Tom Cavanagh

CHICAGO – USA’s “Royal Pains” has always been a great summer diversion for this critic. It just fits in the warm weather as one can imagine being in the social circle of HankMed, walking the beaches of the Hamptons and hobnobbing with the rich and beautiful.

CHICAGO – I must admit that I was dreading “Yogi Bear” like most teenagers dread 3rd period Calculus. I have avoided the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” movies with just cause and can’t stand the new trend of CGI characters talking to human ones in kids movies. They’re usually pale excuses for family entertainment and the previews for “Yogi Bear” made my stomach turn. So consider it faint praise when I say it’s not THAT bad. Oh, it’s still bad and you can do a lot better for your family movie dollar but it’s more forgettable than truly wretched.

CHICAGO – “Yogi Bear,” the latest degradation in the cynical family film 3D marketing universe, has done the improbable. It has taken notable and nostalgic cartoon characters (Yogi and Boo Boo) and turned them into animatronic shills for a post modern bore of a story that wouldn’t work if Fellini were directing it. Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake sell out (I mean lend) their voice talents.

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – We have good news for fans of “Will & Grace” and “Ed”. The stars of those two shows have been lucky enough to have lightning strike their careers again with TNT’s “Trust Me”.

CHICAGO – In a special edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: TV, we have 20 admit-two VIP passes up for grabs to the exclusive Chicago premiere of the new TNT drama “Trust Me” about a Chicago advertising agency. The series stars Eric McCormack (“Will & Grace”), Tom Cavanagh (“Scrubs,” “Ed”) and Monica Potter (“Boston Legal,” “Saw,” “Along Came a Spider,” “Patch Adams,” “Con Air”) from the producers of “Nip/Tuck” and “The Closer”.