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The plethora of medications offered on-line should come with a snap shot of Annette Bening as Deirdre Burroughs, Augusten Burroughs hopelessly addicted narcissistic mother in his searing and tragic memoir of a life interrupted.

This tale matches Mommy Dearest one for one and possibly surpasses it as a venomous portrayal of a mother once held in awe. Certainly Annette Bening tops Faye Dunaway in her disintegration onscreen. There is nothing over the top here. Bening owns Deirdre throughout. And Deirdre as a mother is a nightmare of epic proportions. As a feminist, she leaves nothing to be desired and gives the word a bad name.

The film’s introduction to a young Augusten’s Family life leaves no doubt that there is trouble in paradise. The story quickly introduces the audience to a fractured family fueled by alcohol and emotional abuse. Could it get worse? Oh yes, and then some.

Father Norman (Alec Baldwin) has enough and walks when Deirdre elicits the help of Dr. Finch (Brian Cox) and embraces his bizarre therapy with complete abandon. In the process, Deirdre loses her husband, loses her son and loses her soul.

The story is equal parts Augusten’s journey to survive the pain of watching his mother’s disintegration and his journey to survive being thrust into life in the mad house of Dr. Finch.

It is a home inhabited by two strangely psychotic daughters and an achingly repressed housewife. Jill Clayburgh embodies the role of Agnes Finch with such brilliant neurosis that she ultimately appears the only sane one in the bunch. Hers is a finely tuned performance of the dichotomy of brilliance bordering on insanity. There is Hope (Gwyneth Paltrow) – the light, and there is Natalie (Evan Rachel Wood) – the dark, as sisters far from normal in a household that is equally so. Adopted brother Neil Bookman (Joseph Fiennes), appears in full-blown schizophrenia to relieve Augusten of his virginity and add a little more chaos to the mix. All characters border on insanity not surprisingly due to the apparent madness of the man of the house, sketchy Dr. Finch, whose ideas about self-discovery are largely encouraged through the use of pharmaceuticals.

All of them have a story and Augusten ultimately finds hope where there appears none, strength, where none appears to exist. In the end, he comes to terms with the fact that life, as he would like it to be, is best left in his own hands.

By: Devorah Macdonald

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Cheerleaders are often the most popular people in high school. It seems to make sense that these people would go onto become some of the most popular people in the world after they have graduated. You might be surprised as you read over our list of some famous people who were at one time cheerleaders.

Being a part of a cheerleading squad helps young people gain self confidence and the ability to perform in front of large crowds of people. Think about the crowded football stadium on a Friday night back in high school. That’s a pretty big audience. It makes sense that some very famous television and movie actors and actresses had, at one time in their life, been a cheerleader. Some of these people include Courtney Cox Arquette, Kelly Ripa, Sela Ward, Teri Hatcher, Calista Flockhart, Reese Witherspoon, Jenny McCarthy, Eva Longoria Parker, Denise Richards, Cameron Diaz, Sandra Bullock, Ann Margaret, Halle Berry, Alicia Silverstone, Renee Zellwegger, Other actresses who participated in cheerleading include Sarah Shahi, Blake Lively, Kirstie Alley, Jamie Lynn Spears, Charlene Tilton, Raquel Welch, Vanessa Minnillo, The list of former cheerleaders contains two acclaimed actresses – Meryl Streep and Sally Field, both of whom were high school cheerleaders.

One misconception that some people might have is that men aren’t cheerleaders, or the ones that do cheer are something less than manly. That isn’t the case either. Many men who would be described as very masculine have been cheerleaders in the past. Was there a more masculine actor than the late Jimmy Stewart? He was a cheerleader at Princeton University. Would anyone describe Samuel L. Jackson as less than manly? He was a cheerleader when he was in high school.

Several very well known and talented comedic actors were former cheerleaders. Jerry Lewis and Steve Martin were both cheerleaders when they were in high school. CBS news anchor Katie Couric, as well as the legendary television producer Aaron Spelling were also cheerleaders.

We’ve even seen our share of former cheerleaders who have had some success in reality television. Brooke Hogan has her own reality program on Vh1. Several celebrities who have competed on the hit reality television program Dancing With The Stars were also cheerleaders in their youth. Jennie Garth, Stacy Keibler, Shannon Elizabeth, Vivica Fox, Belinda Carlisle, and Melissa Rycroft. Paula Abdul (perhaps one of the most famous cheerleaders of all time) has made a name for herself, both as a musician and a judge on the reality program American Idol. Former American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler was a cheerleader in high school, and American Idol winner Carrie Underwood was a high school cheerleader as well.

Many women who have gone on to find fame as musicians were former cheerleaders. They include Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Faith Hill, Toni Basil, Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, Natalie Mains, and Lauryn Hill.

Is there any bigger arena than politics, and is there any bigger leader than the President of the United States? Several former presidents were at one time a cheerleader. They include President George W. Bush, President Ronald Reagan, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Other politicians who have participated in the sport of cheerleading include Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, and Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran.

You can’t say that if you are a cheerleader you’ll go on to fame and fortune, but you might say that being a cheerleader helped some very famous people get to where they are today.

By: Katie O'Hara

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