Monday, March 06, 2006
Oscars Post Mortem
1. First Things First
I scored 15/24 picking winners. Not a great score, but not bad either. I scored 5/8, the same percentage, in the major categories.
2. Brokeback Backlash?
Nominated in eight categories, it won only in four - and not for Best Picture. Since I did not have it even in my top 8, I certainly can't complain, but I am surprised. Did members of the Academy vote against this movie?
3. Hurray for Canada
Bully for Paul Haggis for winning not only Best Original Screenplay (with Robert Moresco) but also Best Film (with Cathy Schulman) for Crash. It was not my first choice in either category, but was my second in the first and my third in the second, so I don't object. In fact, I intend to see it again.
4. And the Rest of the World
A lot of winners were not Americans. Aside from Haggis, there were Ang Lee, Rachel Weisz, and plenty of winners in the technical categories - from England, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Argentina.
5. Other Deserving Awards
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Reese Witherspoon were the best of the nominees in their categories. Rachel Weisz was the best, period. Incidentally, these last two were the only ones to win both an Oscar and a Stuart - a rare double.
6. Speeches - Good, Bad, and Truncated
Reese Witherspoon made a very fine speech, quite unlike the interminable, teary, self-congratulatory rubbish we've had from the Best Actress winners recently. George Clooney was very dignified - as well as realistic, acknowledging that winning Best Supporting Actor meant he was not going to win Best Director. Rachel Weisz was, as we expect from British actors, very dignified. Haggis made a good speech - how often do you hear Brecht mentioned at the Oscars? Ang Lee was dignified. John Myhre and John Canemaker and Peggy Stern made very nice speeches.
Philip Seymour Hofffman should, I thought, have thanked his fellow actors - i.e., in Capote. It wasn't a 110-minute monologue, you know. On the other hand, he seemed genuinely moved by the award, and he's a wonderful screen actor. Howard Berger, who won for make-up, got majorly carried away, leaving poor Tami Lane no chance to say anything.
I thought the producers of the show have gone way too far with keeping a lid on the acceptance speeches. First off, they played music as soon as the winner started speaking - this was very off-putting. Most speakers stayed within the time limit, which I gather was 45 seconds. However, many of the Oscars went to two or more people jointly. In those cases, the same time limit applied. This is not fair. Poor Robert Moresco, who after all was a co-winner of a major award (Best Original Screenplay), spoke to the live audience while the carry-off music was being played and ABC cut to commercial. He deserved a chance to have the viewing audience hear what he said. I could see at least one lady in the theatre was appalled, as am I - the current practice is simply rude.
7. Looking Good, and Not So Much
In the former category: Naomi Watts, Charlize Theron, Salma Hayek, Jessica Alba, Hilary Swank, and - especially - the Chinese actress. In the latter: Uma Thurman (did Tim Burton do her eye make-up?), Jennifer Garner (her make-up looked like part of the Will Farrell-Steve Carell skit), and the two Jennifers, Anniston and Lopez, both of whom looked like they didn't want to be seen in public. Sandra Bullock looked pretty miserable too, but maybe that was because she got stuck presenting an award with Keanu Reaves and figures she deserves a solo gig. (Plus he's prettier than she is.)
8. Wardrobe Notes, and Props
I know Reese Witherspoon is from Tennessee, but she's a big star now and can afford a better dress. Naomi Watts's dress looked like it wasn't finished yet, but I'm not complaining. Rachel McAdams's dress was pretty ugly; maybe she'd look better nude after all. Steve Box and Nick Park, who won for Best Animated Feature, definitely had the best bow ties. Did Larry McMurtry really wear jeans with his tux? The Frenchmen looked very silly with their stuffed penguins, not to mention that it showed they knew they had a lock on Best Documentary Feature. Tch, tch.
9. Not Dead Yet
I am not a huge fan of Robert Altman as a film maker. Indeed, he's in my Hall of Fame of the Overrated. Still, it seemed that there was genuine respect and affection for him from the audience. And you have to admire a man who's still working at his age. He gave a lovely speech.
10. Let's All Pat Ourselves on the Back
First, we had a tribute to biopics - as though these were serious contributions to biography, rather than an easy way to get a subject for a movie, often without having to pay royalties. Thus Ray Charles becomes as significant as Helen Keller, Charlie Chaplin as important as Gandhi, and the closer was Lou Gehrig. (Far more pics about athletes and entertainers than any other category.)
Then we had a tribute to film noir. Fine, I love noir, but where the hell did that come from? And why didn't Lauren Bacall wear her contact lenses? That was embarrassing.
There was also a brief montage - as Jon Stewart said, they were running out of clips; all they lacked was a montage of montages - to epic films. The point was, as Jake Gyllenhaal told us, that movies must be seen in the theatre, not on DVD. The President of the Academy made the same point. Hello, are we scared or what?
Lastly, and most egregiously, there was a tribute to Hollywood liberalism. Puh-lease! Yes, Hollywood makes some liberal films, but not before the fact - as George Clooney would like to believe - but after, much after. Hollywood did not confront anti-Semitism or Naziism until after the war was over; it was not in the vanguard of civil rights, it trailed; it's only recently caught up to the gay rights movement, just as it lagged with women's rights. It's only because American culture at large, particularly American politics, is so far behind the times that Hollywood can make this claim without being laughed out of the building. Fortunately, Jon Stewart made a couple of acute remarks in this regard; I hope they were noticed.
11. Humour
Well, Bill Conti, as always, looked funny. Same for Mickey Rooney, nodding with approval during the President's speech. Stephen Colbert's mock attack ads was a clever idea, well executed. Jon Stewart, I thought, started slowly. The sketch intro was weak. He got better as he went along, though; and made some very good ad-libs. He definitely deserves a return engagement.
12. Last, and Least
As always, the musical numbers were the lowlight of the show. It was noteworthy that the Academy managed to come up with only three nominated songs. Of these, Dolly Parton's "Travelin' Thru" was horrible, and badly sung. I don't want to hear any song with the phrase "sweet Jesus" in it, thank you, unless it's "One Toke Over the Line". I don't feel like seeing Transamerica now. "In the Deep", from Crash, was quite good; and I thought the slow-mo production number and the burning car were quite effective. "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" was a dreadful piece of crap. That guaranteed it the win, but still, I was shocked. For a rap song - a ghetto rap song yet - to win the Oscar represents, I think, a major cultural shift. The acceptance "speech" by 3-6 Mafia was of a piece with the song. What the fuck did they say?
Oh well, tolerance is the order of the day, so peace and love, brother.
