anatomy. His character keeps going from jackass to passionate lover, and then back to wiseass again. He also looks younger than the interns the hospital gets each season.

Grey’s Anatomy’s Alex and former model Justin Chambers will be 40 in July, but I feel bad about forgetting about him in my 6 Celebrities That Aged Really Well post. Wow. As much as 7 ( now 8) kids have caused Mel Gibson to mature too soon, it seems like Justin’s 5 kids are serving as a youth fountain. Yes, he has 5.

FOLLOW-UPs

Six Celebrities That Aged Really Well

(featuring Johnny Depp, Tim Robbins, Jon Bon Jovi, Robert Downey Jr., Keanu Reeves, Billy Joe Armstrong)

40 Somethings That Would Make 20-year-olds Jealous

(featuring Nicole Kidman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Edward Norton, Clive Owen)

Desperate Housewives: addictively hilarious and entertaining

Posted on November 1, 2009 Written by ripitup

Well, people made such a big fuss about the show that it had to be overrated, right? And if you- like me- only a caught a glimpse of episodes randomly while trying to check James Denton out (or the women,if you prefer); it could have seemed to you that the shows plot was beyond implausible, the characters unlikeable. Hence I really didn’t think the show was worth following. Oh, it was a real pleasure to come to realize that I couldn’t have been more wrong.

One night I came across Season 5 reruns and I had nothing better to do and that was it. I was hooked. The show is admittedly one of the most entertaining and original shows ever.

I used to think suburbia is boring. Oh, of course the houses look great. And of course it would be lovely to live on a street where you are close friends with your neighbors who are roughly the same age…But it would be boring. Being away from the city? Having a car as the only way of transportation? Having children around? Being married?? Being a housewife??? Oh well…of course these situations do exist. It is just that the women’s lives are never boring. And there is always so much cheating/lying/back-stabbing/plotting going on. Oh, I don’t mean these friends are doing those to each other. Oh no. But what happens with the other neighbors is always a riot!

Just on the top of my head- (from the first season alone):

* In the first episode the narrator (Mary Alice Young) kills herself. As she narrates and gives us clues, we put the pieces together and try to understand why she would do that. She had a loving son, a loving marriage and had great friends.

Meet the gang:

SUSAN (AND MIKE)

Teri Hatcher as Susan and James Denton as Mike: Desperate Housewives — Teri Hatcher as Susan and James Denton as Mike

Hatcher’s Susan has a massive crush on the dreamy plumber/ the new neighbor Mike. He is like a breath of fresh air to Susan’s romantic life-after all Susan is the divorced mother of a teenage girl. Her husband has cheated and left her for another woman. But of course as hot as Mike is, things are complicated. He seems to be giving her mixed signals and we the viewer see what Susan does not. Mike has a lot of cash lying around, a gun in his belt, and plans& notes on the whole neighborhood. He is a man on a mission and it doesn’t seem like a very innocent one…

*Gabby (Eva Longoria):

Eva Longoria Parker as Gabby Solis and Jesse Metcalfe as her teenage gardener

Gabby is cheating on her husband with her teenage gardener (Jesse Metcalfe).

* Lynette (Felicity Huffman)

She has 4 kids. She despises being a housewife as she used to be a top advertising exec. before she became a full-time mom.

*Bree ( Marcia Cross)

She is always groomed and made up. She is always prepared and meticulous and “perfect”. She is the perfect host and her family is so bothered by this.

*Edie (Nicolette Sheridan)

She is hot and is not the least bit shy about it. Edie may be hot and festive, but she is not exactly a female loved by her peers. She is just too out there…

Well if you haven’t seen the show yet, you might think this is not complicated at all. Trust me, what you just read is the overly simplified version. The comedy, intrigue and the romance are well-balanced. The thing about these women are that they are not that desperate. Hell, they are not exactly just housewives either. Before Lynette quit, she was much more successful than her husband who is also in advertising. She is desperate because she has realized is that dealing with 4 small children is a lot harder than running a company. Susan illustrates children’s books. Edie is in real estate, Gabby is an ex runway model. Well, Bree is only a housewife but then she is so obsessed with it you can say it is a career for her: she does all her own cooking, cleaning,gardening,making her own clothes,fixing everything…

Gabby is only fooling around because her seemingly rich and romantic husband is just rich, inconsiderate and a workaholic. With her past career and good looks, it isn’t that hard to imagine she has the hormones and motives to match her gardener’s… Bree might seem like the mother and wife from hell but her son will be enough to make a lot of women not wanna have kids. Lynette has the tendency to hate her husband at times since he doesn’t seem to get what a difficult job she has at home and of course because he has made her pregnant 4 times. And the little baby is the least of her troubles. Susan has no idea about the past of the love of her life and she is a generally clueless person/mother/woman. Edie is…well,you have seen the picture. And while all of their lives are interesting and complicated, the darkest secrets might be about to come from their recently deceased friend; Mary Alice…

Now that season 6 started, I am onto the new season. Of course I had seen half of season 5 and I just finished watching seasons 1& 2. Even with this weird order I’m following the show, I love every second of it. I hope they have many more seasons and keep having mysterious new neighbors with dark secrets and a dangerous agenda…Oh and of course, kudos to Marc Cherry to creating the show. And hats off to the casting people!

from left: Nicolette Sheridan, Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross,Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria Parker

Also on Teri Hatcher

* Book Review: Burnt Toast by Teri Hatcher:

* Tribute to young-looking stars: Teri Hatcher, Gerard Butler and more

Tango and Cash 1989 movie starring Kurt Russell & Sylvester Stallone

Posted on October 5, 2009 Written by ripitup

Got to love the 80s and the 90s. When it comes to action flicks, these two decades gave birth to some of the best classics. Tango and Cash is a typical action comedy with all the right indigrients. It has the two cops who seem to have opposite personalities and different ways of working-who are forced to unite to solve a case. It has the obligatory hot chick- in this case a 25- year-old Teri Hatcher (Susan Meyer of the Desperate Housewives). And it works. It is funny. The jokes are somewhat predictable yet never boring. There some really cool action scenes, far-fetched escapes and sweet revenge.

The plot is interesting enough. Two cops who work at different police departments in L.A are already legendary with their success. Our bad guy is not happy so he decides to get rid of them in the perfect way. He buys his way into the law enforcement, has them entrapped and makes it look like they committed the ultimate crime- killing an innocent federal agent in the midst of a crooked drug deal. They are sent to jail- again the baddie has bought his way in. The two cops are sent into a hellhole instead of the federal prison they are supposed to be sent to. Now they have to stay in a prison where they have sent a lot of criminals to. It is fun to watch how they try to save their asses and begin to become friends in the process. It adds to the humor that the pretty girl is one of the cops’ (Stallone) sister and he gets all big brotherly when the other one wants to date her.

If you are into entertainment, this is a good one for you. Kurt Russell is at his prime- muscular, blue-eyed, in his 30s and looking very,very handsome. Teri Hatcher dances, and Stallone kicks some serious ass along with Russell. I saw it for the second time and had a good laugh again. Watch out for the prison scenes…

Teri Hatcher as Tango (Stallone) 's sister and Cash (Russell) 's love interest — Teri Hatcher as Tango (Stallone) ‘s sister and Cash (Russell) ‘s love interest