After the gloom, doom and disappointment of the past few summer movie seasons, Hollywood and movie lovers were rewarded with a better than average number of crowd-pleasing flicks that led to the highest grossing summer in history. Here's a rundown of some of the more noteworthy moments from the past few months.

Zac Efron Deserves a Big Thank You From John Travolta
Travolta's non-drag but non-female-looking performance as Edna Turnblad was always mentioned by critics as the weakest part of the movie-musical "Hairspray." Luckily, the former "Grease" star had tween sensation Efron on hand to distract the 10-year-old girls and their mothers.

"Simpsons" Scores
There were tons of nonbelievers in the industry, but the long-running sitcom became a monster hit and even made 7-Eleven hip again. And yes, they are still selling those pink donuts. Not that I would know firsthand or anything ...

The Biggest $100 Million Disappointment Ever
"Evan Almighty" was a family-friendly sequel that was less racy than its predecessor, but still reached the vaunted $100 million box-office mark with Steve Carell standing in for Jim Carrey. Unfortunately, when you're also the most expensive comedy ever (a reported $175 million plus), that's a lot of red ink. Carell's career is safe, but director Tom Shadyac is on a thin leash from here on out.

Bourne Scores the Only Triple Play
"Spider-Man 3," "Shrek the Third" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" all turned out to be bloated sequels that didn't satisfy. (Will anyone buy these on DVD?) The only threequel that lived up to the hype was the final (or so they say) installment in the Jason Bourne trilogy, "The Bourne Ultimatum." Thank you, Paul Greengrass.

Funniest Jealous Co-Worker Ever
Kristen Wiig ("Saturday Night Live") stole every scene she appeared in as Katherine Heigl's E! Entertainment boss in the excellent comedy "Knocked Up." Doesn't everyone have someone in their workplace who would deliver a line like, "Oh, no, we're not asking you to lose weight. That would be illegal. We just want you to be healthy, by eating less. So go home, weigh yourself on a scale, write that down. Then subtract 20 from that number. And weigh that. Yeah."

Revenge of the Geek
Personally, I'm not convinced Seth Rogen is a real movie star yet, but the 25-year-old led a revolution by co-writing and appearing in both "Knocked Up" and "Superbad." Along with Jack Black and Will Ferrell, he's now probably the most sought-after unconventional leading man in town.

Why Superheroes Shouldn't Sing and Dance
Did any scene ever feel more out of place than the impromptu number to "Fever" by Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) in "Spider-Man 3"? It turns out that alien black suit makes you evil and sassy at the same time.

A Melancholy Ending for "Waitress"
"Waitress" director Adrienne Shelly was killed working in her New York office this past November. She never saw her movie premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and she didn't get to experience the joy audiences felt watching the indie hit of the summer (almost $19 million at the box office). Sadly, those are the ingredients to a pie more bittersweet than any concocted in her fine film.

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