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A weekly guide to the wattage of celebrities in the news

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MATHEW BRODERICK: 80 watts Ferris Bueller: “I asked for a car, I got a computer.... I grow up and drive a Honda CR-V?” A new Super Bowl ad starring Matthew Broderick in a send-up of his seminal 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was guaranteed to have some screaming sacrilege – how dare anyone co-opt the iconic character to sell cars? Plenty of other people have praised the ad – directed by The Hangover’s Todd Philips – as brilliant, light-hearted fun. Let’s not take anything too seriously. After all, isn’t that Ferris’s enduring message?

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KRISTEN BELL: 60 watts Kristen Bell is a crier, did you know that? You may not have prior to this week, but sure do now thanks to a viral video of the Forgetting Sarah Marshall actress completely emotionally wrecked at getting a sloth for her birthday. Did we mention she loves sloths? “If I’m not between a 3 and a 7 on the emotional scale, I’m crying,” Bell told Ellen DeGeneres this week. And then she lost it again on the show. Adorable? Absurd? Kind of freaky? The answer is yes, yes and yes. Just don’t tell Bell, because she’ll probably start bawling.

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BRAD PITT: 60 watts Do you know who really, really wants an Oscar? Like, really, really wants one? If you guessed Brad Pitt, you are correct, sir! The 48-year-old actor, who is nominated for a best-actor Oscar for his work in Moneyball, has been campaigning hard lately, including a stop at The Daily Show this week. He even tolerated red-carpet interviews at the SAG Awards without visibly squirming. Pitt may usually shun the press, but when you want an Academy Award this bad, you have to do what you have to do.

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