Entertainment - at USATODAY.com

Diminished Capacity is a road movie that never really takes off. While there are a few clever lines in the dialogue, the best that can be said is that it's pleasant but forgettable.

It's the summer of the SPF-rated novel.Publishers are turning up the heat with books that put us in the mood for sun and fun even if we aren't going anywhere.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is a mesmerizing look at the mythic quality and anarchic spirit of the irreverent and rabble-rousing journalist. Larger than life no, higher than life Director Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) probes how Thompson's persona nearly eclipsed the real man, a highly talented writer and a deeply tortured soul who lived on the edge.

Can't get to the fireworks on the Fourth? TV will bring them to you, and from three different cities. You can start with PBS, which brings you the 28th annual broadcast of A Capitol Fourth (Friday, 8 ET/PT, times may vary) from Washington, D.C. Jimmy Smits hosts.

Rosanna Arquette is it in Baby It's You, Yankee Stadium gets its due, and Rachel Weisz and Natalie Portman shine in My Blueberry Nights. Also out on DVD (if you dare): 1971's Desperate Characters and this year's Vantage Point.

That Billy Joel T-shirt commemorating his 1987 USSR tour may be a nostalgic keepsake. But politically and socially, it's as out of date as a Soviet map. Fast-forward to 2008.

The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown. USA TODAY's Deirdre Donahue called this non-fiction portrait of Princess Diana "positively yummy," with "tons of delectable morsels about the royal couple."

Funny and poignant, The Wackness is one of the better coming-of-age films to hit theaters in a while. Real life plays intriguingly in the background of this edgy comedy, set in 1994 during a sweltering New York summer. The recently inaugurated mayor, Rudy Giulani, begins to implement his efforts to cut down on such urban annoyances as graffiti, public inebriation and noisy portable stereos.

Bob Morris' mother died in 2002, and instead of descending into mourning, his father, Joe, an affable judge who wintered in Florida, decided to head into the wild and woolly world of senior citizen dating. He took his son along for the ride.

Morgan Freeman has been studying Nelson Mandela for years ever since the former South African president said he would like the actor to play him if a movie were ever made from Mandela's memoir, Long Walk to Freedom. Freeman will portray Mandela not in Freedom, but in a film adaptation of the new book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation by John Carlin.

NEW YORK - She has been a serial killer, a crusading miner and a harried police detective. But a cinematic shrinking violet? Not so much. So you might wonder how Oscar winner Charlize Theron wound up as glorified eye candy in Will Smith's Hancock. But bear with her and her character, Mary and all will be illuminated.

Summer books

RICHMOND, Calif. - The bayfront workshop redefines unassuming. Concrete floors, exposed ducting. Four hushed workers and a snoozing golden retriever. Then again, maybe the Wright brothers worked like this. "It's not much, but we like it here," says Graham Hawkes, the modern-day visionary behind Hawkes Ocean Technologies. The 60-year-old British-born engineer has spent the past four decades tinkering with submersibles, all mere prelude to his current magnum opus: the two-person Deep Flight Super Falcon.

The rusty little robot survived the end of the world, endured a galactic space voyage and climbed to the top of the box office. The question now is: Could WALLE get a best-picture Oscar nomination?

Last July Fourth, a guy by the name of Joey Chestnut won the 92nd annual hot-dog-eating contest at Nathan's Famous in Coney Island. He downed 66 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes.

The premiere of ABC's comedy stunt series Wipeout Tuesday scored 10 million viewers, ranking as the summer's biggest premiere among adults ages 18 to 49. The premiere of Factory, Spike's first original sitcom, drew a sluggish 578,000 Sunday.

This Fourth of July, save the red, white and blue for the front porch. With an eye toward more subtle public displays of patriotism, USA TODAY's Olivia Barker asked Old Navy's Jose Abellar for tips on emulating the outfit artistry of all-American music artists, no Old Glory required.

First come the whispers, then the denials. For celebrity couples, breakup buzz is a constant part of relationships. The latest marrieds under scrutiny: Madonna and film director Guy Ritchie. The Material Girl's spokeswoman has finally flatly denied that the two are on the verge of divorce.

Hair extensions? So 2007. This summer, celebrities are stepping out with bobs that chop straight to the chin, proving less equals more. The secret ingredients to a hot bob? Confidence and a regular appointment with your stylist, says David Evangelista, creative director of the David Evangelista Salon at Cornelia Day Resort in New York. "You have to make sure it's always cut at the length that looks great on you. Be prepared to get a trim every six weeks."

Forget Isaac Asimov's famous Laws of Robotics. WALLE's biggest accomplishment may be defying the Laws of Computer Animation.

Tonight you can get a quick abject lesson in the decline and fall of the ABC sitcom brought to you by Nickelodeon. First up comes Family Matters (8:30 ET/PT), a good example of the kind of solidly done, family-viewing sitcom that was once a staple of ABC's Friday lineup and has since been redesigned for a kids-only audience and relegated to the Disney Channel.

Debut novelist David Wroblewski can never be accused of rushing his first book into print. Wroblewski, a software designer in Colorado, worked on the critically acclaimed The Story of Edgar Sawtelle for more than a decade.

Publishing kismet can happen. Without Oprah Winfrey. Proof? This summer's "must-read" (according to People magazine and other critics): The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Ecco, $25.95). Take a first novel about a mute boy and his dog written by a 48-year-old Colorado software designer. Add rapturous reviews.

HOLLYWOOD - Jamie Foxx, Amanda Peet, Chris Daughtry, Queen Latifah and a very pregnant Minnie Driver turned up at Grauman's Chinese Theatre Monday night to watch Will Smith save the world once again, this time as an ambivalent superhero in Hancock.

Hancock might have been more appropriately titled Hodgepodge. What starts out with a sense of quirky fun loses direction and devolves into a mishmash of story lines.

She won a Tony Award for playing the misunderstood green witch Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked. Now, Idina Menzel, 37, hits the road with a concert tour.

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Mary Alice Monroe took up fly-fishing to write Time Is a River , the tale of a breast cancer survivor who, after finding her husband in bed with another woman, heads to the mountains of North Carolina to find herself.

Mary Alice Monroe isn't the first author to exalt the joys of standing in a river, pole in hand. Fly-fishing has captivated other authors, too.