The other night while watching The Closer with my lady love, I had to giggle when she said, “Wow, Kyra Sedgwick’s Southern accent is so thick!”

What my girlfriend didn’t know — and what many of you may not know, either — is that Kyra is a born-and-bred New Yorker with such good acting chops, she can convince you she’s the southernest of Southern belles. Kyra comes from a long line of awesome actresses who can switch up their voices to suit a character. For instance, did you know Golden Girl Rue McClanahan was faking Blanche’s Southern trill? Yep, McClanahan was trained on the stages of New York.

Of course, for every actress who can fake a believable accent, there’s another (two or three) who bomb at it. Let’s take a look at a few winners and losers in the accent department.

We would be remiss if we did not start with Meryl Streep, who became so well known for her accents in the 1970s and 80s, people would jokingly wonder what dialect she would conquer next: African tribe woman? Eskimo?

With lots of research and endless attention to detail, Meryl knocked it out of the park when mimicking the dialects of Australians (A Cry In The Dark), Danish (Out of Africa), Polish (Sophie’s Choice) and lesbian (Manhattan). OK that last one is just a joke, but wasn’t it fun to see Meryl play Woody Allen’s Sapphicly-inclined ex-wife?

One of the few contemporary actresses who could go head-to-head with Meryl is the lovely Cate Blanchett. Aussie Cate’s a master of accents from Russian (The Man Who Cried) to American (Babel) to Kate Hepburn’s quirky Connecticut cadence (The Aviator). Cate can even do Bob Dylan (I’m Not There)! … continue reading

Something's not right in L.A.'s Priority Homicide division.

The writers on the fourth season of The Closer — TNT's hit drama series starring Kyra Sedgwick as a calm, no-nonsense, tough-as-nails professional Deputy Chief trying to command respect in a man's world while battling a fondness for sweets — have apparently decided that what cable's most-watched Emmy award-winning show really needs is More! Kyra! Naked!

Well, more Kyra in her underwear, anyway. And before some of you ask, no, this is not a good thing — not like this, anyway.

So far this season, Sedgwick's character Brenda Lee Johnson has been shown at length in her underwear or lingerie twice, once in each episode — double the number of times she has ever been shown undressed in the entire first three seasons — for reasons that appear to advance the plot not a whit. It's out of character, and it's jarring, like watching your co-worker suddenly strip down in front of you at the office. An attractive co-worker to be sure, but it still feels wrong. … continue reading

Sometime over the last decade or so, glasses became cool. And hot. And the world began to see what lesbians always have known: that women who wear glasses are both cool and hot. And downright sexy.

Personally, I'm glad views have changed. As a little tomboy, I resisted glasses as long as I could, to the point of memorizing the eye chart every year so I could pass the vision exam. When I finally was too blind to resist specs any longer, my family was about to move to Texas from Pittsburgh. One of my friends said, "Wow, glasses don't seem very Texan." At the time, I was devastated. Now I know better. Texans with glasses rock. … continue reading

Food is a good thing. That is my profound post-Thanksgiving pronouncement. My mother is an extraordinary, amazing cook — a fact I remember acutely when I visit my parents. By virtue of having grown up in a home with good food, I've continued to appreciate good food all my life. And it's still a connection I share with my mother: I call her when I've had a great meal, when I've cooked something interesting and when I've seen a good food movie.

So, in the spirit of the overeating I've been doing at my parents' home for the past few days, I've been thinking about some of my favorite food movies. These are not all great movies, and they are not necessarily the greatest food movies, but they're all food movies that I've enjoyed, and that came to mind recently.

1. What's Cooking? (2000)

What's Cooking? is the no-brainer. First, we have gay-friendly director Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham). Then there's the mouthwatering multi-ethnic Thanksgiving food prepared by Joan Chen, Mercedes Ruehl, Alfre Woodard, Julianna Margulies and Kyra Sedgwick, among others. Last, and most important, we have Julianna Margulies and Kyra Sedgwick as perhaps the most attractive and appealing lesbian couple in the history of movie lesbians.

Yes, the movie has its flaws. (Every time I watch, I cannot believe the Vietnamese college student tells his parents he's not coming home for Thanksgiving and then goes to his girlfriend's house. Across the street from his parents' house.) But then Julianna Margulies flexes her perfect arms, and she and Kyra Sedgwick giggle over the turkey baster. And all is well in the world. … continue reading

For the most part whenever a public service announcement comes on my eyes glaze over as I passively agree with its sentiment. (Yes, yes, click it or ticket. Good, good, give blood, give life.) Still it's the rare PSA that makes me get off my ass and actually do something. This weekend, thanks to Natalie Portman, Kyra Sedgwick and Chloe Sevigny, the figurative (and literal) light bulb finally went on over my head.

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National Geographic had the bright idea of having Natalie, Kyra and Chloe tell us all about the benefits of compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs, for short). These energy-efficient lights use about 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer than your standard incandescent bulbs. But don't let me bore you with the numbers, instead check it out for yourself (for better quality video, click here):

We've been hearing an awful lot about the elder stateswomen of Hollywood taking over the airwaves lately. From Glenn Close in Damages, Kyra Sedgwick in The Closer, Sally Field in Brothers & Sisters to Mary-Louise Parker in Weeds, Lili Taylor in State of Mind and Holly Hunter in Saving Grace, women of a certain age have been generating a whole lot of buzz. Even Whoopi Goldberg joining The View could be viewed as part of the "trend."

With all this positivity going on around about these lovely ladies, I'm led to wonder about the future. What I want to know is this: Are any of today's youngsters going to be ready to step up to the plate when these ladies take their final bows and gracefully exit the stage? Now, I know that's likely a long way off, but that doesn't make my curiosity any less. So I decided to don my Carnac the Magnificent-like turban and see if I could find any answers in my crystal ball. Forgive me if said crystal ball provides some somewhat strange replies. The power is on the fritz here due to some nasty thunderstorms last night, and I'm afraid my battery supply is being used elsewhere. (I meant in flashlights, people!) … continue reading

Tonight on The Late Late Show, Craig Ferguson welcomes Kyra Sedgwick and Paula Poundstone. Yes, that's two of my faves on the same talk show! Pinch me.

Speaking of dreams versus reality, in my own little world, I call Kyra Sedgwick "Kedgwick." I think it sounds like a British manor I'd like to visit. And I call Paula Poundstone "hilarious." But that's not very original.

Anyway, Sedgwick will no doubt be discussing The Closer, and Poundstone will probably talk about the syndicated Jury Duty, which debuts in September. On that show, celebrities will serve as jury members. I'm betting Poundstone will have to endure some sarcastic comments. Other jurors slated for service include Phyllis Diller, Tiffany, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Charlene Tilton and Lee Meriwether. Whoa. Charlene Tilton?!

As you've probably already heard, The Sopranos got a whopping 15 Emmy nominations this morning. Meanwhile, the HBO movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee did even better, with 17. (I missed that one entirely, so for me it's more like Scratch My Head at HBO Monopoly.)

Here are the big ones:

2007 Primetime Emmy Nominations

Outstanding Drama Series
Boston Legal (ABC)
Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Heroes (NBC)
House (Fox)
The Sopranos (HBO)

Outstanding Comedy Series
30 Rock (NBC)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Ugly Betty (ABC)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Sally Field, Brothers and Sisters (ABC)
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Partricia Arquette, Medium (NBC)
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
Minnie Driver, The Riches (FX)
Edie Falco, The Sopranos (HBO) … continue reading

CelebritySpotlight.co.uk recently ran a hilarious quote by Liv Tyler about playing a lesbian (the original source was her interview with Allure Magazine). Actually, the hilarious part was the headline, "Liv Tyler's Lesbian Regret." There is so much you can do with the concept of "lesbian regret," isn't there?

Anyway, Tyler bemoaned the tameness of the kiss scene she did with Kate Hudson a few years ago in Dr. T and the Women.

She said, "Kate plays a woman who is about to get married and she's completely in love with me. We were always so shy about the kissing but in retrospect we were like, 'We so should have just totally made out and tongued each other'. But we never did, we were just too scared to do it." … continue reading

In Sunday's New York Times, an article titled "In the Prime of Their Time" focused on older actresses on TV. Here are the (kind of silly) opening lines:

"Botox and plastic surgery allow actress to look younger. Television is permitting them to act their age. Older stars who once had to resign themselves to playing frustrated spinsters or docile moms are suddenly flaunting their ripened sex appeal on television. It's not 'The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone' anymore. This season marks the summer of hot cougar love."

Let's all take a moment to roll our eyes at the "cougar" thing. OK, done? Anyway, the first name mentioned in the article is, of course, Kyra Sedgwick's — The Closer starts its third season today (TNT, 9/8c). But Sedgwick's character, Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson, is dating someone age-appropriate, so the rest of the article focuses on some saucier pairings.

Too bad this photo of Holly Hunter and Laura San Giacomo doesn't actually depict a couple. They're just co-stars, in Saving Grace, which premieres July 18 on TNT. Hunter plays a cynical cop with a touched-by-an-angel-ish shot at redemption.

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Kyra Sedgwick is the guest on tonight's episode of Inside the Actors Studio (Bravo, 8/7c). I'm sure it's no coincidence that The Closer returns next week (June 18 on TNT at 9/8c). But any reason is a good one if it means more Sedgwick on the screen.

Sedgwick's lesbian following, of which I am a happy member, goes waaay back. For me, it all began with Losing Chase (1996), in which she was lucky enough to lock lips with Helen Mirren. Sure, she ran away after that fateful kiss, but that's probably because Mirren is so irresistible and gorgeous. (Yes, I do enjoy my delusions.) … continue reading