Nice girls get better

There's something so perfectly... not annoying about the fact that Sandra Bullock is everywhere these days.

Come Academy Award time, Bullock - once the girl next door - may just become Hollywood's next leading lady, a title the actress has certainly earned.

There's usually a brief love affair on behalf of the public when it comes to actors and actresses who are said to be having "their" year.

Brief, because often winners win for heavy pictures. Think Nicole Kidman in "The Hours," Halle Berry in "Monster's Ball," Hilary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby," and most recently, Kate Winslet in "The Reader."

Artful and respected, but not necessarily the kind of film you'd watch over and over and over again on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

A quality that might just become known as The Bullock Factor.

This is not an objective look at the attention Bullock has been getting ever since playing real life Leigh Ann Tuohy in the season's underdog "The Blind Side." I've been a big fan of Bullock's since she manhandled a city bus in "Speed." Even then, there was something un-peggable about the then relatively unknown actress - until the final act.

Bullock's wisecracking ping-ponging between sensitive and scared wasn't anything necessarily remarkable. But in the final act when she turns to face Keanu Reeves, a bomb strapped to her chest - something happens. You realize, you like this girl. You really like her. Like her like a best friend, like her. And that likability fuels the audiences need and desire to see the hero in the story win out.

That likability - a natural trait if all of the interviews and on air appearances are to be believed, is the core of Bullock's career. She hasn't always had hits - ("Gun Shy" anyone?) but her determination to have a life outside of Hollywood has obviously kept her grounded enough to pull out a winner whenever possible.

Say what you will about "Hope Floats" guys, but it challenged her and she was good. It sits up there with "While You Were Sleeping," "A Time to Kill," a small but memorable turn in "Crash," "Miss Congeniality" parts one and two. For the die hard fans such as myself, there's certainly more to love. "The Net" wasn't horrible and neither was "In Love and War." In fact, if anything is to be said about the latter, it's that the film is worth watching for Bullock's performance alone. And I'll even go so far as to give "Practical Magic" a nod. Because, again. she's the only one worth watching.

Bullock has obviously been building to "The Blind Side," which earns respect for standing up to and holding its own against bazillions of twilighters and "New Moon," opening on the same weekend. "The Blind Side" laid low, only to break away for a big win.

Earlier this year, with a quiet but steady career that includes executive producing it seemed as though Bullock was just going to stay the course when "The Proposal" landed in theaters. It seemed as though Bullock might thrive in the shadow of the man on deck, Ryan Reynolds - who every girl would go to a movie theater for. On the contrary.

Bullock showed audiences what relatively new actors such as Reynolds, still young in career, have to work up to when it comes to pros like herself. Like a one-two punch, (as you'll notice is her forte) Bullock wins the love of audiences with her comedy and then wows them with her dramatic chops. In "The Blind Side" there's no monumental breakdown, no crazed scene that rips tears from her eyeballs. Bullocks work is fierce and foreboding.

Smooth and tailored and just...right. You remember you like this girl. You really, really like her.

So as she gets all of these awards, People's Choice, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild nobody is complaining. As she makes headlines with her acceptance speeches or quick witted jokes, kissing Meryl Streep or making light of Tiger Woods - nobody minds. Nobody is annoyed by Ms. Bullock.

Like Streep, ironically enough, there's a shared caliber. Unlike some other actors and actresses who - though completely deserving of their recognition, are the type we wouldn't necessarily watch every night - Bullock is. She can keep coming back over and over again and we wouldn't mind a bit.

And something tells me, that's exactly what she'll do.