I Love Mandy Moore -- But Not 'I Am Mandy Moore'

It's been quite a Mandy Moore week for me.

A few days ago I was invited to a screening of Mandy's new movie Dedication, co-starring the very talented and adorable Billy Crudup. The movie is just okay -- it has some very charming moments, and Crudup is, as always, fantastic, but Mandy's character (through no fault of her own) felt a little underdeveloped. There were some plot holes that were difficult to overlook, but the film was definitely not terrible, and Mandy was her usual luminous self. Is she gorgeous or what?

Then, last night, I happened upon a replay of the Oxygen Television special I Am Mandy Moore, which followed Mandy in the few months leading up to the release of her record Wild Hopes. The special was pretty unexciting (lots of promotional appearances, and lots of whining about how tired she was), but it did show that Mandy worked her ass off promoting this record, and that the music clearly means a lot to her. And while her personality seems pretty white-bread, she did show off glimpses of sarcasm that suggested she might have more of an edge than she generally lets on.

As much as I love Mandy-the-actress (Saved is genius!), I've never been a big fan of Mandy-the-singer, but I have to admit, some of the songs featured in the special were pretty damn good! Once she started singing the beautiful and haunting "Gardenia," I had decided I had to download the girl's CD.

I haven't given it a listen yet, but I'll let y'all know how it is once I do.

The picture above (courtesy of JustJared.com) is from Mandy's upcoming appearance on the TV show How I Met Your Mother