Another shameless attempt to attract blog traffic with cheesecake

According to my Culture Map colleague Chris Baldwin, Brooklyn Decker -- Adam Sandler's sexy leading lady in the upcoming comedy Just Go With It -- has been spotted among the celebs converging on Dallas during the days leading up to the Super Bowl. Of course, considering what the weather is like in Big D right now, I seriously doubt she's been spotted wearing the same attire she does in the above photo. But, hey, that won't stop me from running the picture here. Because, as we all know, I have no shame. And neither, it appears, does Ms. Decker. (I kid, I kid!)

BTW: I didn't realize this until comparatively recently, but Just Go With It is a remake of Cactus Flower, a 1969 comedy -- based on the Broadway play by Abe Burrows -- that starred Walter Matthau as a womanizing dentist who pretends to be married to his spinsterish assistant (Ingrid Bergman) in order to avoid a commitment with his hot young girlfriend (Goldie Hawn, whose bubbly performance netted her an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress). Looks like Sandler will be playing the Matthau part, Decker takes over for Hawn -- and Jennifer Aniston plays the spinsterish assistant.

Hmmmm. I strongly suspect there was some serious rewriting, and more than a little reconceptualizing, while updating the original scenario.

Remembering Reign

Maybe it was because I was sitting in one of my favorite New York pubs, and it occurred to me – a thought unbidden but unavoidable, like a sudden slap to the face – that I had visited this place for the first time years ago with a friend who’s no longer alive. Or maybe it was because the song by The Who roared through the speakers of the high-tech jukebox just as a bolt of lightning illuminated the rainswept streets outside the window near my table. Whatever the reason, tonight I was reminded of Mike Binder’s Reign Over Me, and I remembered: There hasn’t been another movie that I’ve seen this year that had a comparably devastating emotional impact on me. So I have to ask: Why isn’t anyone talking about possible Oscar nominations for this masterwork? I mean, good heavens, what more does a movie have to do to be considered a contender? Or are we really in an age when we forget important things so quickly?

Last-minute viewer alert

Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle plug Reign Over Me tonight (Tuesday) on The Late Show with David Letterman (without David Letterman).