Sarah Palin's star turn

LIKE MANY around Hollywood, I've spent an embarrassing amount of time during the week trying to decide which actress would be best to play Sarah Palin in the story of her life. I know conventional wisdom says that Tina Fey is a lock for the part, but do you really think that the "30 Rock" star could be believable in a role in which she'd have to wrestle a moose to the ground and vivisect ol' Bullwinkle with her bowie knife?

Personally I'd vote for Demi Moore, because, as veteran comedy writer and "MASH" co-creator Larry Gelbart pointed out when we were discussing this, Moore could really capture what he sees as Palin's "mixture of sensuality and dominatrix."

And just think, Moore's husband, Ashton Kutcher, could play the "first dude," Todd Palin.

OK, this is not a particularly socially redeeming pastime, but stories -- and movies -- are a nice outlet when the real-life events provoke so much anxiety.

These are strange times we live in. I've been getting better gossip out of the Huffington Post than Us magazine. I've seen the same people who lambasted Lynn Spears for being the worst mother in America show compassion for Palin and her pregnant daughter. I've seen Republicans complain that any criticism of Sarah Palin is sexist, while delegates at the Republican convention sport "The Hottest VP From the Coolest State" buttons. Like I said, strange times.

Nowadays, reality and fiction seem to collide on a daily basis. David Duchovny plays a sex addict on TV and is one in person too! Military interrogators refer to the "24" playbook on torture. So why shouldn't Hollywood movies of the past give an indication about how the ever-evolving Sarah Palin story line might play out?

No doubt, if you ask the Republicans, Palin is tailor-made for a gender-role-switched remake of Frank Capra's 1939 classic "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," the tale of a senator from a small town (Jimmy Stewart) who fights Washington's corruption. I can just see Palin on the Senate floor in a leather miniskirt, arguing in defense of a national hockey rink project.

Republicans might also enjoy seeing her story being recycled into a remake of "Kisses for My President," the 1964 film about women banding together to elect the first female president (Polly Bergen). Or maybe not, as her first man (Fred MacMurray) has to deal with an office full of frilly pink furniture and a wife who has no time for sex.