I used to like Jennifer Love Hewitt and found her rather sweet. She’s kind of clueless when it comes to relationships, and she regularly broadcasts that cluelessness and even published a book about it, but she’s harmless. Now that she’s on Twitter constantly and seems to be papping herself on a regular basis, I’m a little over her. (Do you think she has paparazzi following her every day? She hasn’t had a wide release movie out since 2006′s Garfield 2, and she doesn’t have a TV series running since Ghost Whisperer was canceled in 2010. Her Client List show just got picked up by Lifetime though.)

J.Love’s hair before:

Anyway Hewitt got a hair cut, or just removed her extensions and got bangs straight across her forehead. She revealed the cut in two well photographed outings over the past two days, one with a “mystery guy,” and both in questionable outfits. She also of course posted a photo of her new hair on Twitter. I don’t think it looks too bad. I’m not a bangs fan, but I’m not against them per se. Kaiser says it’s pretty awful, but to me the real tragedy is her fashion. Check out the outfit where she’s wearing a navy blue see-through dress with a bizarre Ed Hardy-like pattern across the front. At first I thought that was a concert t-shirt paired with a skirt. At least she has on some shorts things under there so we’re not looking at her undies. She wore this yesterday to an outing on Melrose in which she tried on jewelry and mugged for the paparazzi.

Then on Sunday, J.Love went out in some kind of floral romper (I hate those, but some women can pull them off) and sneakers. She was with a guy that the photo agency couldn’t identify. It looks like he could be her brother, as Wiki says she has an older brother and this guy has similar coloring to her, but I can’t verify that. Plus the guy looks younger than her (she’s 32) to me. The last we heard of J.Love’s love life she was flying out to go on a date with Bachelorette runner up Ben Flajnik after picking him up on Twitter. Ben may be the next Bachelor, though, so he’s probably not going to pass up that chance in order to be the boyfriend of a C-lister.

Here’s the photo agency’s description of Hewitt’s outing on Sunday with this guy:

Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt made her way out of Sharky’s eatery in Toluca Lake, California on August 14, 2011 with a young mystery man. J-Love and the young man took separate cars back to her home nearby. Has the “Ghost Whisper” star moved on that quickly after her recent date with “Bachelorette” reject, Ben Flajnik, who is said to be the next hopeful candidate for the upcoming season of “The Bachelor”.

[From Fame Pictures photo description]

It doesn’t look like a date, but you never know. Only one agency had these photos at least, so at least she’s trying to play it “coy.” She’s so happy in these other photos with the blue dress that I still find myself feeling some affection for her. It’s like she’s grateful we’re paying attention. She’s not feigning disinterest like a Kardashian. Bless her, as they say in the south.

Photo credit: WENN and Fame

Jennifer Love Hewitt has more to celebrate other than just scoring a Bachelorette reject. According to Deadline, her “Client List” Lifetime movie, about a housewife turned hooker, is about to be made into a 10 part one-hour series on Lifetime. Hewitt will star in and produce the show, and she also worked out a deal to potentially produce and direct more projects with Lifetime. The show will premiere in 2012.

Meanwhile Hewitt may be about to get her heart broken again. US Weekly claims that Ben Flajnik, who was the last guy rejected by Bachlorette Ashley before she picked JP, may be the next Bachelor. Hewitt picked up Ben by tweeting to him on August 2, and then she flew out to see him in San Francisco on August 6, where they were spotted making out at a bar. US has Ben as the fan and crew favorite to helm the next show. So either Hewitt just cost him that gig or he’s about to be fought over by a couple dozen women. Here’s an excerpt from that story:

Though producers are sitll considering Flajnik’s fellow also-rans Ames Brown and Ryan Park, the 28-year-old Sonoma, CA, resident “is the favorite with the women trying out for the show, and the crew, reveals an insider. “Everyone wants him to find the woman of his dreams.” Even host Chris Harris has giving Flajnik a ringing endorsement, telling Us, “Our fans would love to see him as the Bachelor. He’d be great.”

[From US Weekly, print edition, August 22, 2011]

US also had a reader poll on who should be the next bachelor, and 53% voted for Ben while the rest were split between Ames at 27% and Ryan at 20%. So it looks like Ben is going to be asked to be on The Bachelor. Will he turn it down because he’s into Jennifer Love Hewitt, who dropped everything to come see him four days after she picked him up on Twitter, or will he increase his level of fame and earning potential by being the next Bachelor? It’s kind of a no-brainer. Ben runs a winery when he’s not working in reality television.

Photo credit: Juan Rico/Fame Pictures

Here’s a way to get a date, just watch reality dating shows and try and pick up the rejects. That’s exactly what unlucky-in-love actress Jennifer Love Hewitt did after seeing the runner up on The Bachelorette, Ben Flajnik, get passed over for JP. Hewitt sent a tweet to Ben, got a positive response and went on a date with him. She’s been single since breaking up with her last boyfriend, Alex Beh, in May. At least I assume she’s been single, since she would have told the press all about it if she’d had a date.

Jennifer Love Hewitt hasn’t been shy about her feelings for Ashley Hebert reject Ben Flajnik. “OMG! Ben F [accept] my final rose!!!” she excitedly tweeted on Aug. 2, a day after Ashley dumped Ben for JP Rosenbaum. “Gotta book a flight to Sonoma!!!”

Guess what? She wasn’t joking. Life & Style can reveal that the actress flew to San Francisco on Aug. 6 for a sexy date with the 28-year-old winemaker. The two hung out at San Francisco hot spot Lion’s Pub. “Ben from The Bachelorette is making out with Jennifer Love Hewitt,” one eyewitness claimed. Another fan who saw the two even said they may be a couple already, exclaiming, “Oh yeah, Ben and Jennifer Love Hewitt appeared to be dating. All in all, Ben seemed to be perfectly content as the second-place loser on The Bachelorette.”

Although a rep for the actress refuses to comment, Steve Carbone of realitysteve.com tells Life & Style, “These two had no contact with each other until after Jennifer reached out through Twitter on Aug. 2. Ben’s obviously doing fine since the Ashley breakup, as he’s now been on a date with Jennifer Love Hewitt!”

[From Life & Style]

Is it patronizing to say that I find this sad? I like Jennifer Love Hewitt and I want her to be happy and everything, but it seems like a massively bad idea to pick up a guy from a reality dating show. No matter how decent Ben may have looked on the show, (and I have no idea because it’s not like I watched it), he’s a guy who went on the Bachelorette and was willing to go through that in the public eye. Usually those Bachelor and Bachelorette participants aren’t in it to find a partner and want the fame and money that goes along with it.

Plus it’s sad to me that she did this through Twitter and is now leaking details to the press. I guess I shouldn’t hold her to a higher standard, since she regularly gets dressed up to go shopping for the paparazzi and made us privvy to the details of all her past relationships. She’s not above the same famewhore tricks that everyone else plays. So maybe this will be a love match after all since J.Love and this Ben guy have that in common. She can teach him a few things.

I checked J.Love’s Twitter and she seems to be on it constantly. She calls her followers “lovelys” and tweets about giving “twugs” and “twisses.” She’s moving from sweet to “annoying” territory quickly. She gives good duckface too:

Here’s that Ben guy:

Jennifer Love Hewitt went shopping with a friend yesterday in a short black dress and nude heels. Unlike the last time we saw her in some schlumpy blue sweats and an “I Love Coffee” t-shirt, she looked happy to be photographed and well put together. She was out at celebrity-friendly boutique Fred Segal, so it’s safe to say she either planned to be photographed or called the paps herself. I can’t fault her for that since I find her kind of adorable. Her hair is looking a little fake to me in that high pony, but other than that I think she’s super cute in this outfit. The skirt may be a little short, like it could use three more inches of fabric at the bottom, but that dress is flattering from most angles and I love those shoes!

Hewitt was announced two weeks ago as one of the leads in the movie Jewtopia, based on a novel and successful play of the same name. It will costar Ivan Sergei of Crossing Jordan. She’s only been in one big screen movie after 2006′s Garfield 2, a film called Cafe last year that I’ve never heard of. So this is really good news for her and she’s probably happy to get her face out there with a friendly photo op. Hewitt also guest starred on an episode of Hot in Cleveland that aired yesterday, so she may have been celebrating that as well.

Doesn’t this dress remind you of one that Kim Kardashian just wore, except not as short and boob-baring? Hewitt is dressing like a Kardashian more frequently as of late.

Photo credit: WENN and Fame

I don’t think it’s an accident when Jennifer Love Hewitt gets papped. Like she’s not a big enough celebrity to have paparazzi sleeping in their cars outside her house, but I could be wrong. For instance here she is in a pair of loose turquoise sweats an “I need coffee” v-neck t-shirt and sneakers. She tried to hide behind one of those little purses she’s been carrying lately. What’s with those? I noticed she’s carried a small purse at two different events. As a mom who has to carry a huge purse around, I don’t get it. Lucky single girl.

I wouldn’t go out like this. Living in Berlin for so long conditioned me to dress to leave the house for anything, even going to the gym. (People don’t really walk around in sweats or gym clothes in Berlin.) This is just my own hangup and no judgment on people who are comfortable in their casual clothes. It’s nice to feel like you don’t have have to dress up in America. I think when you work from home though it gives you a boost to dress like you might have an actual job to go to.

Hewitt can’t say that, but she does have the advantage of being dressed by professionals at whatever gig she’s going to. That doesn’t seem to have been the case here, judging from her IMDB profile. Maybe she had a photoshoot or was just running out to get some coffee, letting her shirt do the talking for her.

Photo credit: WENN.com

I’m still playing catch-up, fashion post-wise, with all of Prince William and Duchess Kate’s appearances over the weekend, which explains how I missed this. On Saturday, before their red carpet BAFTA event, Will played polo and Kate watched (and presented him with the trophy). Several B and C-listers came out to rub elbows with Will and Kate at the polo green (field?), including our little Jennifer Love Hewitt. As CB noted from the Horrible Bosses premiere, Jennifer Love is looking better recently. She’s lost some weight, got some new bangs (trauma) and she’s showing off her figure more in non-muumuus. Jennifer’s dress is Monique Lhuillier, the bag is Louis Vuitton and the shoes are Louboutin. As for the dress… it’s not really bad, is it? It’s a cute little frock, not great for a day-time summer event outdoors, but it’s not inappropriate either.

I didn’t see any photos of Love trying to talk up Kate, but I’m sure Love put in the effort. You know Love has a thing about princesses and “the fairytale” so I bet this was a big day for her. Since she was in navy (Kate’s favorite color) and since I could actually see Kate in this dress, I want to believe that Kate caught Love’s eye and said, “Fabulous dress, great color.” All in all, I think the look would have been improved if Love had simply ditched the bangs. I know I always say that, but it’s really true in this case.

Meanwhile, guess who showed up in a full-on gown at the polo event? Zoe Saldana. Sigh… THIS is too much. High-necked, boob-window, full-length Chloe dress? Yikes. And Zoe’s face is really looking drag-queen in these photos. Like she’s a cross between Jada Pinkett Smith and RuPaul.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Jennifer Love Hewitt wore a form fitting Herve Leger dress to the premiere of Horrible Bosses, in which she doesn’t star or anything. I just bitched about how the Leger dress trend should go out of style. Even on very thin women I dislike these super tight dresses. But Hewitt kind of works that look. Like I’m amazed that she would wear that dress with pride and be like “whatever, I’m hot.”

I don’t find it very flattering on her, and I don’t particularly like the style, but with that hair and makeup it kind of works. She has the attitude to go with it, she’s not wearing a sack, and she looks like a Kardashian without the bad plastic surgery. So who am I to say that she shouldn’t wear a tight dress because she’s got hips?

Here are some of Love Hewitt’s past event looks this year. She’s hit or miss, well usually miss, with her fashion. So even though this dress doesn’t work well with her bottom half, it’s not as bad as some of the other dresses she wears.

Look at her expression, she’s not smug, she’s not meek, she’s just happy to be there and feels good about herself. I kind of love that. It will be a hot minute before she finds another boyfriend and is talking marriage and babies to the press again. Those stripper shoes have got to go though and how did she think that tiny yellow purse would work?

Update: Here’s a photo of her from behind, by request.

Photo credit: WENN.com except for the last photo above, which is from Fame Pictures

Slate has a lengthy article about Rotten Tomatoes and what RT’s ratings/critical assessments mean in the larger sense. There’s lots of math and an epic explanation, which I’m going to try to summarize without having to excerpt large chunks. Basically, you guys know what Rotten Tomatoes is all about – go here to see RT’s site. You can read every major (and many minor) critical opinion of every film. Plus, RT “scores” films – anything above 70% is considered good or a “fresh” tomato. Anyway, Slate did an extensive search with RT, trying to figure out who were the best and worst actors, directors, etc, using RT’s cold, hard, brutal, raw critical data. The answers may surprise you. According to the math, Jennifer Love Hewitt is the “worst” actress since… I’m not sure. Since 1985, I guess. JLH is the “worst” of the modern actresses, I guess. The worst actor honors went to Chuck Norris. OMG, Chuck and Love should make a movie!!! Here’s an excerpt from the Slate piece:

Worst Actor: Chuck Norris. Appearing in one bad film is a mistake. Appearing in dozens of bad films is a deliberate choice. Thanks to movies like The Delta Force (20 percent), Missing in Action (23 percent), and Top Dog (0 percent), Norris tops—or, as it were, bottoms—the list of worst-reviewed actors, with an average score of 18.4 since 1985. If you count only actors who have made at least 20 movies since 1985, the Worst Actor award goes to Eddie Griffin, with an average rating of 24.1 percent.

Worst Actress: Jennifer Love Hewitt. Hewitt has the rare distinction of never having made a single “fresh” (above 60 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) film. Her average score of 18.9 owes to such duds as Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (7 percent), I Know What You Did Last Summer (35 percent), I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (7 percent), and both Garfield movies (15 percent and 11 percent, respectively). If you count only actresses who have made at least 20 movies since 1985, the Worst Actress award goes to Mena Suvari, with an average rating of 32.7 percent.

Best Actor: Daniel Auteuil. With an average film score of 86 percent, Auteuil has appeared in the most consistently high-quality films of the last few decades. The French star, best known for his role in Jean de Florette (1986), may benefit from the critical soft spot for foreign films. If you prefer to count only red-blooded Americans, the top honor goes to John Ratzenberger (76.1 percent average), who has voiced a character in every Pixar movie to date.

Best Actress: Arsinée Khanjian. In the mind of the American film critic, Khanjian can do no wrong—or almost no wrong. Films like The Sweet Hereafter (100 percent), Calendar (100 percent), and Speaking Parts (100 percent) have helped boost Khanjian’s average score up to 84.7 percent. Even her “bad” movie, 2002′s Ararat, rated a 56 percent and was called by one critic “the most thought provoking movie of the year.”* Topping the list of American actresses with an average of 72.8 percent is Amy Madigan of Gone Baby Gone (94 percent) and Field of Dreams (88 percent).

Best Director: Mike Leigh. The British director of Secrets & Lies (94 percent) and Another Year (92 percent) rates a lifetime average of 92.1 percent. The best directors have higher average scores than the best actors, presumably because they have more control over the quality of their films. A critically acclaimed actor might see his average dragged down by a few second-billed roles in lousy genre flicks. (See, for example, multiple-Oscar nominee John Malkovich, whose numbers take a major hit from recent flops like Eragon and Mutant Chronicles.) The highest-rated American director? Ethan Coen, with an 84.3 percent average.

Best Actor in Worst Movie: David Strathairn in Twisted. Strathairn, best known for playing Edward R. Murrow in Good Night and Good Luck, has had a blessed career, with an average rating of 70 percent. That is, if you don’t count Twisted (2 percent), the 2004 thriller-in-name-only starring Ashley Judd as a cop who might actually be the killer she herself is hunting, in which Strathairn plays Judd’s shrink. Honorable mention goes to Laurie Metcalf (average: 70 percent) for her role as Rebecca Frazen in 1996′s Dear God (12 percent).

[From Slate]

Yeah… I understand the technical, scientific reason for crowning Jennifer Love and Chuck Norris as the critical WORST, but it still feels like we’re missing some big names who really should have been named the worst. There are lots of highly-regarded actors who have made bomb after bomb after bomb. There are lots of famous actors who can’t actually act. Basically, I just feel like Jennifer Love is being picked on because of her Pear-Ass. Granted, she’s no Meryl Streep. But she has her place, damn it! And that place is “television”.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I thought this already happened, months ago, but I guess this is new. According to an exclusive report from TV Line, Christopher Meloni will not be returning to Law & Order: SVU next year. I’m pretty sure he already said that he didn’t really want to do another season, but now it’s all official.

Chris Meloni will not be reporting back for duty when Law & Order: Special Victims Unit launches its 13th season this fall, TVLine has learned exclusively.

Protracted talks between the actor — who has played Detective Stabler since the NBC crime drama’s 1999 debut — and studio NBC Universal broke down on Tuesday, says a source. Franchise creator Dick Wolf is said to already be searching for a big name to bring in opposite the series’ female lead, Mariska Hargitay.

Hargitay’s own deal to return for Season 13 remains unaffected.

Just last week, new NBC boss Robert Greenblatt told TVLine he felt the network was in “pretty great shape” as far as Meloni’s prospective deal goes, though he did allow for the possibility of SVU one day moving forward minus its two original leads. In fact, there was very recently talk that Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer) might join the series midway through the coming season to replace Hargitay.

“Jennifer Love is somebody we’ve been circling,” Greenblatt told us, “but I don’t know that that is going to happen at all.”

An NBC spokesperson had no comment for this story.

[From TV Line]

Ugh, the Jennifer Love Hewitt rumors just kill me. It’s being reported far and wide that whenever Mariska retires, JLH will come in to replace her. I mean, I no longer watch the new episodes because the show jumped the shark with that HIDEOUS season which featured Christina Lahti and Sharon Stone (it was awful). But I still care about the L&O franchise, and the exit of Meloni and the possible entrance of Love down the line makes me think that they just need to shoot this series in the head. No more. They’ve caught all of the rapists and pedophiles in NYC. DONE.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

Is it the correct use of “ironic” to say “It’s ironic that Jennifer Love Hewitt goes by ‘Love’ since she’s so unlucky in love?” I think that’s correct. It would be like me going by the nickname “Slim” or “Flatsy” or “Blondie” – also things that are not true. So Love has failed at love once again. According to Us Weekly, Love and Alex Beh are done after “nearly a year together.” According to our archives, they lasted about nine months. Nine months is… not bad. Especially when you consider that Love already has three potential engagement rings picked out at Tiffany’s, and that she’s incapable of NOT whoring her latest relationship out to the press, forever and always. When you look at it that way, Alex is a trooper for hanging in there for so long. Oh well… now we know why Love has been wearing so many muumuus lately. Breakup, ice cream, The Pear Ass. Bless her heart.

Jennifer Love has lost in love again. After nearly a year together, Jennifer Love Hewitt has parted ways with beau Alex Beh, her rep confirms to Us Weekly.

“They haven’t been dating for a little while,” the rep adds.

Us first reported that Hewitt was dating actor-director Beh in late July 2010 following her March split from Ghost Whisperer costar Jamie Kennedy.

In the wake of her Beh breakup, “She’s doing well,” a pal tells Us.

Back in February, all was well with Hewitt, 31 and her man. “He buys me flowers every day,” she told Us in an NYC fashion week event. “Ever since we met. Every single day — I’m serious! He’ll either give me a bouquet, or handpick one. So sweet!”

No matter her relationship status, the TV vet told Ellen DeGeneres in January that she she has three Tiffany engagement rings picked out — just in case.

“I actually have three because I feel like I’m doing the guy a favor,” she said. “I feel like I don’t want to be upset if he picks a bad ring.”

[From Us Weekly]

Sigh… will she ever find The One? Or did she already find him and she just scared him off with how needy, controlling and clingy she is? I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve said this to Love, but I’ll just say it again: she needs to spend some time alone. Just stop dating for a while. Be without a boyfriend, find out how to rely on herself without defining herself as The Girlfriend of, The Fiancée of, the Psycho Stalker of –. The girl barely goes a month alone without picking up a new boyfriend, and of course we have to hear all about how This Guy is The One, to the point where she’s had a dozen Ones in a decade. Enough! Take a break, Love!

Photos courtesy of WENN.