Tracy Bennett/Universal Studios

You're gonna need it. Hairspray! Newcomer Nikki Blonsky deserves a hug and a spin. Boy hero Adam Sandler might need you to burn your inner sensitivity chip once and for all. And hell, Danny Boyle needs us to sear paths all over America to highlight the road to Sunshine. Thank you, Neil Diamond and E.T., for inspiring this paragraph. Now, to the movies!

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Thursday morning, the announcer on Live with Regis and Kelly mispronounced the name of this movie. He called it I Now Pronounce You Larry and Chuck. Hey, mistakes are made. And that's the vibe I'm feeling for this throwback frat-tastic comedy about two beefy man-men (Adam Sandler and Kevin James) who play gay for pension and health insurance. Nobody's all revved up. The reviews are predictably bad, which only makes this movie more appealing for me.

But my problem is the scene where Sandler feels up Jessica Biel's boobs. We women have wonderful gaydar. So, I don't buy that Biel's gonna strut around in front of Sandler and have zero clue he's faking gay. The unfortunate scene also brings me back to Tootsie, which made gender-bending so much more interesting. But this is Adam Sandler, and I thank him for all the laughs and hope that low expectations and light buzz don't make it harder for him to get the green light. That would be wrong—so wrong, because Sandler can do better, so better.

David James/New Line Cinema

Hairspray
I'm dancing as I type this. Fun, right? You have to shimmy at least a little when you talk about this musical re-creation of John Waters' ballsy Baltimore yarn about a big girl with a bigger heart and even bigger dance moves. Hairspray opens incredibly well, with Blonsky doing the joyous and subtly sardonic "Good Morning Baltimore" to absolute perfection. She's winking, but only a bit. She's beaming, but she's not blind. Oh, Blonsky, I'm so happy for you that you don't have to work at Cold Stone Creamery anymore!

Nonetheless, box-office watchers are still wondering whether or not Hairspray will hit with the masses. And that's a hard call. There's a stellar cast of familiar, beloved faces: John Travolta in drag, Christopher Walken, Queen Latifah, Amanda Bynes. The list (and the beat, hee-hee) goes on: James Marsden, Zac Efron, Brittany Snow. And the bold picture of our society—the plot is driven largely by the fact that evil producers want to do away with Negro Day on The Corny Collins Show. Irreverence is so refreshing in July, don't you think?

Now for the caveats: It's long, and the racism message hits you over the head. But the Blonsky factor cannot be overlooked. So, I say go. Just be sure and bring a helmet or a huge bottle of water to allow for bathroom breaks.

20th Century Fox/Fox Searchlight

Sunshine
Director Danny Boyle and hottie actor Chris Evans bring out the best in each other. Danny is the smart one, with the glasses, the quick mouth and the legs crossed, all British and instinctive. Chris is the one well aware that Fantastic Four is what it is, telling you every 30 seconds how much he loves Danny's body of work, how much he respects him. And you can tell by the broad smile on Chris' face that he actually—holy Hollywood—means what he's saying.

This dynamic was in full effect when I drove out to the Fox lot for a screening of Boyle's sci-fi epic, Sunshine. It's the story of a crew of astronauts, including Evans, who venture to the sun on a mission to save planet Earth. Sunshine is a marvelous massage for the ears, and you girls out there will get right into the drama. The depth of character in Sunshine isn't reserved for one man; every person onscreen is interesting.

And Cillian Murphy, well, come on now. I'd watch him eat cereal, he's that interesting.

That's why I wish Boyle had gone the route of a purely character-driven story. I won't say what it is, but something happens. And it doesn't need to happen. And when you see the movie, you'll agree. The something that happens only makes you even more keenly aware of how good we had it when we were just watching this well-cast ensemble deal with orbit drama.

Yeah, the distributors are wrong to put this out in summer, when we have real sunshine. But please see Sunshine. See it for Boyle. See it because you want some escapism and you're tired of in-and-out movies that don't stay with you. The imagery and the sounds will haunt you.