Bad Teacher may be surprise comedy of summer

Beauty Crush: Cameron Diaz's Flawless Legs

A wise man once said, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows," but these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what's on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming days.

MOVIES

Big release: Bad Teacher (Friday).

Big picture: This film tells the tale of Cameron Diaz's obsessive, disturbing quest to raise money for a boob job in order to win the heart of Justin Timberlake. At first, I assumed it was a documentary . but it turns out the ex-lovers are starring in a raunchy comedy together. Diaz plays a disinterested, alcoholic and sadistic high-school teacher who changes her teaching tune to improve her class test scores and win state money. She hopes the prize money will help endear - and endow - her to Timberlake's character, a hunky, wealthy, bow-tie-clad substitute teacher with the aura of a boy scout.

Forecast: Diaz has been more miss than hit on the big screen lately (unless she plays an animated green ogre). But with a supporting cast that includes Jason Segel as an eccentric gym teacher and The Office's Phyllis Smith, this one could be the surprise comedy of the summer. Plus, any chance to see Timberlake work the comic timing he's developed on SNL is worth the price of admission.

TV

Big event: True Blood (June 26, HBO Canada, 9 p.m.)

Big picture: So a vampire, a witch and a fairy walk into a bar . I know, it sounds like the premise to an off-colour joke at the local Monster Mash, but it sums up this supernaturally charged series in a nutshell. Season 4 finds Sookie (Anna Paquin) wrestling with her fairy heritage and finding her romantic world complicated by the increased presence of vampire Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard), while her former undead bed buddy, Bill (Stephen Moyer), finds himself with new power and influence.

Forecast: Witches are the new werewolves in Season 4. Given that the third, fur-filled season was less of a howl, this could be the blood infusion the series needs. Plus, more Eric and Sookie - and less of Bill's breathy, brooding come-on lines - are more than welcome. For True Blood fans, early signs indicate the new season has tapped the same creative vein as in Season 1, which was its finest to date.

MUSIC

Big release on Tuesday: Bon Iver (Bon Iver)

Big picture: On a week that offers both another Weird Al album (seriously?) and a Michael Bolton duets album (seriously, seriously?), one of today's finest indie artists releases a true album for the serious music lover. Wisconsin's Bon Iver returns with a self-titled followup to the heralded 2008 album, For Emma, Forever.

Forecast: There are those lonely and strange people, i.e., drifters, rodeo clowns, Matthew Perry, who look forward to a Weird Al album - and I won't begrudge them that (especially if their sitcoms got cancelled). For the rest, there's Bon Iver - an artist in every sense of the word.