Oscar Wrap-Up
By: MattInRC
In an evening that featured boobs, Anne Hathaway's nipples, and songs about losers, the 85th Academy Awards are finally done. Luckily, there was some hardware handed out honoring a few movies as well. Here's our thoughts on the winners, losers, and memorable moments:
Biggest Disappointments: There were many, so let's start with Supporting Actor and Lead Actress. Jones and Chastain being snubbed for Waltz and Lawrence is like saying you prefer a second-string hitter instead of Babe Ruth. The brilliant Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty were bolstered by incredible performances, yet neither was recognized by the Academy, with both films receiving a total of 3 awards among them. True, both dealt with still-tender social issues, but why deny recognition of good performances by making second-rate selections? If the Academy was trying to send a message about rising young talent in the 22-year-old Lawrence, they missed the point - true, awards are subjective, as are people's reactions to performances, but the overall importance of a Lincoln and a Zero Dark Thirty cannot be understated. Opinions are already coming down against these selections, and with good reason.
Biggest Dodged Ball: Had Amour won for Best Picture or Director, I think Hollywood could have been witness to a riot larger than Watts or South Central post-OJ. I'm sure it was highly enjoyable for those 80 year olds who nominated it for both Picture AND Foreign Film, but now it feels like a cruel joke (at Argo's expense) more than a wise choice.
The Host with the Most: Host Seth MacFarlane was snubbed by critics everywhere for being too edgy, but he was genuinely funny at many points. His songs 'We Saw Your Boobs' and 'Here's to All the Losers' were hilarious, even if they weren't exactly PC. Granted, the Lincoln assassination joke was in poor taste, but he nailed Rihanna & Chris Brown to the wall with his 'date night' gut-buster. We'd like to see MacFarlane back next year - Oscars, you do a lot worse than him.
Best Surprise: The arrival of The Shat at show's beginning was pleasantly unexpected. You've still got it, Captain!
Best Deserved: Adele's brilliant opener for Skyfall has solidified it as an instant classic among Bond films and movie films in general. Luckily, the Academy recognized its importance as well.
Biggest 'Duh' Award: Daniel Day-Lewis was simply perfect as Lincoln, but it was great to see him accept the award with such humility. He was truly touched that he had been bestowed a third statue. When all is said and done, Lewis will be known as one of the greatest actors of our time. Again, credit the Academy for not screwing this up. By the way, what if Meryl Streep had been wrong about the winner? She never opened the envelope, thus leaving an interesting debate on the table about whether another winner had been chosen.
Proof that AMPAS is Crazy: My friend Jorge from HDN had two interesting thoughts after the show had completed: How does Ben Affleck get snubbed for Best Director without any of his actors being nominated for an Oscar? Also, how do you get Best Director without getting Best Picture? Some have correctly stated that those who pick the winners - members of the American Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - are out of touch with the general movie-going public. Argo's win simply proves his points. There was no logic to AMPAS's nominations and almost as little for their nods. It's clear that AMPAS lives in a different world than we, content to nominate foreign films while American ones like Argo get indiscriminately snubbed, leading to a wave of support for Ben Affleck. There was even talk that had Affleck been nominated and won for Best Director, Life of Pi would have won for Best Picture, which would have caused a riot as well. Thank you AMPAS for taking something simple and making it needlessly complex.
A Tiger in a Boat Beats the 16th President and UBL: Like an alternate universe of James Kirk's Star Trek, Hollywood somehow awarded more statues to Life of Pi on Sunday than it did Lincoln, stirring an emotional debate that frankly didn't need to happen. We knew the Oscar nominations were a travesty to begin with, but we didn't know how bad it would get. Some years from now, people will look back at this and shake their heads in disgust. How does a gripping story about one of the most important people of the 19th Century, or the search for Bin Laden, get beaten in almost every category by technicolor eye candy? Even its win for best score was a travesty, especially when one considers the snubbing Alan Silvestri received for his incredible Avengers score. If you serve on AMPAS, we'd like to hear you explain that one. Second, the pile of four awards for Pi makes a powerful suggestion that I think no one in Hollywood expected: that a movie about tigers and rafts was better than Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, AND Argo. Regardless if you meant it or not, it's too late to take those awards back.
So, we've outlined some of our moments - what were some of yours? Did the arrival of The Shat still your manliness as much as it did ours? Comment below and join the conversation!
Comments