Even with kitchen sex and dead mothers and Dan Humphrey’s massive biceps (when did that happen?), this week’s

Amanda: This week’s episode was all about couples: Serena and Nate, Dan and Vanessa, Jenny and Damian, Blair and Chuck, Lily and Rufus, and Chuck and his “mom.” And all of those couples were freaking annoying, except for Blair and Chuck. I’m glad they’re happy again.

Jean: It was also about kissing. Lots of kissing. It took the whole episode, but Jenny and Damian finally got romantic (but not without Little J showing her parents the pills she and Damian had been selling, then saying they were hers, then him confessing they were his father’s, and that his dad was a raging drug addict — that one was true, apparently). Serena and Nate kept up their “let’s pretend we’re bunny rabbits” (and do it all the time) phase, and Dan and Vanessa finally revealed their true feelings about each other.

Amanda: It’s about time that Dan and Vanessa sealed the deal. Now they can compete with Serena and Nate for the most PDA on the show. I can’t wait to see if they’ll end up being a successful couple or crash and burn, like every other couple in the history of Gossip Girl. I think I might actually be rooting for them. But let’s get back to the main plotline of the episode (I think): Chuck’s mystery mama. I was so confused by her story. Why did she really abandon her son? And is she really who she says she is?

Jean: She apparently didn’t want the kid, but Bart did. So she told Bart to tell their son that she had died, but has now changed her mind (20 years later). Something’s still fishy, and I’m not sure if I believe her. She only tried to tell Chuck her story after Serena goaded her (twice), though it was kind of adorable to see her and Chuck getting to know each other at the end of the episode.

Amanda: And speaking of the end of the episode, Serena called her dad to tell him she no longer wanted to get to know him. But we know that her dad makes an appearance later this season, so we’re setting up some dramatic moment where Serena struggles with her decision to write off her dad in the face of him actually being in New York. I can’t wait to see what face Blake Lively will use to portray her struggle. Oh wait, she only has that one face. Bet she’ll be wearing something low cut while making that face, too. Oh, Gossip Girl, so predictable. Let’s hope next week offers some shocking twist — I’m getting bored already and we’re only two episodes into the second half of the season. What do you think we have to look forward to next week?

Jean: I’m excited for the Jenny and Damien relationship to go somewhere, and I’m praying Lily and Rufus stop being so booooring and at least make their fight more interesting. I also hope Dan and Vanessa spice things up a bit, or at least Jessica Szohr delivers her lines with a bit more enthusiasm — it sounds like she’s describing invasive surgery, not Vanessa’s feelings for Dan. Until next week, Upper East Siders.

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Taylor “I don’t want to be a role model” Momsen and her too-thick black eyeliner and a racoon. Separated at birth?

Chuck Bass — sorry, we mean Ed “I’m British in real life” Westwick — and a catfish. Look at the way his lips are puckering. Do you think he’s doing the old Olsen “prune” trick so his mouth looks perfectly pouty as he poses for the cameras?

Blake “Plunging V” Lively’s long, flowing blond hair is so gorgeous that it felt wrong comparing her to a lion. But we’re totally okay with pointing out that her hair reminds us of this adorable papillon.

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We’ve been waiting so long for

Jean: The major takeaway from last night’s Gossip Girl: Little Jenny Humphrey’s way-too-long bleached-blonde straw-like hair extensions really compliment her raccoon eyeliner. Truly. Every time you get the urge to punch Little J in the face, just remember: Little J’s only 16. Maybe you, too, were an annoying teenager once, dealing drugs with your ambassador’s son not-boyfriend and sewing pills into bolero jackets at important French ambassador dinners.

Amanda: Ah, Little J has come so far from her Brooklyn days. I don’t know about you, but I was not sewing drugs into bolero sweaters when I was 16 (is she 16? 15? How old is this girl now?). Anyway, this whole story line is completely ridiculous, or maybe I just don’t understand what it’s like to grow up on the Upper East Side.

Jean: Speaking of, it looks like winter break on the Upper East Side lasts a few months. We joined the group again sometime in January, and not much actually happened while we were away. Rufus and Lily were still fighting over the fact that she spent the night in a hotel room with her ex-husband, Chuck and Blair were still Chuck and Blair (thankfully), and Dan Humphrey was still an annoying know-it-all.

Amanda: Wait, wait, wait. Chuck has been obsessed with this mystery woman whom he saw at his father’s grave. My question: why does it take him one episode to track her down and then next week we learn definitively that she’s his mom — but he didn’t figure this out already during the whole hiatus?

Jean: Ah, but I’m not certain it actually is his mom. Knowing Gossip Girl, mystery lady’s probably the mother of a long-lost Bass sibling. Or a con artist. Either way, I think we’ll find out there’s more to this woman than we know. Also — I loved how Blair put aside her quest to start a chapter of an elite French secret society at NYU (just go with it) to help Chuck. That’s true love, especially when, as Serena told her, “Anyone who meets you can tell you’re an elitist snob who’s perfect to run a secret society.”

Amanda: Oh, that was a very sweet moment between Serena and Blair! I liked how Serena was able to step out of her little world of one and compliment someone else in her time of need. And the hint of sarcasm was truly amazing for someone so vapid. Speaking of Ms. Plunging V, I found myself really hating her this episode. The first half of this season she’s been a wild child — she hooked up with Nate’s married Senator cousin, and now we have to believe she’s madly in love with Nate and they’re going to be happy? I don’t buy it.

Jean: Me either. It’s not gonna last. (Man, I sound really cynical today.) Unless they do take it slow, but apparently Nate’s idea of taking it slow is throwing Serena down on the couch and having his way with her. So I don’t see that happening. Two notes about the ambassador’s dinner before we wrap this up: Was no one near the coatroom to hear Serena and Nate going at it? And how did Serena’s shoes match that drug jacket so perfectly if it was a gift and she didn’t know she was going to be wearing it?

Amanda: The shoes didn’t bother me as much as the fact that Serena’s dress was seemingly gone by the time they were done with their business. Her pill jacket was gone, but if it wasn’t would she have skulked out of that party with nothing but that little sweater on? But enough about the children. What’s going on with Rufus and the neighbor? He’s mad at Lily so he goes and hangs out with this married woman instead — why is he turning into Serena? I hope this plot line develops as quickly at the Chuck’s mother one, because Rufus needs to get back to advising Dan about how to get Vanessa back.

Well, that’s it ’til next time, Upper East Siders. What did you think of the episode? Was it worth waiting through the interminably long hiatus?

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DVD:

If you missed the harrowing performance that earned Mo’nique a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Precious last night, you can watch it on DVD starting Tuesday. Precious also earned star Gabourey Sidibe, a notoriously upbeat, giggly late night guest, a Best Actress nomination for her transformative performance as a quiet, barely literate HIV-positive victim of incest. There’s a reason Precious was nominated for so many awards — see for yourself.

Movies:

All we really know about Remember Me is that it stars Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin (of Lost fame, but we know her from Roswell). We’re seeing it regardless, due to our unbridled love of R-Pattz and his dreamy hair, but if you like movies starring romantic leads dealing with recent untimely deaths in their families (according to the film’s description on IMDb), this movie’s for you. There’s also apparently a twist ending that we’ve been trying to avoid, so don’t spoil it for us.

She’s Out of My League also comes out on Friday, but this is a movie that expects you to laugh at the line “Are you a plane doctor? No? So shut the hell up.” Yeah, that’s supposed to be funny. So watch at your own risk.

TV:

Spotted: Gossip Girl returning to its rightful time slot on Monday nights after an interminably long time on hiatus. Thank goodness it’s back. We can’t wait to see what mischief B and S cook up for themselves in 2010. XOXO

Tuesday’s got the first season finale of White Collar (mmmm, Matt Bomer), and Wednesday’s got the premiere of socialite reality show High Society and the season 14 premiere of America’s Next Top Model. Smile with your eyes, everyone.

Music:

The self-titled album from Broken Bells, the side project from Danger Mouse (of Gnarls Barkley) and James Mercer (of The Shins), hits stores on Tuesday. Their melodic pop album can be streamed in full at NPR until it releases tomorrow.

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Gossip Girl writer/producer Josh Schwartz:

Hurt Locker.

E!’s Catt Sadler:

I have to go with the Hurt Locker. I was so astonished to learn that it was directed by a woman, too. I mean, who would have thought? And it’s James Cameron’s wife, too. I think it was an amazing, amazing film.

Cosmo editor Kate White:

It’s so hard to guess. It seems like a few months ago, Up in the Air was the big favorite, now everything is shifting. But of course I’m biased for a woman director so I’m going to say Hurt Locker.

Castle’s Nathan Fillion and Callie Thorne from Rescue Me (pictured):

Nathan: Both are wonderful but I’ve seen Avatar five times in the theaters. I’m pulling for Avatar.
Callie: Hurt Locker. I’ve see it five times.

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Daniel Radcliffe, 22
If anyone ever thought playing Harry Potter would hold Daniel back professionally, they have to look no further than his pants-dropping performance in Equus. He’s also using his star power for good, recently filming a PSA on gay suicide prevention. Up next: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in two parts.

Ed Westwick, 22
When Gossip Girl returns with new episodes next week, expect to see a more serious and emotional side of Chuck Bass. We’re looking forward to seeing Ed get to flex more of his acting muscle. We’re also looking forward to seeing him as Heathcliff in the latest Wuthering Heights adaptation, due out next year.

Shia LaBeouf, 23
With the upcoming sequel to 1987’s Wall Street out next month, it looks like Shia has never seen an 80’s movie he hasn’t wanted to remake. He’s also big on sequels: Transformers 3 is in the works.

Josh Peck, 23
He may have gotten his start on Nickelodeon with Drake & Josh and doing voice work for movies like Ice Age and Aliens in the Attic, but Josh proved his acting chops in The Wackness in 2008. You can also check him out in Red Dawn this fall.

Tristan Wilds, 20
Tristan’s got range: He went from playing a troubled young criminal on The Wire to a spoiled rich kid on 90210, and he’s got three movies in the works for the next year or so. Plus, he dated Rihanna. Her seal of approval is reason enough to lust after the guy.

Dev Patel, 19
Dev will forever be known as Jamal, the sweet street urchin who stole the hearts of everyone who saw Slumdog Millionaire. Before Slumdog, Dev only had British show Skins to his credit, but he’s next starring in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender, in theaters this summer.

Jonathan Groff, 24
Known mostly for his Broadway work, Jonathan made a name for himself starring in Tony winner Spring Awakening. He’ll be making a guest appearance on Glee later this spring, and he’s currently working on the film Twelve Thirty with Mamie Gummer.

Kellan Lutz, 24
Whether you know him from the Twilight saga movies or his incredible sexy Calvin Klein X underwear ads, there’s no denying Kellan is a hottie. Next up for him: Nightmare on Elm Street.

Zac Efron, 22
Although Zac peaked early in life with High School Musical, he still has a pretty promising career ahead of him. Kidding! Let’s face it: with these blue eyes, shaggy hair and killer voice, this guy can do no wrong. It’s just unfair to everyone else in Hollywood.

Logan Lerman, 18
Shortly after his 18th birthday, Logan headlined Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. The film went on to hit No. 2 at the box office during its opening weekend, and it’s still in the top five. His future seems sticky: There’s talk he’ll play Spiderman in a prequel of the Tobey Maguire-led film franchise.

Rupert Grint, 21
We love him as Ron Weasley, and we’ve loved watching Rupert and the rest of the Harry Potter cast grow up over the years. We’ll get to see what else Rupe can do on camera when he portrays British ski jumper Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards in a comedic biopic next year.

Nick Jonas, 17; Joe Jonas, 20; Kevin Jonas, 22
The Jonai need no introduction. Recent projects include a new album out last year and a world tour. Now Kevin’s married and Nick is touring with The Administration, which includes three original members of Prince’s band. The threesome is also shooting episodes of their Disney show and planning to tour again later this year.

Max Minghella, 24
Keep an eye on this guy. The son of director Anthony Minghella is part of the talented cast of young actors in The Social Network.

Carter Jenkins, 18
After a string of TV roles, we think Carter finally picked a good one with his role in Garry Marshall’s Valentine’s Day, in which he played Emma Robert’s love interest, stripped naked and played a guitar.

Robert Pattinson, 23
Let’s face it, RPattz is dreamy. He’s got a magical forest of washed-a-week-ago hair. He makes self-deprecating jokes. He climbs trees. He plays that handsome vampire dude in that movie you may have heard of, Twilight. And he’s British. Any more questions?

Steven R. McQueen, 21
The grandson of the legendary King of Cool has a lot to live up to, but he’s proven himself more than worthy of carrying on the family name as troubled teen Jeremy, little brother to Nina Dobrev’s Elena, on The Vampire Diaries. He’ll make his feature film debut later this year in Piranha 3-D.

Dan Byrd, 24
A perennial “that guy!” — he’s been acting for more than a decade now — Dan is currently making us laugh as the son of Courteney Cox on Cougar Town. After two promising series that were canceled after a single season (Clubhouse, Aliens in America), we’re pretty sure this one’s going to stick.

Dave Franco, 24
Yes, he’s James’s brother. And yes, he too got the gifted Franco genes — damn them for being both hot and talented. But don’t think he’s going to ride his brother’s coattails to success — Dave landed a series regular spot on Scrubs, and he has three films slated to come out this year with stars like Zac Efron, Ben Stiller, and Brittany Snow.

Michael B. Jordan, 23
Michael started out in soaps, acting on All My Children for three years. Now, he’s East Dillon High’s star running back, Vince Howard, on Friday Night Lights — one of our favorite shows. Michael’s got two films on deck this year, including Red Tails with Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, and Tristan Wilds.

Jesse Plemons, 21
Good old Landry — Friday Night Lights‘ resident voice of reason has brought balance to the show for four seasons now. Jesse’s been acting since the tender age of 10, but we have a feeling that stardom is in his future. (That he has three movies coming out this year supports our thesis.)

Aaron Johnson, 19
Unless you’re a BBC America aficionado, you haven’t seen Aaron onscreen yet. Don’t worry, though, you will. Aaron’s playing the title role in this summer’s Kick-Ass, and filling some mighty large shoes as John Lennon in Nowhere Boy, the story of the Beatle’s youth.

Taylor Lautner, 18
You’ve seen him shirtless, and he finally turned 18. It’s no longer socially unacceptable (or illegal) to admit how much you love Taylor and his washboard abs, even if the ones in the New Moon poster were Photoshopped.

Corbin Bleu, 21
Sure, only two episodes of The Beautiful Life actually aired before The CW yanked it. But Corbin was a standout, and we most definitely noticed how much he’s grown since High School Musical. He doesn’t have any film or TV work lined up because he’s currently embracing his musical side as the lead in Broadway’s In the Heights.

Drake, 23
Eight years as the basketball star-turned-paraplegic Jimmy Brooks on Canada’s greatest import, teen soap Degrassi, must’ve prepared Drake, aka Aubrey Graham, for stardom. The rapper’s success in the hip hop world isn’t really a surprise for any loyal fans, but it’s sort of awkward hearing such suggestive lyrics come from Jimmy’s mouth.

Nicholas Hoult, 20
Yes, the little kid from About a Boy is all grown up — very grown up, in fact. From playing the hard-partying Tony in the BBC’s edgy teen series Skins to Colin Firth’s curious student, Kenny, in A Single Man, Nicholas has definitely let us know that he’s no longer a kid (and driven the point home with a nude scene).

(Photos: WENN.com and Getty)

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We can’t wait for Gossip Girl to come back with new episodes. What has it been like being on hiatus for you?

It’s been brutal. But I’ll say this: distance makes the heart grow fonder. People start to miss you, they start to want you back, they remember the good times and now they’re hungry for more and we’re going to deliver. March 8 we’re going to kick it off, it’s going to be amazing. We have 10 episodes in a row, no repeats, major bombshells, major stuff’s happening. Serena’s dad’s coming back, Jenny’s virginity is going to hang in balance, watch it. Insanity.

One of the things we’re looking forward to seeing is the story of Chuck’s mom. Can you tell us anything about that?

[Ed Westwick] is phenomenal in the episode. We wanted to give him an opportunity to take center stage and give him some real emotional storylines and he’s just great. He knocks it out of the park.

We’ve noticed that there are some similarities that run through your work — like the name Chuck on the show Chuck and Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl. What are some reoccurring themes that you see in all of your projects?

I definitely feel like everything I do says something about being an outsider in some way. So whether that’s Ryan Atwood coming into Orange County and feeling like an outsider or Seth Cohen feeling like one living there — the characters on Gossip Girl, a lot of them live on the inside and feel like outsiders. Certainly Chuck [played by Zachary Levi] is this geek who never felt like part of the world he’s being thrust into. There’s that motif through things. Certainly music is a big part of the shows. And hopefully great casts with exciting new actors that we get to discover for these shows.

We also hear that you’re producing a new movie, Endless Love.

Yep, myself and Stephanie Savage are producing it.

Have you ever had an endless love?

My wife, Jill.

What other projects are you working on?

I sold a readaptation of Bright Lights, Big City for MGM, to direct, and a lot more exciting stuff coming down the pike.

When can we look for Bright Lights, Big City to start production?

It depends on how long this MGM thing plays out. So hopefully after that. We’re getting great feedback from actors. Once MGM gets sold, hopefully we can pick it right back up.

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Look who’s on the cover of April’s Lucky magazine — not Blake or Leighton but Jessica Szohr, whose boho Gossip Girl character Vanessa has been an object of derision since she joined the show. Will she have more screen time when the show returns next month now that her relationship with Lonely Boy seems to be heading to the next level?

But no matter how we feel about Vanessa, we must admit Jessica’s exotic look is strikingly beautiful. In real life we like her even better than Leighton and Blake. When will they stop making her look dowdy and crazy on Gossip Girl? In Lucky, she talks about her personal style:

“I’m learning more and more about clothes and designers from being a part of Gossip Girl and living in New York. In fittings now, I’m like, ‘I love that Diane von Furstenberg skirt or this Rag & Bone jacket,’ whereas before, I wouldn’t have recognized the labels.”

What do you think of her cover and her personal look?

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Last night, we were on hand as Cosmo magazine honored its Fun Fearless Males of 2010. We talked to Kellan Lutz, Nathan Fillion and Paul Wesley and snapped pics of Gerard Butler, Ed Westwick, Ne-Yo and Chris O’Donnell.

Check out our gallery below for photos of the event:

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Want more Gossip Girl? Check out our gallery below.

(Photos by Stefan Jeremiah/WENN.com)

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