Two character actors are here for Jersey Girl: Mike Starr (who was Mental in Dumb & Dumber) and Stephen Root (Jimmy James on NBC’s old NewsRadio). Both play buddies of George Carlin’s character. Starr and a friend popped into Smith & Wollensky in the Rittenhouse Hotel to see an old friend, executive chef Tim Flaherty.

---

J.Lo & Ben can’t stand being apart

WHILE RUMORS have Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck already saying “I do,” a new development has surfaced that has the filmmaking lovebirds playing house in our loving city.

Currently cohabitating at the Phoenix while filming Kevin Smith’s “Jersey Girl,” they’ve rented an entire floor in the Center City building, for $17,000 per month. A source tells Us Weekly that “they almost never leave [the building] or return solo.”

Affleck, 30, and Lopez, 32, “can’t keep their [hands] off each other,” and are constantly “holding hands, cuddling and hugging when in the lobby,” Us reports.

Though adopted homeboy Ben has yet to drop to one knee, he has gifted his main squeeze with plenty of sparkling jewels. And despite earlier reports in the New York Post that have the pair walking down the aisle before the end of the year, Us says no can do. J.Lo’s pending divorce with Cris Judd isn’t final till Jan. 26. A J.Lo spokesperson has made the official “there are no plans in the works” announcement.

But, a very close friend of the singer-actress tells the magazine, “They are going to get married.” When? “They won’t get engaged or anything – they’ll just get married.” We just hope we’re invited.

---

Ben’s talking like he’s ready to wed

LOOKS LIKE amor, J.Lo-style, has gotten Ben Affleck thinking about the big picture. We’re talking home and hearth with a certain Latina lovely.

“It feels like a family life is waiting for me. I’m almost surprised that I don’t dread it. But the most important things in life are family, love and the relationships you have,” the actor told the Swedish paper Aftonbladet.

Wait a minute. Ben’s talking to a daily in Sweden, but Dude can’t give an interview to the Daily News, the People Paper in his adopted city?

But back to Ben and his future. Ben, who’s purportedly living with his honey Jennifer Lopez at the Phoenix for a cool $17,000 a month, glowed about his love, saying, “She stands with both feet on the ground…People think that she’s a diva. But she’s just a normal family girl from the Bronx.” When normal means you have an entourage with 100 people, she sure is!

---

AFFLECK A GOOD SAMARITAN

DREXEL HILL’S Grace Linkmayer, a patient, was getting some fresh air outside Thomas Jefferson Hospital when she noticed a crowd gathered at the corner.

A handsome gentleman was kind enough to separate the crowd and wheel her up front. In addition to the push, Ben Affleck also gave her a kiss on the cheek and some kind words.

The crowd had gathered to watch the actor shoot a scene for “Jersey Girl.” (Linkmayer’s roommate at Jefferson was Northeast resident Lillian Kadlec, mother of Flyers fan services director Joe Kadlec.)