Brown faces the music again

Roxbury's own Bobby Brown was in a Brockton court yesterday for a hearing to determine whether he will face drug charges. The former New Edition member's latest court saga began Dec. 1, when State Police responded to a Brockton hotel to break up a fight. Officers approached a vehicle that Brown was sitting in and later found what was believed to be cocaine, the Brockton Enterprise reported. Defense attorney Jeffrey Denner described it as "very small amounts of cocaine residue." (The R&B singer, who appears this season on the reality show "Gone Country," was honored at the Boston Music Awards earlier that night.) Brockton District Court Clerk Magistrate Kevin Creedon could issue his decision later in the week. This is not Brown's first pass through the court system. Whitney Houston's ex spent three days in a Norfolk County jail last year after he defaulted on child-support payments to Stoughton's Kim Ward, the mother of Brown's two teenage children.

Filming began yesterday on the romantic comedy "The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. Crews from the Mark Waters-directed flick were holed up at a house in Needham. In the movie, which will film in the area for the next couple of months, McConaughey plays a notorious bachelor who is haunted by his past relationships while attending his brother's wedding.

Brothers Donnie (far left), Mark (second from right), and Robert Wahlberg (right) joined the rest of their family at yesterday's funeral for their father, Donald E. Wahlberg, who died Thursday. Donnie eulogized his father as his hero and a man who regularly told his children he loved them. A couple hundred people attended the Mass that was concelebrated by four priests at St. Margaret Church of Blessed Mother Teresa Parish. Donald Wahlberg served in the Army during the Korean War and was a member of Teamsters Local 25.

Bad weather and missed plane connections kept peppy TV cooking show host Rachael Ray from seeing her husband, John Cusimano, and his rock band, the Cringe, perform at the Middle East on Monday night. Word is, Ray checked in throughout the night with her Boston-based stylist, Gretchen Monahan, and Clio chef Ken Oringer before giving up on her quest of getting to Boston. The Cringe played before a packed house that included more than a few Ray fans. (How do we know? The women clutching copies of Ray's cookbooks were our first clue.) Later Oringer and Monahan took Cusimano & Co. to chef Michael Schlow's Via Matta, where they were joined by "Fever Pitch" star Jimmy Fallon and his wife, Nancy Juvonen, a movie producer whose family has a home in Wolfeboro, N.H. Earlier Monday, Fallon and his wife had lunch at the Union Oyster House, where they were given a tour by the historic eatery's owner, Joe Milano, before signing a guestbook: "Best restaurant ever - thanks for taking such great time with us!"

Boston will get a sneak peek at "21," the locally-filmed story of a group of MIT students who beat the Vegas casinos at blackjack. Columbia Pictures will host a special screening March 3 for the locals who worked on the movie. Expected to walk the red carpet are the film's star, Jim Sturgess, and his real-life counterpart, Jeff Ma, one of the former MIT students who took the casinos for millions. Back Bay author Ben Mezrich, whose bestseller "Bringing Down the House" is the basis for the pic, is on tap to host a party. The film, which also stars Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, and Laurence Fishburne, will open the Southwest Film Conference & Festival in Austin, Texas, on March 7. A full-blown star-studded premiere is planned for Las Vegas before the film opens in theaters March 28.

Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.