Malin Akerman

A triumph of genial impudence over good sense and better taste, "Rock of Ages"is the guiltiest of guilty pleasures. Blessed with unstoppable energy, an undeniably bawdy sense of fun and Tom Cruise in backless leather pants, it takes songs you may never have loved and turns them into a musical that's easy to enjoy. Those tunes, undying anthems like Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" and Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is," come courtesy of the 2009 musical tribute to 1980s rock that was nominated for five Tonys and is still playing on Broadway.

- ABC is trying to get a handle on things, Olivia Pope-style. As with the Washington, D.C. fixer at the center of its surprise sophomore Twitter-friendly hit "Scandal," the Disney-owned network Tuesday was eager to put on a good show at its annual upfront presentation - in part to gloss over a disappointing season. ABC returned only two of 10 shows it launched at the start of last season, the modestly performing "Nashville" and "The Neighbors. " The network unveiled a dozen new shows for the upcoming season, a mix of comedies and dramas that includes a comic book-inspired series from Joss Whedon to replace the faltering reality franchise "Dancing With the Stars" on Tuesday nights.

Among the many familiar faces (Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel) in the raunchy new comedy "Bad Teacher" is one not so familiar — and one who nearly steals the movie. British actress Lucy Punch plays the role of Amy Squirrel, a goody two-shoes middle-school teacher in Chicago who is engaged in a very dirty little war with Diaz over a man and the hearts and minds of children. The film opened to surprisingly big box office ($31.6 million in its opening weekend) and mixed reviews, although even critics who didn't like the movie singled out Punch for praise for her gung-ho turn.

Reporting from Las Vegas On a recent Saturday night, Mike Snedegar, 31, rushed over to Lavo, a trendy restaurant and nightclub at Palazzo. He was coming from sister club Tao at Venetian. At Tao he played celebrity reporter doing the house interviews with a gathering of young actresses, models and-or singers, including Joy Bryant, Jessica Lowndes, Rachel Bilson and Malin Akerman on the red carpet. At Lavo, Snedegar organized a birthday party for reality star Stephanie Pratt.

There are so many things to feel guilty about liking in the pure and prurient guilty pleasure that is "Wanderlust. " Starring Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston, this is a comedy of no manners about finding your bliss and escaping the modern grind. The laughter is served up naughty and nice, and frequently au naturel, earning it an R rating when perhaps RR (really raunchy) would have been more appropriate. Appropriateness, however, has pretty much been jettisoned by the filmmakers, who have opted instead for the good-fun-found-in-bad-taste tradition of "The Hangover.

On the eve of Sundance, writer-director Galt Niederhoffer was redefining "down to the wire," working on the wedding scene in her first feature film, "The Romantics," which premiered at the festival on Wednesday. It's a significant dramatic moment when groom Tom, played by Josh Duhamel, receives something close to a message from on high. Lord knows he needs help, the dude may be at the altar but he's still conflicted. On the one hand, there's his bride Lila, a golden girl played by Anna Paquin; on the other is his ex and the maid of honor Laura, played by Katie Holmes.

Sitting around a long dinner table at Octavio Becerra's Palate Food + Wine are 24 impeccably coiffed young guests. Among them are "Mad Men" actor Miles Fisher, designer Tiffany Saidnia, Eater L.A. editor Kat Odell, a Prada runway model, an entertainment attorney and several musicians. Crystal Meers, Los Angeles editor of Daily Candy, chats with William Kopelman, an art consultant who tells of his newest project -- negotiating the potential sale of a bronze cannon from the HMS Victory, a British battleship that sank near the Channel Islands in 1744 -- to a very important and wealthy "man of the sea."