When I think of New Year’s Eve, invariably one of my favorite movies, “When Harry Met Sally,” pops into my head.

And that’s a good thing. Great scene, and – dare I say it? – the sweetest-ever ending to a movie.  After a long, frequently frustrating relationship, Harry (Billy Crystal) finally wakes up and realizes what he’s got right in front of him. I love his speech in this scene – pointing out all of Sally’s (Meg Ryan) faults that drive him crazy but that he somehow finds endearing all the same – but my favorite line of all is this one:

“I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

Sigh.

But alas, “When Harry Met Sally” was nowhere to be found this New Year’s Eve. I suppose I could’ve pulled out my DVD (I know it’s here somewhere), but instead I spent a chunk of the night watching “Revolutionary Road.”

What a contrast!

Instead of Harry and Sally’s amusing bickering, I watched Frank and April’s misery quietly unfold. And oddly enough, I didn’t find it totally, overwhelmingly depressing.

I really liked April’s (Kate Winslet) desire for a different life than the typical 1955 suburban one they’re living. My favorite quote of the whole movie is this one she tells her husband, played by Leonardo DiCaprio:

“I don’t need everything we have here, I don’t care where we live. I mean, who made these rules anyway? The only reason we moved out here was because I got pregnant. Then we had another to prove the first one wasn’t a mistake, I mean, how long does it go on? Frank, do you actually want another child? Well do you? Come on. Tell me. Tell me the truth, Frank. Remember that? We used to live by it. And you know what’s so good about the truth? Everyone knows what it is no matter how long they’ve lived without it. No one forgets the truth, Frank, they just get better at lying. So tell me. Do you really want another child?”

Though this quote, also by April, is also great:

“It’s unrealistic for a man with a fine mind to go on working year after year at a job he can’t stand. Coming home to a place he can’t stand, to a wife who’s equally unable to stand the same things. And you know what the worst part of it is? Our whole existence here is based on this great premise that we’re special. They we’re superior to the whole thing. But we’re not. We’re just like everyone else! We bought into the same, ridiculous delusion. That we have to resign from life and settle down the moment we have children. And we’ve been punishing each other for it.”

Another thing I liked about “Revolutionary Road” was how the *crazy* one (Kathy Bates’ son, played by Michael Shannon) seemed the most aware and sane of them all.

Maybe that’s why he was deemed insane?

Christmas has come early to fans of HBO’s animated series “The Life & Times of Tim.”

Variety reports that the series – the first season of which aired way back in the fall of 2008 – will finally return at 10:30 p.m. Feb. 19, following “The Ricky Gervais Show.”

“Tim” – in case you haven’t heard – is the brainchild of Steve Dildarian, an East Brunswick, N.J., native. In addition to thinking up the painfully awkward situations Tim frequently finds himself in (think an animated “Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Steve is also responsible for bringing us the Budweiser lizards and the happy-school-is-starting father in that Staples commercial. You can learn more about Steve by reading my 2008 interview with him on my website.

Meanwhile, posts on the show’s Facebook fan page (which include comments from Peter Giles, who hilariously voices Tim’s boss) indicate the first season will be available on DVD around the same time as the second season premiere. 2010 is looking brighter already!

Just when I thought that maybe – just maybe – the cast of “Jersey Shore” was putting on an act and just pretending to be dumb, Jay Leno invites Snooki, Pauly D and The Situation on for a little “Jeopardy”-like competition.

I don’t think there’s any question now about their intelligence. However, I do think they all have bright futures in comedy. This was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time!

So here’s The Situation:

MTV’s “Jersey Shore” has people divided into two camps; there are those who love the *reality* show for its pure entertainment value, and those who hate it because they believe it – like its predecessors “The Sopranos” and “Real Housewives of New Jersey” – reinforces negative stereotypes about Italian-Americans.

Obviously, Conan O’Brien is in the former camp. And after watching the first three hours of this train wreck (during which I couldn’t bring myself to look away, no matter how inane the conversations), I have to say I agree. Hey, I’m from Jersey, and I certainly don’t like the idea of people actually believing that everyone in the Garden State behaves like Snooki, J-Woww and Pauly D, et al. But then, you’d have to be pretty ignorant to think that in the first place.

For the record, Sammi is the only cast member who’s actually a Jersey girl. (Though her behavior toward BFF Ronnie was pretty atrocious last week, I’m willing to give her a chance to make her home state – and hometown of Hazlet and alma mater of William Paterson - proud. I have a feeling I might be waiting a while…)

Meanwhile, here’s the rest of Conan’s interview with The Situation and Snooki. Alas, no mention was made of the punch felt around the world – or the New York schoolteacher who threw it:

more about “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien -…“, posted with vodpod

Not to be outdone, Jimmy Kimmel (who is of Italian descent and says he doesn’t find the show offensive) also invited The Situation, Snooki and Pauly D on his show. Check it out:

No matter what the controversy, you have to realize that a show is having an impact on popular culture if two late-night talk show hosts have featured “Jersey Shore” cast members before the third episode of this series has even aired. I’m certainly impressed. Plus, I think you can definitely say the show has its first genuine breakout star: The Situation. From what we’ve seen here, he’s actually pretty charming.

In the meantime, if you want to try out the Guido/Guidette name generator Conan was talking about, go here.

Update

If you think these videos of the “Jersey Shore” cast are amusing, then check out this video from “The Jay Leno Show.”

Over the course of my years on this Earth, I’ve come to accept that people are going to mispronounce my name. It’s inevitable, really.

It’s not my last name that I’m bemoaning. Not at all. Believe it or not, it’s my first name that frequently gets people’s tongues all twisted.

It doesn’t seem to matter that Ava has officially cracked the Top 10 baby names this year – many people still don’t know how to say it. And I should know, because I run across a lot of them.

It’s a palindrome, for heaven’s sake, and all of three letters long. Regular “Sesame Street” viewers should be able to spell it after one adorable lesson (preferably with Ernie and Bert or Grover).

I’ve heard it all - Ahhh-va, E-va, Aaa-va.

(Apparently, none of these people have ever heard of the above screen goddess Ava Gardner.)

So you can imagine my reaction when I saw Jersey girl Chelsea Handler interview Jersey girl (Edison, to be exact) Susan Sarandon’s daughter, Eva Amurri, on “Chelsea Lately” last night.

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It wasn’t the interview itself I had a problem with; the “Californication” star is pretty and pleasant enough. It’s just that she – or, to be more exact, her mother and father (Italian director Franco Amurri) – decided to put the accent on the wrong syll-ah-ble, if you get my drift. Because Eva doesn’t pronounce her name E-va or even A-va (as Eva Mendes and a whole bunch of Europeans do), oh no.

She pronounces it Eh-va.

You’ve got to be kidding! The last thing we Avas – and that’s A-vas – of the world need is another goofy pronunciation to further muddy the waters.

Enough, already!

2009 has been a banner – oops, I mean bummer – of a year for me.

2009? See ya later!

First off, I turned 40.

Blech.

But the powers that be decided that scary number wasn’t enough of a reminder for me that I’m getting O-L-D. Oh, no.

A month before my big 4-0, Michael Jackson died. One of the biggest entertainers of all time – and perhaps the biggest symbol of my generation – gone. Poof.

And now, as 2009 draws to a close, comes the disturbing news that another fond memory of my teen-dom is biting the dust:

The daytime soap opera “As the World Turns” – which has been turning for a whopping 54 years – has been canceled by CBS.

Be still my beating heart.

Though I haven’t watched “ATWT” in probably about 20 years, this news still pains me. I have many fond memories of the residents of Oakdale, Ill.: Holden, Lily, Dusty, Craig, Lucinda, Iva and Josh/Rod, to name but a few. The show launched the successful careers of several actors, including Meg Ryan, Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei, Parker Posey and William Fichtner, all of whom were on the show when I watched it.

And I’ll never forget my wonderful yet all-too-brief correspondence with one of its biggest stars of the ’80s: Frank Runyeon. Frank played Steve Andropoulos, a hot-to-trot Greek whose romance with Betsy Stewart drove fans wild. Betsy, by the way, was initially played by none other than the adorable Meg Ryan (from 1982-1984). Lindsay Frost took over the role from 1984 to 1988 (according to Wikipedia).

Frank sent me this autographed photo (note my name at the top- yay!) during our brief correspondence in 1986./Photo by Ava Gacser

But I digress. My correspondence with Frank began as an assignment for my journalism class at Franklin High School. I was a junior at the time and a staff writer for the school newspaper, The Beacon. I remember our teacher, Mrs. Fama, instructing us to write letters to celebrities requesting interviews. I was amazed when Frank actually wrote me back and suggested we be pen pals.

This is the final letter Frank wrote me, dated October 1986, in which he let me know he was leaving "As The World Turns."/Photo by Ava Gacser

I received six letters from Frank – all of them typed (I recall hearing somewhere he was a quick typist!) – beginning in March 1986 and ending in October. Even cooler, he composed each one on the back of “ATWT” scripts!  Check it out:

This page from an "As The World Turns" script includes scenes with Steve, Betsy, Lily, Lucinda and Sierra./Photo by Ava Gacser

By now you might be thinking that there’s actually no Jersey connection to this story. But that’s where you’d be wrong:  Frank is a Princeton University graduate!

And my Jersey love for “ATWT” doesn’t end there, no sirree. When Jon Hensley came along – playing the “buck naked” bad boy Holden Snyder opposite Martha Byrne’s sweet-as-pie Lily Walsh – I was head over heels. So imagine my teenage reaction when I discovered that Jon was going to appear at the opening of the Wick Plaza strip mall in Edison, N.J.!

"As The World Turns" star Jon Hensley signed autographs for fans at the grand opening of Wick Plaza in Edison, N.J., on April 30, 1988./Photo by Ava Gacser

In addition to meeting Jon (a Browns Mills native) and snapping some great pictures like the one above at the event, I also got this autographed photo of him.

Another personally autographed photo. Score!/Photo by Ava Gacser

In case you haven’t read between the lines yet, “ATWT” is responsible for awakening my teenage lust. And with these hot actors – and their relatively close proximity to me – how could it not?

Alas, as the ’80s turned into the ’90s, my interest in “ATWT’ waned. But even though 20+ years (good grief!) have passed since my obsession with the show, I still remember it fondly and am sorry to see it go.

(In fact, to this day, every time I drive down Route 1 in North Brunswick and pass the Oakdale Mobile Home Park, I think of the show.)

Fortunately, I have all of these great experiences and memories to hold on to. Thanks, “As The World Turns.”

Are you familiar with the phrase “let sleeping dogs lie”? Apparently Danielle Staub isn’t.

During an appearance yesterday in a Garden State municipal court, The Record reports the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star said she feared for her safety during an altercation last month between she and castmates Jacqueline Laurita and Teresa Giudice – but that it was Jacqueline’s teenage daughter, Ashley Holmes, of whom she was most intimidated.

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However, Danielle dropped her complaints against Jacqueline and Teresa but forged ahead with charges against Ashley, 19.

“I’m just a little afraid, to be honest with you,” Danielle said in court.

Danielle told Judge Lawrence Katz that Ashley said “I’ll get her” and “I’ll kill you” prior to pulling one of Danielle’s hair extensions out by the root. The incident took place Nov. 11 during a fashion show at Wayne’s North Jersey Country Club. A Bravo camera crew, which reportedly captured that incident on tape, also accompanied Danielle to court yesterday.

(Read what the police report says about the altercation here.)

As a result of Danielle’s testimony, Judge Katz issued a summons against Ashley on charges of harassment and simple assault. Both are disorderly persons offenses.

Jacqueline is obviously (and understandably) angry and upset about this turn of events, and she vented on Twitter.

“SOME people will do ANYthing to get their name in the press,” she tweeted today, referring to Danielle in another post as “dirty D.”

Of course, this whole matter could probably be resolved quickly if Bravo said, “Let’s go to the videotape!” (tip of the hat to former local sportscaster Warner Wolf), but what would be the fun in that?

During last season’s finale of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” table-flipper Teresa Giudice had had it up to here with castmate Danielle Staub.

I don't think we're going to see Danielle and Jacqueline break bread anytime soon.../Photo by Bravo

“You’re just trying to make drama, Danielle,” Teresa told her. “Your name should be Drama.”

Truer words were never spoken, I believe, especially after reading the news today that Danielle is accusing the teenage daughter of her former best friend, Jacqueline Laurita, of yanking out her hair extensions.

According to The Record, Danielle was due in municipal court today regarding the Nov. 11 incident, which took place at the North Jersey Country Club in Wayne and was witnessed by Bravo cameras. (We can only hope some of the incident makes it into the show’s second season!)

The Record says that police were called to the club around 11 that night and found a “very emotional and rather incoherent” Danielle in the parking lot. She reportedly told police that she had gotten into an argument with Jacqueline and that Jacqueline’s daughter, Ashley Holmes, pulled her hair and ripped out clumps of her extensions. Officials note that Ashley acknowledged pulling Danielle’s hair, but says she did so to defend her mother, whom she believed Danielle had hit. Jacqueline, for her part, told police Danielle did not hit her.

No charges were filed at the time, and Teresa, who was present, was listed by police as an “uncooperative witness.” Priceless. Meanwhile, police told Danielle she could file a simple assault complaint against Ashley, Jacqueline and whoever else if she so chose. Meanwhile, we will have to wait and see if the municipal court finds that there was probable cause, which would allow Danielle to file charges against those she says wronged her.

All of this hubbub comes on the heels of Ashley’s 19th birthday – which, according to her mom’s Twitter page – was Tuesday.

Update

Danielle dropped complaints against Jacqueline and Teresa but is pursuing charges against Ashley. Read all about it – and see a video of Danielle in court – right here.

There are a lot of names you can call Michael Landon -  Little Joe, the “Teenage Werewolf” and “Pa” top that list – but I had no idea “Jersey boy” was one of them.

That’s right: My childhood “Little House on the Prairie” idol, Michael Landon (aka “Oogie” Orowitz), grew up in Collingswood, N.J.

I learned that surprising fact recently while watching a “Biography” episode about Michael.

“Oogie” (short for Eugene) as he then was called, wasn’t the greatest student. According to “Biography,” he ranked 199th out of 201 students at Collingswood High School. Not too good, eh? But his athletic skills – he was especially adept at javelin-throwing – landed him a scholarship to the University of Southern California. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Unfortunately, it’s pretty clear Michael didn’t have fond memories of his time in the Garden State. His parents apparently hated one another, and he and his sister were stuck in the middle.

Still, Michael’s former high school classmates had good things to say about him.

“He had so much charm and such a lovable way about him,” remarked Ed Kurkian, who, along with Michael, is listed in the high school’s athletic hall of fame.

But the Jersey connections don’t end there, oh, no. Michael’s oldest daughter, Cheryl Landon, asserts in her book “I Promised My Dad” that her father at one point was addicted to Miltown, a tranquilizer sold by Wallace Laboratories – which named the drug after Milltown, N.J.

And when Michael began his brief battle with pancreatic cancer in 1991, he turned to oncologist Charles Simone of Lawrenceville, N.J. (who had previously treated Ronald Reagan’s colon cancer). His struggle is documented in this 1991 People article.

“Pa,” as I like to call him, had a unique way of making viewers – me included – feel like part of his TV family.  I think it’s especially fitting that I discover, decades later, that I also share my home state with him.

When I unexpectedly met comedian, author and former “Saturday Night Live” scribe Alan Zweibel in an East Brunswick temple last month, I had no idea he would make me cry.

Yet cry is exactly what I did… when I read his beautiful, heartbreaking book, “Bunny Bunny, Gilda Radner: A Sort of Love Story.”

Listening to Alan’s impromptu introduction last month of friend and fellow comedian Susie Essman – in which he regaled the audience with stories of his days on the “SNL” set and vividly (and humorously) described first meeting Gilda Radner – convinced me I needed to pick up “Bunny Bunny” from my library ASAP.

I devoured the book in one sitting. Which is not hard to do – it’s only 190 pages long and full of Alan’s recollections of his conversations with Gilda over the years.

They clearly loved one another, though their relationship never became as romantic as perhaps Alan wished it to be. They supported one another through failed relationships, Alan’s eventual marriage and birth of two of his children, and Gilda’s eventual diagnosis of ovarian cancer and her drawn-out, painful death.

By the time I reached page 189 – titled “At A Memorial – June 1, 1989″ – I was bawling.

“I don’t know why God makes people and then takes them back while they’re still having fun with the life he gave them in the first place,” Alan’s eulogy goes. “Just like I don’t know if I’m supposed to celebrate the fact that Gilda was in my life, or feel cheated that she’s not here anymore. But even though her body grew to betray her, spirits just don’t die.”

I know exactly how Alan feels. Which is why a recent episode of “Celebrity Ghost Stories” featuring Eric Roberts made such an impression on me.

“You can’t kill energy,” Eric said in it. “You can only displace it.”

Me and Alan Zweibel hanging in East Brunswick last month./Credit Ava Gacser

The title of Alan’s book, by the way, refers to a phrase Gilda began using as a child to make herself feel safe when she was scared – and one that she continued using as an adult, albeit a bit more infrequently.

“It’s just that, for whatever reason, on the first day of every month the first words that I say when I wake up are ‘Bunny Bunny’ to make sure it’s going to be a good month and keep me safe from anything bad that could happen,” Gilda explains to Alan in the book.

Since it’s Dec. 1, I can’t think of a better way to start the first day of the last month of 2009:

Bunny Bunny to you all.