About (Late) Last Night: Suri Cruise plans her own birthday parties, thank you very much!

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If this acting thing doesn’t work out, Katie Holmes might want to consider a career in reality TV. Not that the almost unbearably sweet actress has the shamelessness required of such a job, but who wouldn’t like to get a glimpse inside her world?

Consider her appearance Monday night on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Holmes was there to promote “The Kennedys,” the miniseries dumped earlier this year by the History Channel. While the controversy over this alleged “hatchet job” appears to have been much ado about nothing, no one seems particularly enthused by Holmes’ performance as Jaqueline Kennedy. (According to our television critic Mary McNamara, Holmes plays the part with “absolutely no nuance and only the occasional flash of spirit, intellect and inner strength.”)

Far more compelling than any onscreen performance is Holmes’ private life. In her chat with Kimmel, Holmes provided a few fleeting but intriguing impressions of what it’s like to be Mrs. Tom Cruise. There are the games of Monopoly and Take Two (a Scrabble derivative, if you’re wondering) with good pals Will and Jada; there are the weekend jaunts to Dubai to watch her husband rappel down the world’s tallest skyscraper; there’s even her somewhat incongruous remedy for the anxiety caused by said stunt (lots of vegetable juice).

Most interesting of all was the subject of her daughter, Suri, who turns 5 this month. Kimmel asked whether she had anything big planned to commemorate Suri’s first half-decade. Rest assured, she does. “I like to dedicate April to her birthday,” Holmes confessed. As in, the entire month. Whereas many moms would just pick up an ice cream cake and some noisemakers and call it a day, Holmes is committed to realizing her daughter’s exact vision. “She really helps plan her party, because I want her to be happy,” she said. “We make lists and we have meetings.”

Holmes has learned the hard way that Suri has strong opinions on matters party-related. “There have been times where I’ve done it all and she says, ‘This isn’t the cake.’ ” Katie Holmes being berated by a precociously opinionated 5-year-old? I’d watch that in a heartbeat.

-- Meredith Blake
twitter.com/MeredithBlake