Ian Gavan/Getty Images, Todd Williamson/WireImageWith the bustups of star relationships like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, not to mention some TV and movie offerings getting criticized out the wazoo (like Glee and New Year's Eve, respectively), we here at The Awful Truth decided we want to concentrate on the positive: in other words, what we still firmly adore about Hollywood!
Take a look at what we think is working just fine in Tinseltown, thank you very much.
In other words, when marriages and relationships go south and we get down, let's cheer ourselves up with 99 reasons—delivered daily for the next 11 days!—to get our spirits back and soaring!
And you know what the tough part was? Narrowing it down to just 99 inspirations!
And in no particular order, here's our first list of nine great reasons we still love to live in—and for—Hollywood:
99. Lady Gaga. Who cares if she "got inspired" by Madonna's muse (or actually borrowed it; all great artists intermingle, right?), the point is nobody's delivering it powerhouse, show-woman-style better than Lady G these days. She's like Britney and Katy Perry and Adam Lambert all wrapped into one breathtaking package, beyond brilliant! Except, unlike those that came before, Gaga has the ability to make the completely insane (um, egg-mobiles anyone?) look classy!
98. Khloé Kardashian Odom and Lamar Odom. They are bravely moving to Texas, which isn't exactly a standout in the union as far as states that support equal rights to its citizens. But Khloé's all about being positive—one of the reasons we adore her—and ignoring the hate and choosing to instead move on with the moving on. Really, few Hollywood figures do it better. Good luck, you two!
97. Zac Efron. We loved Zacky back in his Disney days, what with the singing and dancing and all that. But can we all agree that he has grown up and is looking better buffer than ever? Plus, he was one of the only good parts of New Year's Eve. If it were up to us, the whole movie would have been him wooing Michelle Pfeiffer.
96. Florence + The Machine. Sure, it was the year of Adele, but Florence Welch and her "Machine" delivered a killer album with Ceremonials. The songs show off the Grammy-nommed gal's one-of-a-kind voice and the music videos she's served up have been gorgeously shot and sometimes totally bizarre. Which we mean in a good way!
95. Madonna. Madge has been long criticized for wanting to have it all and falling short (shout out to Swept Away), but she's finally cornering the music and movie industry: She's got a new single coming out (featuring Nicki Minaj), a new record, she's performing at the Super Bowl and she's getting a decent amount of attention for her directorial debut, W.E. Kudos, Material Girl.
94. Melissa Leo's F-Bomb. Hey, foul language can be funny—even more when used appropriately. Like when Melissa Leo won an Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for The Fighter. C'mon, you know you laughed when Melissa dropped the Oscar's first F-bomb. Let's hope it's not the last!
93. Bad Boys Going Badder. Sure, we love it when stars mix up their image (ya know, like when Jennifer Aniston ditched the good-girl shtick for a bad, bad girl role in Horrible Bosses), but we sometimes dig it when bad boys play even worse on the big screen. Like Colin Farrell in the same flick. Art imitating life to the extreme and Colin does it so very well.
92. The Conviction of Conrad Murray. Michael Jackson passed too soon, no doubt, and when Murray showed zero remorse, we seriously had our doubts about this doctor. Even worse? Murray didn't take a stand in the courtroom but eagerly blabbed to MSNBC. Quite a sleazy move on his part, and we're happy there were some consequences.
91. Not-So-Shy Sofia Vergara. As if we didn't already love Sofia enough for her duty on Modern Family as the sometimes lost-in-translation but always-loving younger wife of Ed O'Neill, her life personal sealed the deal for us. We really dig that Ms. Vergara's crafty and smart enough to own her accent and her curves in a town that might take advantage of her for it. She knows what the people want and she's happy to give it to them on her terms. Best part: Most folks don't even realize how much Sofia's running the show!