Love thyself - but only so much, apparently ...

Last fall Jennifer Love Hewitt was aghast at some of the hurtful things that were written about her, by fans and reporters alike, after paparazzi pics of the Ghost Whisperer star frolicking on the beach in a tiny bikini - and a more pounds than expected - hit the Internet. She struck back, decrying the emphasis on thinness and telling woman and girls everywhere to be proud of their curves; People magazine reported on the dust-up in a cover story called "Don't Call Me Fat". Yet today comes another magazine cover featuring Hewitt - this one for Us magazine that declares how she lost 18 pounds in just 10 weeks, complete with photos of her smaller physique, the curves she claimed to be proud of - and that many a guy has ogled for years - greatly diminished. What's more, she didn't drop the pounds, she says, because of the scrutiny over the beach candids.

Beyond my personal opinion that Hewitt didn't need to lose any weight - toning, maybe, but not anything radical. Indeed, to be blunt, I celebrated the fact that the bikini shots were easily the most revealing photos we had ever seen of her - I have to wonder what kind of message her dramatic weight loss sends to the young girls she claimed to be sticking up for last year. What are they to make of this mixed message from a star who wasn't overweight, an who said she was proud of her curvy body, but who felt compelled, despite what she says, to pare herself down less than a year later? Plus, now Hewitt seems too thin, having lost the oomph that made her one of the more enduring sex symbols of recent years.

Last year Hewitt wrote on her blog that being a size zero "doesn't make you beautiful". Now that she's much closer to that level, I have to agree with her. All I see when I look at her is ... hypocrisy.

Just as long as there are no upskirts ...

In an apparent indication that Pope Benedict XVI realizes that he's no John Paul II, the Vatican has brought in a consultant, legendary Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, to work on the Pontiff's image. Zeffirelli thinks that Benedict's image isn't happy and that his wardrobe is too flashy, but admits that John Paul is a hard act to follow:

"Coming after a pope as telegenic as John Paul II is a difficult task."

No crap, Sherlock. And you never say JPII needing any help in conveying his image - well, maybe except for the time he toured with 2 Live Crew. But that mash-up ended badly in a clash over who ate all of the green M&Ms at the craft services table.

Meanwhile, Zeffirelli, who directed Romeo and Juliet and Jesus of Nazareth, also will help the Vatican by "defending the faith in cinema" - which means making sure those who make so-called Christian-themed movies know exactly what they're doing. In commenting on that, Zeffirelli threw Mel Gibson - who starred in the director's 1990 rendition of Hamlet - under the missionary bus:

"You have to pay attention, as shown by the fallout from Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ which irreversibly harmed the memory of millions of people."

Yeah, that sounds like a thumbs-down to me. Wonder what Franco thinks of The Golden Compass. Not to mention Bad Santa, the third-greatest Christmas movie ever!