Strollerderby : jennifer garner

Ben Affleck Suffers Same Fate As Dads of Daughters Everywhere

JeanneSager — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:07:00 GMT

Jennifer Garner says she can always tell when husband Ben Affleck was left to his own devices with daughter Violet's hair. It comes out looking like a rat's nest.

Hey dads, sound familiar?

“You can always tell when he has been at it, just two random barrettes hanging in there. It’s so sweet," Garner told InStyle.

She could have been talking about my husband. He was over the moon when I gave birth to a little girl (which - despite us not finding out prior to delivery - he just "knew" was going to happen), but when she started sprouting enough hair to require clippies and ponytail holders, he was lost.

"It doesn't ever do what I want it to do," he tells me. "I just don't have the patience for it." This coming from a guy who once had hair past his shoulders. But his was super fine, super straight hair, hair that never needed to be brushed out with no more tangles spray after a night of rolling around on a crib mattress, hair that never needed to be secured in two little braids hanging down his back.

Some guys get hair and are perfectly adept at handling their daughter's locks. More are like my husband - facing a major learning curve after years of just not caring what their head looks like (because after years of long hair, his is now shaved in a Marine-like buzz - he does nothing more than shampoo daily). In our house it's particularly funny because it's the bald mother who has been showing Dad the ropes, teaching him about where on the head to place a ponytail (Not too high, this isn't the eighties. Not too low - she isn't an aging hippie) and how to brush out tangles without yanking on the scalp.

I'll give credit where credit is due. He tries. If he's the parent getting her ready for the day, her hair is at least brushed, albeit with a clip stuck at a random angle - kind of like Violet Affleck's.

Dads, did you jump over the curve after your daughters were born or do you turn out girls who sport the ragamuffin look in the morning?

Image: TheInsider

Best of FameCrawler: Week of January 16th

Whit Honea — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Mr. Roarke Dead; Gen-Xer In Mourning

Golden Globe 2009 - List of Winners

Britney in Sex and the City Sequel?

Kate Hudson is a Hussy

Update! Jen & Ben Reveal Daughter's Name!!

Are Ashanti and Nelly Expecting a Baby Together?

Take a Number: Lance Armstrong Will Fall in Love With You Next

Heath Ledger Wins Golden Globe

Guess Who's Getting Married In April?

Oprah French Kisses Kate Winslet's Breasts!

You Just Got Bacon'd!

WTF, Brad And Angie? Srsly.

Best of FameCrawler: Week of January 2nd

Whit Honea — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Kate Winslet Looks Good Naked

Tripp Johnston Speaks Out: Take My Family, Please.

Is Jennifer Garner in Labor?

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony: It's Over

Josh & Anna Duggar: Premarital Sex

Charles Barkley - DUI, Gun and Oral Sex: Still Not a Role Model?

Public Sex and New Year's Orgasms with Jordan and Peter

Snow, Fur And Sarah Palin In A Bikini

Ani DiFranco Has a Trick Baby

Mariah Carey Eats Oysters, Therefore is Not Pregnant

When Baby Daddies Attack

Heath Ledger is Haunting Michelle for Closure

Best of FameCrawler: Week of December 26th

Whit Honea — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Michael Jackson Is Dying?

Katie Holmes Needs a Nap...and Some Makeup

Nicole Kidman Skipped Son Connor's Premiere, Too

Bush Twins: The Obama Girls Are Cuter Than We Are

Best Mom Quote All Week

Christmas Eve Eats With the Beckhams

Adam Sandler Meets Frosty

Jennifer Garner is a Giver

Jennifer Aniston A Baby-Crazed Mess?

Remains Positively Identified as Those of Caylee Anthony

Family Friend Says "I Could Have Saved Caylee"

Photos: Lisa Rinna Nude For Playboy

Hollywood’s Cutest Kids? Life & Style Pick Their Winners

SunnyChanel — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:05:00 GMT

Hollywood’s Cutest Kids? Life & Style Pick Their Winners

Do you live in Hollywood? Well if you do, I’m sorry if your kid wasn’t picked as one of Hollywood’s Cutest Kids. US Weekly wannabe, Life & Style Weekly Magazine, is a fickle mistress. If the spawn didn’t come from superstars (and generally a set of them), well it looks like they aren’t deemed “cute” enough to win this popularity contest. Who needs to wait until high school to be pigeon holed and have their personality branded? let’s do it before they even start preschool. So, who won for each “category”? Click thru to find out:

The Fashionista: Our one and only Suri Cruise of course! (who got her own two page spread and also is the fodder of my Suri Watch in Droolicious) (Parents: Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise)

The Globe Trotters: Shiloh and Zahara Pitt (Parents: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie)

The Drama Queen: Coco Arquette (Parents; Courteney Cox and David Arquette)

The Clotheshorse: Apple Martin (Parents: Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin)

The Little Artist: Matilda Ledger (Parents: Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger)

The Accesssorizer: Valentina Pinault (Parents: Salma Hayek and Francois-henri Pinault

The Happy Camper: Violet Affleck (Parents: Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck)

The Future Rocker: Kingston Rossdale (Parents: Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale)

The Best Bros: Jayden and Sean Federline (Parents: Britney Spears and Kevin Federline)

The Hippie Kid: Ryder Robinson (Parents: Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson)

The Daredevil: Maddox Jolie-Pitt (Parents: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie)

The Mama’s Boy: Milo Langdon: (Parents Live Tyler and Royston Langdon)

The Little Leaguer: Deacon Philippe (Parents: Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe)

The Scene Stealer: Cruz Beckman (Parents: Victoria and David Beckman)

Best of FameCrawler: Week of July 25th

Whit Honea — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Pregnant Man Shares Baby Photos & Baby Name

Angie and Brad Couldn't Get It Done on Their Own?

Mindy McCready: Miscarriage?

What is Wrong With Katie Holmes?

2008 Emmy Nominations: Five Drama Mamas

Sex Tape: A-Rod and Madonna!

Maggie Gyllenhaal on Letterman- He Wishes

Jennifer Garner's Baby Bump: She's Pregnant Alright

Bob Geldof's Daughter Peaches' Drug Overdose

Brad Pitt Pulls A Britney

Jennifer Aniston, Oh So Gracious

Ashlee Simpson's C-Section

The Dark Knight -- parents strongly cautioned (to go see it)

Brett Singer — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Let's get one thing out of the way right now – you shouldn't bring your children. They might want to go, but unless they have a very high tolerance for a long movie (2 and half hours) and an abnormally high tolerance for what might be the most frightening performance ever (Heath Ledger's Joker), I'd get a sitter.

Now: this is some incredible movie. At first, I was a little bit apprehensive. Part of that feeling was the hype, which was so intense that it seemed impossible anything could live up to it. (Part of it was also that the movie didn't start until almost 1am because we had to sit through 7 commercials, none of which I remember at all – money well spent, advertisers. But I digress.) There are some slow spots, especially in the beginning, and I think the director, Christopher Nolan, could have cut 10 or 15 minutes of film and made it a tighter movie. But that's nitpicking, because there are several scenes, some just quick moments and some long, exciting action sequences, that will put your jaw on the floor.

The saddest thing about Heath Ledger's death is that his daughter will never know her father. But it's fair to say that if an actor had to go out with one performance, this is that performance. He's so good that I completely forgot I was watching an actor, which, for me, almost never happens. (It's worth pointing out that Gary Oldman as James Gordon, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, do the same thing in smaller and less flashy roles.) He's frightening, but not the way a horror movie villain is frightening. It's not shock value, although there is some of that (there's a bit with a pencil that might be the best 5-second description of a character in the history of cinema.) Without giving anything away, The Joker is referred to as a "terrorist" a couple of times, but unlike the terrorists in our world, this one has no cause that he fights for. He's just… mad. Not angry-mad, just flat out crazy. And Ledger captures that in every possible way. You could teach an acting class using this movie – what he does physically, vocally, emotionally; it's all stunning to watch.

The rest of it is, for the most part, equally good. I don't care about the love story, but it's fine I suppose and does serve the story. Aaron Eckhart is a solid actor and he does a good job as Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent. Christian Bale is by far the best Batman yet, although Ledger is so good that he really takes over the movie. Michael Caine is a good Alfred Pennyworth, Maggie Gyllenhaal is fine as token love interest Rachel Dawes; she's more than that, I guess, but it's not her movie. Gary Oldman is amazing; as in "Batman Begins," he somehow manages to completely capture the essence of a fictional comic book character that isn't a superhero, meaning that, as an actor, he has fewer details available to work with. I can't explain it but he IS Jim Gordon.

The nits to pick if you want to go there: some of the dialog is hokey (although the lines written for Ledger are brilliant.) There are a few slow spots. At times the action sequences are a tad frenetic, here and there. But it really doesn't matter. You'll read a lot about the surprising depth of this movie, and this is true to an extent. "The Dark Knight" is incredibly entertaining and does have some thoughtful moments amid the comic-book chaos, but there's no need to over think them. I would say just relax and enjoy it, but it's not a relaxing experience. Ledger's Joker is uncomfortable to watch, but in a good way. I don't want to give anything away, so you'll have to see it for yourself (but, as I said, get your tickets early; even the 12:30am showing was completely sold out.)

Now, despite the fact that there isn't much in the way of blood, this is not a film that you should take your children to see. Obviously, you know your offspring better than I, so if you think they can handle it, that's your call. And of course older kids will be fine. I hesitate to suggest an age-range, but I recommend seeing it yourself first if you're not sure. Worst-case scenario – you get to see it twice. Believe me, that's not a bad thing.

image: Reuters

Batman: get your tickets now

Set Your Alarm for a Romp Through LEGO Batman: The Video Game

Maggie Gyllenhaal on Letterman- He Wishes

Spying on the Neighbors: 7-17-08

Sexy Superhero Parents: The Top 10

Little Matilda Had Heath's Heart

Batman: get your tickets now

Brett Singer — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:42:00 GMT

So, being a guy who sees superhero movies, I wanted to see the new Batman movie. Today.

A friend wanted to come with me, so I couldn't pull my usual "go during the day when it's not busy" thing. So OK, let's see when its playing… What? Sold out? You gotta be kidding me.

Well, I'm not. If you're planning on seeing The Dark Knight this weekend, you'd better get your tickets in advance. This is unbelievably annoying. I tried at 2pm to get tickets to a 10:30pm showing, and it was already sold out. The reviews so far are over the top in their praise. Over at Rotten Tomatoes, a site that aggregates reviews from various sources, the rating is a whopping 94% positive (the only film with a higher rating is Wall-E.). If you go to the "top critics" section (print outlets and sites like salon.com), only a couple of the reviews are negative, which is extremely unusual for a comic book flick.

A lot of the interest in this film is because of Heath Ledger's death, but I've never seen anything like this. A movie that you can't get tickets to unless you go at midnight, which is what I'm doing? Come on. (And yes, I know I'm nuts.)

I'll let you know what I think of the film, and whether or not it's appropriate for children, later tonight. But for now, if you plan on going, order those tickets early, Bat-fans. Otherwise, you ain't getting in.

See you tonight -- different Bat-time, same Bat-channel...

image: Rotten Tomatoes

Set Your Alarm for a Romp Through LEGO Batman: The Video Game

Maggie Gyllenhaal on Letterman- He Wishes

Spying on the Neighbors: 7-17-08

Sexy Superhero Parents: The Top 10

Little Matilda Had Heath's Heart

Best of FameCrawler: Week of June 27th

Whit Honea — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Billie Piper's Topless Role

The Sexualization of Miley Cyrus

Ben And Jen Together For Better Or Worse

Worst-Dressed Bellies? Top 5 Maternity Wear Mistakes Of Spring/Summer 2008

Tim McGraw and the Wife Beaters

Scott Kalitta Killed In Drag Racing Crash

Robert Downey, Jr., and Son: What's Wrong with This Picture?

Matthew McConaughey Is Ready To Rumble

Guess Who's Moving Across The Pond?

Jamie Lynn's Delivery Room Drama!

Tori Spelling Baby Photos!!

Best of FameCrawler: Week of June 6th

Whit Honea — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Green Our Vaccines: Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy Get Political

Charlie Sheen & Brooke Mueller Wedding Pictures

Demi Moore - Pregnant Bloat or Bad Dress?

Nicole Richie, Making Babies Appear Older

A Denise Richards F*@king Moment

Angelina's Twins Will Arrive Early

Angelina Vanity Fair Photos Will Leave. You. Breathless.

Sarah Larson's Biological Clock Ticked Too Loudly For George Clooney?

Denise Wants to Play Nice?

Remember Violet and Jennifer?

Reese Witherspoon=Uber-Mom?

Brett Singer — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 22:10:00 GMT

Towards the end of the press release for a recent survey published by Coldwell Banker and BabyCenter ("Moms Today"), we are told the following: "13 percent of moms think Reese Witherspoon is the quintessential Modern Mom."

I have no problem with Reese Witherspoon, but what exactly makes her a "quintessential Modern Mom"? (For the record, I didn't add the emphasis on the word "quintessential.") The fact that she's divorced? Rich? Won an Oscar? Of the next two famous moms mentioned, Jennifer Garner (12 percent) has spent a lot of time in public with her offspring. But Brooke Shields (10 percent) had a very public thing with Tom Cruise when he got mad at her for having the nerve to take anti-depressants to treat post-partum depression. (To be fair, Tommy C did eventually apologize for that.) So I would have thought Brooke would've taken the top mom spot, but no.

Statements that rank parents using words like "quintessential" always seem strange to me. "Who would you most like to be for a day?" or "Which mother do you think is a good role model?" -- neither question is Earth-shaking but at least they make sense.

One positive thing I suppose is that none of the celeb-mothers listed are train wrecks, a la Britney. Which celebrity parent(s) do you like?

image: Wikipedia

Best of FameCrawler: Week of Feb. 29th (Leap Year Edition)

Whit Honea — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:33:00 GMT

Does Your Child Look 'Inbred'?

Madeline Holler — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:23:00 GMT

It's the choice no aspiring stage mom ever wants to make: whether to audition her child for a role that calls for ugly. Or "inbred"-looking. Same difference, right?

But it's the choice starstruck moms across West Virginia are having to make, thanks to on-location filming of an upcoming Julianne Moore movie. These mothers are putting away washboards and setting aside the chicken scratch to stare long and hard at their offspring's misshapen heads and the tangeled branches of the Jones family tree, or so a Pittsburgh casting agency hopes.

The call to audition for extras with an "inbred" look has set off a firestorm (probably started by uptight neighbors, the ones with the pretty kids). Historians, area leaders and people who bristle at stereotypes in general condemned statements by the Pittsburgh casting director. She botched it when she tried to clarify what was meant by "regular looking people," who had been told not to show up.

From Pittsburgh Live:

"It's the way it was described in the script," Belajac [of the casting agency] said Monday. "Some of these 'holler' people -- because they are insular and clannish, and they don't leave their area -- there is literally inbreeding, and the people there often have a different kind of look. That's what we're trying to get."

The actual ad wanted people who are Extraordinarily tall or short. Unusual body shapes, even physical abnormalities as long as there is normal mobility. Unusual facial features, especially eyes."

Also ..."a 9-12-year-old Caucasian girl with an other-worldly look to her. Could be an albino or something along those lines -- she's someone who is visually different and therefore has a closer contact to the gods and to magic. 'Regular-looking' children should not attend this open call.'"

Asked if she felt the characterization might be offensive to West Virginians, Belajac said: "We tried to word it in a way that's not offensive. I hope it's not an offensive thing. It's not meant to be a generalization about everyone in West Virginia. That's why we put that it's in a 'holler' in the mountains."

So she only mean to offend the mountain people of West Virginia (who are too inbred to care, I'm guessing). The casting director has been fired.

And with that, let's get back to the mom who can now see her son's buck teeth as an asset, his floppy ears as nothing short of "otherworldly" -- a ticket to Hollywood, fame and fortune.

How do you break it to your kid that she's so ugly you'd like her to try out for this film? Oh, and I wonder what Jennifer Garner, West Virginia native, thinks about all this.

Best of Famecrawler: Children Who Need Therapy

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 19:02:00 GMT

Posted by Sassy Smith

According to Life & Style magazine, after several long months of acting like ~~immature hotheads~~ not getting along very well, Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen have decided to put their young daughters, Sam, 3, and Lola, 2, into therapy sessions.

"This was a big victory for Denise... She said all she wanted was what's best for the girls. And Charlie was pleased about settling things."

Denise is said to be worried about the impact of the divorce on her two daughters.

Well duh. Perhaps if, oh I don't know, the parents, at least tried to get along, then their very young children, who are barely into toddlerhood, wouldn't have to go to therapy. Just sayin'.

Photo Credit: Splash News

And it's a good things celebs have enough money to pay for their kids' therapy:

Beatrice will surely need it
Violet will (if only cause mommy is so annoyingly perfect)
And who can forget Lourdes and Rocko (if for their names only)

Best of Famecrawler: Pretty Pretty Dirigibles

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:28:00 GMT

Posted by HerBadMother

Poor Peter Andre. I'm guessing that he didn't marry a skanky, dirigible-boobed glamour model so that he could limit his sexual activity to once or twice a month.

First, Jordan - the skanky, dirigible-boobed glamour model in question - announces that she's getting a breast reduction. From quadruple D's to double D's, but still. A reduction is a reduction. If you buy the Goodyear blimp, you don't want it downsizing itself to a mere hot-air balloon. Then she announces to the world that dear hubbie isn't getting any unless it's her, um, fertile time, and that if he manages to sperminate her, he won't get any for the duration of the pregnancy. Burn!

Next thing you know, she'll swear off sex all together and start wearing turtlenecks. Someone should call in Pam Anderson - she could tell Jordan that a girl doesn't have to stop being skanky just because she becomes a mom. I'll bet Peter Andre would pay good money for that.

There are a lot of Violets rolling at Famecrawler these days:

Which Celeb Parenting Style Matches Yours?

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 23:32:00 GMT

Whatever you think of celebrity parents these days, there are many who seem quite lovely (Jennifer Garner and Angelina Jolie, for example). Of course, Britney makes us collectively cringe, but what about Kate Moss?

Pick which style most matches yours here...

Fame is Good. Britney Loses Kids. Angelina Gets More.

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 19:46:00 GMT

Britney Spears is a "troubled" mother it seems. Cousin Alli might play a crucial role in her kids being taken away from her.
Angelina Jolie may not eat much, but you can't fault her for saving the world's children one adoption at a time
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck seem like such good normal parents. It's hard to believe they're celebrities

Jennifer Garner Pitches TV Show For Moms (Insert Eyeroll Here)

Alisyn — Wed, 16 May 2007 13:30:00 GMT

Jennifer Garner is set to pitch a new TV show "for moms, by moms," to be hosted by Lauren Sanchez-Whitesell, the former host of So You Think You Can Dance (am I the only person who has no earthly idea who this woman is?). According to Lauren, "It's really [Jennifer's] show and I'm the host... I call Jen the Barbara Walters of the show. She will come on periodically. We haven't quite settled exactly [how often], but she's the executive producer."

What can we expect from the twosome, should the show make it onto the air? "We'll talk about how to get your kids to sleep, or how do you choose the right school, or how to keep your marriage together after having kids... Jen might talk about how you keep a marriage together when you're in the spotlight with a child."

Perfect. Parenting advice by and for the rich and famous. This is exactly what we need! As a mother, I feel that I have not received nearly enough child-rearing tips from women rich enough to hire nannies, and travel by private jet. I'd be totally interested in knowing what the Beverly Hills-based mother of an 11-month-old (Lauren) has to say about navigating the California public school system. I'd love to hear what Jen and Ben have to say about how to keep a marriage happy - with a whopping 2 years of experience, they are sure to be experts.

Call me cynical, but between The View and the Oxygen network, I think we've got more than enough crap "women's" programming. Unless this new show is going to educate women about their childbirth options and "the mommy tax", or organize women to fight for the quality childcare that they and their children deserve, or enable women to lobby their senators for paid maternal and paternal leave, I have absolutely no interest in it.

Are you listening, Jen and Lauren? Are you willing to pay attention, and devote air time, to what the average American mom needs and wants? If so, we'll tune it. If not... well, let's just say we won't be surprised.

Celeb Moms and Mother's Day Swag

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:55:00 GMT

Celebrity mommyhood has never gotten so much love and attention. And now Mother's Day swag. A company called Distinctive Assets has assembled celebrity swag bags for certain famous mommies such as Angelina Jolie, Angela Bassett, Sharon Stone, Leah Remini, Gwen Stefani, Brooke Shields, and others.

The Mother's Day gift basket contains over 30 hot items including Fly Girl Cosmetics, Wellness Management Services & Gift Certificate for Botox or Microdermabrasion, Naughty Mommy Body Care products, a free tasting from Amazing Catering, and on and on.

Though most of these folks are probably not even asking for the swag, it does fill us normal everyday mommies with a bit of envy. Until you watch things like this and you're reminded that even swag-filled celebrity mommyhood has awful downsides.

Jen Garner On Boobs & Baby Weight

Alisyn — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:13:00 GMT

Jennifer Garner seems so... normal. As far as Hollywood goes, she's as down-to-earth as they come. She's Allure's April covergirl, and talking to the magazine, she sounded more like a mom you might overhear in the local coffee shop, than the famous actress-type.

She talks about nursing her daughter Violet, now 15 months, and says she was surprised that breastfeeding wasn't the miracle diet friends told her it would be. "I really thought, 'This is the ticket, the best diet in the world' - and it just wasn't. I kept waiting, and I just didn't lose weight. It took six months before I did. I also, though, used breastfeeding as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted. I've always had a flat stomach, and now everyone's just always going to think I'm two months pregnant for the rest of my life." But she admits that having a curvier figure isn't all bad: "My body felt so much more balanced out. Because I've always had a biscuit [butt] and I've never had boobs, and so I finally felt like, 'Oh, this is how it's supposed to be.' "

At last year's Academy Awards, Jennifer wasn't the only one aware of her new breasts: "Jack Nicholson was in the audience in front of me, and halfway through the night he said, 'Jennifer Garner's going to be able to feed the whole row!' " (Oh, Jack. You old perv.)

Being a working mom, Jennifer often brought Violet to the set of The Kingdom, filmed last summer, and nursed her between takes, in costume. "I would feed her and then go back out [and film]. I was covered in blood and mud and dirt, and so her little sweet pink outfits would be caked in fake blood by the time she went home."

She just sounds so... human. Did you, like Jennifer Garner (and I), think that nursing would just peel the pounds off automatically - and were disappointed? Or did you love your extra curves?

[Via Celebrity Baby Blog]