StreetVerse

Oscar Recap: Awkwardness Redux

Posted By: Sally Vox
Filed Under: Movies, Opinion on February 28, 2011

So, the Oscars have come and gone. No surprises this year, and the Academy proves once again how sadly predictable it is. If you want a good indicator of the acting awards, you don’t look at the Golden Globes…you look at the SAG awards. This is because the Academy’s largest voting block is actors, so trends and momentum usually carry over from the SAG. This year it was 4 for 4, with Colin Firth taking Best Actor, Natalie Portman taking Best Actress, Christian Bale as Best Supporting and Melissa Leo for the Fighter. So, not too many surprises, except for MAYBE best director and best picture, which was 50/50 in my book between The Social Network and The King’s Speech. But we don’t watch the Oscars just for the awards. We watch it for the cringe inducing accoutrements.

The Good Parts

Colin Firth taking the Oscar for Best Actor. The man is amazing. He has this understated charm that comes off as natural instead of overbearing (looking at hugh) and he is just a humble guy. King’s Speech may have been his best work yet, creating pity and sadness for one of the most entitled human’s to walk the earth. To top it all off, he was the only celebrity I saw last night who was wearing proper black tie attire, perfectly tailored and worn with British elegance. I understand its Hollywood, and everyone wants to shake the cage, but on a night when everyone else is wearing black suits (not tuxes) and black shirts/black tie, dressing properly is the way to get yourself noticed.

Randy Newman’s speech. The man is a living legend when it comes to not only soundtracks (TWENTY nominations) but to subversive yet cheery sounding music. Ever hear that song he did about a slave trader luring Africans to America? Or that one about short people? He has that charisma that I expect of all the celebrities in that building, but he was one of the few speakers that lived up to my standards.

A good “theme”. The past winners of awards such as Gone with the Wind, Titanic, Shrek, etc. were shown in that magnificent screen behind the stage. This was gorgeous.

An OVERALL less cheesy broadcast. It still had cheese a plenty, but compared to recent years, it seems they have heard the groans and tweaked the broadcast a little. THANK GOD they didn’t have that circle jerk they had last year (re: multiple old award winners coming out and talking about the nominees). The “inbetween” presentations, such as the memorandum and the song performances, were short and sweet, moving the show along at a quicker pace.

The Bad

Roger Deakins getting shafted on True Grit for Cinematography. The man has a lifetime achievement award for the ASC, and he has some of the most beautiful cinematography I have ever seen in a film. The problem with this Oscar is that is normally given to the most eye catching movie (Inception in this case), in which cinematography is only one piece of a enormous puzzle. If you took cinematography and separated it from all the CG, set design, and visual effects, you are left with a craft that requires nuance and invisibility. Deakins is a master of this, but alas, his strength is also his weakness when it comes to being noticed.

David Fincher missing out on Best Director. Though I loved The King’s Speech, I really though Fincher would take it this year. The man made Seven, Fight Club, Benjamin Button, AND the Social Network—all game changers in their own small ways. I know that momentum had shifted to The King’s Speech and it had to be given the trifecta (Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor), but I think it could, and should, have been a split this year. Tom Hooper, you’re great, but Fincher needs some loving.

Alice in Wonderland winning anything. I know I’m biased here, but the movie was one of the most god awful movies I have ever seen ever in my life. There was no sense of coherence, which to me, is one of the goals of Art Direction, Costumes, etc.

The Awkard

James Franco being stoned out of his mind. My god, the pre show interview was equal parts hilarious and sad. A recap:

 

Reporter: So James Franco, blah blah host blah blah Academy Awards?

James Franco: Huh? Oh…hehe…cool.

Reporter: Um…okay…blah blah…nervous?

James Franco: No. Not at all. Imsohigh

Reporter: Right. Back to you, Mike!

 

Anne Hathaway on a Red Bull/ Cocaine overdose. Very pretty though. The hosts in general were not very entertaining. The opening sketch was decent, I suppose.

I THINK it was the winner of Makeup (need to check the broadcast again) who mumbled: “You better teach your lapdog some respect” when the music started rolling due to his particularly long winded thank you speech. Seriously guys, keep it short. You do makeup. Five names, tops. When you start talking about the PA’s…maybe stretching there. You are blathering on for five minutes, have some understanding when they pull you off the stage. This kind of angered outburst is just too much awkwardness to handle.

Kirk Douglas. I know I know. Living legend. But have you seen True Grit? You know the guy Jeff Bridges played that no one could understand? Yeah, it was kind of like that.

Susanne Bier sweating really really profusely. The winner of Best Foreign Language film showed that they really don’t know what anti-perspirant is in Europe.

The little kids singing at the end. I sound like the Grinch, but this was too much cheese. At this point I was hungry, and I just turned the TV off. Unnecessary.

Hope you had fun! Til next year.

-SV

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