Bruce Miller previews “Zack and Miri,” “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” and “Changeling” in this week’s Movies in a Minute.

Cloris Leachman got bounced from “Dancing with the Stars” Tuesday night. Susan Lucci hugged her and said, “We’re going to miss you around here.” Say, what? Susan, you’ll be going home next week. Don’t be so confident.

Interestingly, Leachman’s run on the show was longer than her stay on some sitcoms. Obviously, this gig will land her a spot on somebody’s show mid-season. Just a guess? Bet she’ll turn up as “Samantha Who?’s” grandmother. Or a shirt-tail relative on “Desperate Housewives.” What “Stars” has taught us: There’s always room for a ratings-getter.

Julianne Hough, who’s a two-time winner of “Dancing with the Stars,” goes under the knife Tuesday to have her appendix removed. She said Monday she hopes to come back in a week.

Yeah, right.

When I had my appendix removed I couldn’t walk to the bathroom without help. I kinda doubt she’s going to samba to the stool. Still, she and her partner, Cody Linley, did well enough to warrant another week in the competition. Edyta will fill in for Julianne while she’s recuperating. The big question: Will she have laporascopic surgery? Sure hope so. She’s got a body that’s perfect.

Meanwhile, Cloris Leachman continues to defy the odds by staying in the competition. Never mind that she can’t dance. Her antics get votes. If a kid did some of the stuff she does,  he’d be put in a time out.

Lacey Schwimmer and Lance Bass were great and Brooke Burke and Derek Hough (Julianne’s brother) got good scores. That makes them the leading teams.

After Cloris, I’d dump Susan Lucci. Sticks can dance better.

If you go to “High School Musical 3,” you’ll note a few fashion trends. So, if you want to get a head start, try these:
1. Converse tennis shoes. Troy wears ‘em. A lot. Even with a tux.
2. A “T” necklace. Gabriella wears it as her tribute to Troy.
3. A tux with his jersey number on the back. That’s Chad’s.
4. A school logo sprayed into your scalp. That’s sported by some kid we don’t know.
5. Gas station shirts. That’s Troy, again.
6. Knee-high boots. Um, Ryan. (Maybe that won’t catch on.)
7. Knit hats. (Thanks, Kelsi.)
8. Pink, pink, pink. (As if you had to guess.)
9. High heels in school. Gabriella, of course.
10. Towels…and nothing else. Two new kids who will take over the franchise after this film.
How many of these will you see in high schools in coming months? Just asking

Bruce Miller reviews new films “High School Musical 3,” “Saw V” and “Pride and Glory.”

You’ve gotta give a listen to Donald Duck and Goofy. They called me Monday to talk about their careers, their likes (and dislikes), kids today and “High School Musical.”

Here’s the audio from my phone interview. Hope you enjoy it.

 

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I talked with the guys from Tonic Sol-Fa Tuesday and they’re putting the final touches on their 2008 holiday show. It’s expected to have a flashy set (yay!), a bunch of new songs and an opening performance by Richie McDonald from Lonestar.

Better yet? Greg promised he’d be wearing tights and Plastic Santa would make a Sioux City appearance.

When we get closer to the show date (Dec. 22), we’ll give you the full scoop. Just know, the holiday season is upon us.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Toni Braxton went home. Cloris lives to see another day.

But she’s not the show’s problem. Someone thinks it’s a good idea to drag everything out (when it could be done in 15 minutes). Throwing in lame Macy’s dances isn’t a good idea.

And getting kids to  compete in a Jon-Benet way is just cruel. Cut the kid competition (one poor judge always has to vote for the losers) and show more from the dumped professionals.

You can tell the season is getting close to the end. We’re getting cranky.

This is a don’t miss — and I’m not saying it to get you to check back to the blog. But, later this week, listen in on a conversation I had with THE REAL Donald Duck and Goofy. They were doing phone interviews to promote their new series “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.” At one point, Donald told me I was cranky. (Imagine that.) He also told me the secret to his youth — “an eraser.”
You’ll also hear their thoughts about “High School Musical 3″ and Mickey Mouse.
It’s a cute call that you — and your kids — won’t want to miss.
Note: Goofy often has to translate for Donald. Somehow, the duck’s speech hasn’t gotten much better than it was in the ’30s.

We’ll have the conversation as an online exclusive. So, plan to check back.

The real Sarah Palin showed up this week on “Saturday Night Live,” but Lorne Michaels and company didn’t really use her well. Tina Fey played Palin conducting a news conference and after a few questions the camera turned to Michaels backstage. The real Sarah was next to him and Alec Baldwin showed up and mistook her for Fey. When he discovered the truth, Baldwin told her how beautiful she was. Not falling for it, Palin got in a good line about the Baldwins — Stephen (the Republican), she said, was her favorite.

Cute, but Michaels should have let Palin play Tina Fey in a “30 Rock” skit.

Much better? The real Mark Wahlberg turned up to get back at Andy Samberg for imitating him. The bit had more bite.

Palin’s was simply a gimmick to get her on the show.