Tortured Love: The Baffling Plight of Nick Newman on 'The Young and the Restless'

Nicholas Newman has quite the history with the ladies on The Young and the Restless. And after recently discovering Sharon (Sharon Case) switched the paternity test results of Summer (Hunter King), meaning that Jack (Peter Bergman) was never her father and it was Nick all along, Nick was thrown into quite the tailspin. 

First of all, I really don't understand why Nick is being played as the complete victim in this situation. Yes, Sharon "lied" to him and somewhat messed with the life of his daughter (even though Summer isn't much, perhaps a spoiled little brat with NO perception of the real world outside her demented little brain, AND the fact that Nick continued to sleep with the mental patient who repeatedly told him she had a devastating secret. But, I digress.) In retrospect, Jack is the victim; he's the one losing a daughter, so to say, and back to having no children. Because Keemo Volien Abbott disappeared from existence decades ago, and the producers are physically incapable of casting a decent Kyle Abbott.

But back to the topic at hand -- Nick being the victim. Despite the fact that he was the one who lied in the first place for 18 soap opera-ized years. He was given his own episode in which he leaves Genoa City and heads to the country, where in a drunken stupor he encounters all the women he's had physical relationships with since 1994. These include: Amy Wilson (Julianne Morris, her first appearance in 18 years), Grace Turner (Jennifer Gareis), Sharon, Phyllis (Gina Tognoni) and of course Avery (Jessica Collins), even though she probably doesn't even know his middle name, but again, I digress. In the end, Nick decides that he needs to embrace his kids, even though he still wants to sue Sharon for sole custody of daughter Faith. 

Taking Faith away from her mother *again* really won't solve much, because Sharon switched those test results well over a year ago and has been seemingly stable for several months now. Nick has just decided that he is the victim and he needs revenge, even though he retained his relationship with Summer throughout the year they believed she was Jack's daughter. So please, if you see it, because really it's not there, how is Nick the victim in this situation?! Sure, Sharon hurt him (even though she expressed her concerns about hurting him everyday they had scenes for MONTHS, but for argument's sake I'm gonna say she hurt him), but other than that his life remains the same. 

And where is Nick now? While looking for a dog's owner, he gets his foot trapped in an animal trap and the pain causes him to pass out. Maybe karma finally came a knockin', Nick the dick! But who does the dog belong to? That would be Sage (Kelly Sullivan), the woman who's been hiding Adam Newman (Justin Hartley) after he had major reconstructive surgery. I guess all I can say is that if Nick had to be played as the victim, at least he got what was coming to him. Watch Y&R weekdays on CBS.

Find your everything in 'Begin Again'

I didn't blog about this when I saw it for the first time in July, but since buying it on DVD and watching it a second time, I realized just how amazing it truly is. I loved it the first time, and the second time was even better. Begin Again is just such a gem of a movie that probably comes only once or twice in a decade, and I recommend you ALL see it!

Gretta (Keira Knightley) and Dave (Adam Levine, in his first film acting role) are college sweethearts. She accompanies him to New York City after he lands a record deal. Dave's growing fame takes its toll on the couple, and he ends up stealing her lyrics (Gretta is a minor league songwriter). Meanwhile, Dan (Mark Ruffalo) is a struggling record producer whose company has lost all faith in him. At the lowest points in their self-worth Gretta and Dan meet at a bar where Gretta's friend convinces her to go up and sing. Dan is immediately hypnotized by her voice, her lyrics, her everything. He convinces her to meet with his recording company, who want a demo of her songs before going any further. With both of them broke and down on their luck, they record songs in all the wildest spots of New York City, leading to one magical, musical summer! Catherine Keener (The 40-year-old Virgin) co-stars as Dan's ex-wife, as well as... Cee Lo Green! 

The music is dazzling, the scenery is as vibrant as ever, and... Whoever knew Keira Knightley was such a good singer?! Certainly not me. The movie's leading track, "Lost Stars", with versions by both Knightley and Levine, is purely intoxicating. Begin Again just seems...relevant. To everything. To people, to our lives, to the struggle to keep our heads above water. All with an amazing tone of music. Just watch it. Buy the movie, buy the soundtrack, and blast it on repeat. Your life will be better for it!

NBC's 'State of Affairs' breaks new ground

Katherine Heigl, famed for her five-year portrayal of Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy (let alone numerous romantic comedy flicks thereafter), has returned to television, this time in a lead role on NBC's new politicial thriller State of Affairs. Heigl stars as Charleston Tucker, a CIA anaylist working for the president. And who co-stars as the fictional President of the United States? Alfre Woodard. Not only is she female, but also African American; diversity times two. It's like NBC is hoping State of Affairs is taking place in some parallel universe where things in American politics progress as the general society hopes it will in real life.

The series premiere, which aired this past Monday, gave a promising outlook for what's ahead. The action, however, was extremely fast paced and lost me at time. Fast paced action is definitely a plus side for a series like this, but Woodard had minimal airtime in what is supposed to be a series premiere, where usually the entire main cast is introduced to the viewers. But, I digress. Most television critics gave State of Affairs a negative review, some of which were understandable, but several of the storylines introduced in the hour-long premiere definitely pave way for whatever the people behind the scenes have planned. Overall, I'd give the premiere an 8 out of 10. Heigl gave a great performance as a CIA anaylist who has to work hard and then appear in front of the President of the United States, sometimes having to put on somewhat of a smile when really, there is nothing to smile about in the world.

Heigl, who is known for being bold and "hard to work with", has spoken out several times, clarifying why she has spoken out publicly in the past on certain topics. In 2008, she refused to submit herself for the Primetime Emmy Awards, citing insufficient material on Grey's Anatomy. In 2010, she had several more issues with Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes, at one point not even showing up for work. She then requested to be let out of her contract early, not to augment her growing film career, but to spend time with family. So it was no surprise when, in 2012, Heigl stated she wanted to come back to Grey's to wrap up Izzie's story and Rhimes basically said in a respectful way, "No way in hell." Recently, before the premiere of State of Affairs, Rhimes blasted Heigl while describing her "no assholes" policy. She stated: "There are no Heigls in this situation…I don't put up with bullshit or nasty people. I don't have time for it." Long story short, Heigl has gotten a reputation for being hard to work with and, according to Shonda Rhimes, an asshole. Which is why every time she has opened her mouth to clarify anything she has said in the past, she struggles to be taken seriously. In response to a fan who said they'd heard rumors that Heigl is "very rude", she said:

"Yeah I've heard those too….honestly I don't think I am…nothing makes me more uncomfortable than confrontation or hurting someones feelings and I would never, ever, actively do so on purpose. Of course just like any human being I've made mistakes and unwittingly or carelessly spoken or acted but I always try to make any wrong right. That doesn't mean I won't stand up for myself by drawing boundaries and asking to be treated kindly and respectfully but I don't do that with any rude or unkind intentions just with the same strength and honestly I think every one of us is entitled to."

As a self-proclaimed Katherine Heigl fan (which may or may not affect my vision on this situation), I don't quite think it matters what she did in the past behind the scenes of another show on another network. This is State of Affairs, not Grey's Anatomy, and Heigl deserves to be given the chance of any other lead actress on television. Half the actors in Hollywood probably stir up trouble behind the scenes, yet we only hear about a rare few who had the guts to go public with it. So yeah, maybe Katherine Heigl can be a little bold and hard to deal with at times. But now she's on a new show, on a different network. So as Indina Menzel says, "Let it gooo!"

State of Affairs airs Mondays at 10/9c on NBC.

Wishful Winter Storytelling for 'The Young and the Restless': Nikki's quest for sobriety

It's been awhile since my last Wishful Storytelling for Y&R... and considering winter will soon be upon us, more storylines are bound to take place. And may I just say, in my last Wishful Storytelling for the summer, I'd proposed they bring back Jennifer Gareis as Grace Turner. I had hoped she would seduce Noah Newman (Robert Adamson), but instead she returned to help place together the events of Sharon (Sharon Case) giving birth to twins as a teenager. She returned a second time this past week to visit her former best friend and all the Sharon vs. Grace drama we loved over a decade ago come flooding back. It was great!

Self-proclaimed alcoholic Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) has since fallen off the wagon and has been getting hammered in the comfort of her own home. All things considered, can you blame her? She found out her long lost son Dylan (Steve Burton) was not fathered by creepy cult leader Ian Ward (Ray Wise) but by her former lover Paul (Doug Davidson). Ian continued to stalk her and target her until he was finally caught. And where was her darling husband Victor (Eric Braeden) during all of this? Obsessing over Sharon's "secret" and attempting to get Phyllis (Gina Tognoni) out of her coma...just to uncover this secret. Long story short, Nikki has definitely had reason to return to the bottle. In my idea of where this story could go, Victor could find out about her falling off the wagon... They have a big blowout and she decides their marriage is definitely over. Nick and Victoria convince their mother that she has to go to rehab. She reluctantly agrees and admits herself to a treatment clinc outside of Genoa City. She decides to see the positive light from her being forced to go to rehab and get some rest and relaxation out of it...but anything but that happens. During counseling, she faces her demons against why she started drinking again and decides that it would be best to divorce Victor and be by herself. During this journey of self-discovery, however, she realizes that Victor is and always will be the love of her life and she should at least see if Victor would be willing to rebuild their marriage. She completes treatment and returns to Genoa City clean and sober... to find Victor in bed with Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson), his ex-wife.

Nikki explains that she was ready to divorce Victor but her love for him made her reconsider and return home, but Victor doesn't want her anymore... While she was away, Victor and Ashley reconnected and decided to start dating again, with much dismay from their respective families. Nick and Victoria tried to reach Nikki at the clinic but evidently never received any of the messages. Stitch (Sean Carrigan) is also hurt because he thought he and Ashley might have been building something of a relationship, but clearly not. Nikki decides to go through with the divorce as Victor asks Ashley to move in to the Newman ranch. Ashley, who works for Jabot Cosmetics, agrees to stay out of Victor's business situations, and Victor seemingly agrees to do the same with her. However, all of this was a ruse; Ashley had been stealing money from Victor's bank account to fund her top secret project at Jabot. Ashley is an Abbott, why didn't she just use some of their fortune? Well why use that when you can get payback from The Mustache for all the crap he's pulled on their family? Ashley sees it as a win win situation. Afterward, Victor files a civil suit against Ashley and Jabot, but the case is quickly thrown out due to lack of evidence. During a confrontation, Ashley simply tells Victor that one can't always intimidate people with power... Sometimes other people have to intimidate them. Or in this case, blindside them and leave them over a million dollars in the hole.

Victor then visits Nikki in her suite at the Athletic Club and begs for forgiveness. She is extremely hesitant to accept him again, but he proves himself to her by reducing his duties at Newman Chancellor. After an evening of recollection, Nikki agrees to work on her relationship with Victor and decide to not go through with the divorce. But that draws the question... If Victor is reducing his duties at Newman Chancellor, then who will be sitting in the CEO seat while he's off at couple's counseling with Nikki?

Watch The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS.

'Before I Go to Sleep': Brilliant, riveting and simply genius

After waiting months to see the film adaption of Before I Go To Sleep, based on the internationally bestselling novel by S.J. Watson, it finally happened yesterday. And boy oh boy, was it worth the wait! I was really hesistant on Nicole Kidman playing the main protoganist Christine Lucas (I actually pictured Robin Wright in the main role while I was reading the book...) but Kidman was PERFECT. Colin Firth also was the perfect choice for Kidman's opposite, her husband Ben.

I'm not a fan of radically changing plot points from a novel in its film adaption. But any minor changes made in the Before I Go To Sleep movie were done explicitly well. One main change they made is instead of Christine keeping a diary to record her thoughts like in the book (she suffers from anterograde amnesia and loses her memories when she goes to sleep at night) she keeps a video diary in the movie, which worked out very well. Watching a video instead of reading a diary gave Kidman the ultimate chance to show true emotion. 

The time frame in which the story takes place is slightly different in the movie as well. Christine's son Adam, who she believes to be dead, is a young teenager in the movie but was said to be quite older in the book, at least 21, if I correctly recall. But any changes, minor as they were, were all for the sake of bettering the film. And it definitely worked! Before I Go To Sleep is an amazing novel that was turned into an excellent movie. 

S.J. Watson is definitely one of my new favorite authors to watch as he publishes more novels. Speaking of which his next novel, titled Second Life, is due to be published in February 2015 (I can't wait!) Before I Go To Sleep was released in North America on October 31. Catch it in a theatre near you.