Playing a little catch up here since People pre-empted my Thursday night column last week with their legal hissy fit. Anyway, back to Ben. I can never decide when it comes to Ben. Sometimes I"m all over it, almost to the point of Freebie Five induction. At other times, however, I think he"s a revolting pudgy mess. And the assy acting doesn"t help either. Neither does the fact that my cousin Cat said she saw a photo of him with dirty fingernails once - an image I can"t seem to get out of my mind no matter how hard I try. For the record, I think Ben was at his best with Gwyneth. There are 3 photos I love - see attached - of the two in the early days of love before he became the "knucklehead" she could no longer bear. By all accounts, Gwyneth was indeed the gold standard before Garner came along. And some people I"ve talked to even think that while he clearly adores the mother of his child, it"ll never be what he felt for my best friend. Oh sh*t. Are the Alias freaks as crazy as the “Brangelina” and the Aniston ones? Sorry I digress. My all time favourite Ben shot however was during Bennifer 1.0, at the very beginning when he was so in lust he allowed her to remodel his style. They were in Paris for an LV photo shoot I think and all of a sudden, a new high glam Ben emerged wearing designer glasses, a super slick coif, baby soft skin, and an even softer overcoat. It was the beginning of an 18 month-long super obsession with the latest celebrity supercouple, the couple that gave new meaning to “monikers”, and ushered in a new golden era in Hollywood love. For this reason, I will always have a soft spot for Ben & Jen. Always. Now add to this nostalgic collection the most recent iteration of Affleck – a supposedly “candid” moment taken last week during a break from directing his first feature. Ben is totally hunky hot again, don’t you think? Hot again and poised for a comeback of sorts. Because Ben did the smart thing and faded away for a while. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I heard his voice. But with 2 new movies coming out and a chance to make a permanent living behind the camera, things are looking good for a change. A white picket life to match his white picket wife. So the question is: will it last? Or will Bad Boy Ben ride again? My smutty ESP is telling me yes. And yours?