My One and Only

Forget about the health care debate or the fight over cap and trade. To me, there is nothing more polarizing in America than actress Renee Zellweger. If you're a movie fan, you don't sit on the fence when it comes to her. Either you love her or you hate her. You never hear somebody saying, "Renee Zellweger? She's okay. I can take her or leave her." Nope, for some bizarre reason, Renee provokes very wild swings of devotion and disdain.

As for me, I like her. I've always thought she had a fresh quality as was first evidenced when she played Tom Cruise's assistant in "Jerry Maguire." And this is one of the reasons why I wanted to see her in the newly released "My One and Only."

Oh, that, and the subject matter of the film. Because I was dying to know how George Hamilton came to be an actor. And, for those of you who might dispute that notion, yes, he did become an actor. Or some semblance of one. And this movie explains it all.

Produced by Hamilton and bankrolled by Merv Griffin's production company, "My One and Only" is indeed the tale of George's mom and the two boys she was raising. George and his gay half-brother Robbie have different dads as their mom, Ann Devereaux, is chronically unlucky in love and money. She never seems to hold onto either. George's dad is a shifty bandleader played by Kevin Bacon, and this movie offers a whole bunch of new actors an opportunity to be added to his six degrees.

Robbie wants to be an actor, so Mom and the boys set out on a crosscountry journey from New York to Hollywood. Along the way, she keeps trying to find a new bankroll, AKA husband, but never succeeds. She meets one guy who immediately wants to borrow $75,000 for the afternoon. Another beau is a military officer and starts to go Full Metal Jacket on the kids before she goes after him with a fireplace poker. After being stood up by a date in a hotel bar, Ann strikes up an innocent chat with the guy on the next bar stool. Except he's the house detective who immediately arrests her for prostitution.

I don't know how much of this story is real or fabricated, but it's always quirky enough to feel authentic. There are more than a few references and winks to what George ultimately becomes as he is always referred to as being pale and desperately in need of a tan. Naturally, through a twist of fate, George, and not Robbie, is the one ultimately discovered for an acting career and the rest is "Where The Boys Are" history.

Renee Zellweger pulls it all off with ease. She is totally believable as the constantly downtrodden mother who manages to shake off one bad curveball of life after another. Her acting seems effortless and that's what it should be. The actors who play her various suitors are prominently displayed in the movie poster and are a Love Boat-like who's who of television. None have more than three scenes and their lines barely cover the back of a napkin at the commissary. But that's no surprise as the movie is all about her and the boys, as well it should be. I probably know more now than I ever expected to know about George Hamilton, but it was well worth the money and the time. It's trivial, but clever enough. And, for that matter, I guess you can say the film pretty much mirrors George Hamilton himself.

"My One and Only" has been open in Los Angeles for a while, but branches out to the rest of the country this week. If you're in the mood for something light and airy, you might want to try it.

Light and airy? There I am again, describing George Hamilton to a tee.

Dinner last night: Grilled sausage at the Met game in soggy Citi Field.