Monday, February 26, 2007

it's all about the art...and the trophies


I thought the song with Will Farrel, Jack Black and John C. Reilly was pretty much the highlight of a fairly boring show last night. They made the same old great point that you'll never win an Oscar for doing a comic role.

The interesting thing is when you see an Oscar winner try and do a comedy. It's often pretty bad. You take a great comedian and put them in a dramatic role - and you've got Robin Williams winning an Oscar for Good Will Hunting.

I was watching when Ellen started talking about the great diversity of this year's Oscars - and there were a ton of foreign films, actors, etc. nominated this year. What threw me was when they would do the wide shots of the audience. It was a sea of white faces. I've heard for years that the most segregated places in America are in the churches on Sunday - white churches are 95% white, black churches are 95% black...and there's no denying that. I'd say that it's also true in a lot of work places, neighborhoods, sitcoms, and now it's become fairly evident that it's true at the Academy Awards.

I thought James Taylor followed by Melissa Etheridge were the musical highlights - and they both sounded great. You see Randy Newman at the show every year, but he always sounds like your friend's uncle that likes to make up songs and sing them at parties.

I missed the best picture category, but I'd heard nothing but bad things about the Departed....although I never saw it. I don't remember an Oscars night when there wasn't a speech that stood out as particularly funny...well, except for last night. You'd think they'd hire someone to write them a funny speech just in case.
It was nice to hear that the celebrities coming from their third homes, off their jets, being driven in limos to the show, were a part of making this year's Oscar's "green". I thought it was kind of funny when Gwyneth Paltrow admited to owning an SUV at an environmental rally a couple of years ago - she rationalized it by saying, "it's really hard to pull into the driveway at my home out west". Her mom who brought her to the rally later admitted she owned one too, "but this isn't about me".

I thought Ellen was solid. She did an awards show years ago - I can't remember what show, but she was the best I'd ever seen hosting a show. Last night she wasn't as good as her previous show, but I thought handing the script to Scorsese was pretty funny.

I talk to artists and they say it's "about the art", not the money, fame, awards or anything else but the purity of the art. I'm not sure the Academy Awards is really on their side with this one. It clearly is a competition. I think that's fine...it's just an interesting spin on the usual party line.

On kind of a fun note - both my mother (for the second year running) and brother were selected by the Columbus Dispatch to take place in their annual Columbus Academy of Motion Picture Pickers critiques . I have no idea how well they did on their picks - but I don't know anybody that goes to more movies than my mom...except for my brother...and Quinten Tarrantino.

that's my take on a subject that I have no real working knowledge of...

7 comments:

  1. If I had known at any point Jack Black and Will Farrell were going to do a song I would have actually watched it. I saw about 20 minutes of the show (minus 15 minutes of commericals) and Ellen was funny. She needs to dumb her stuff down even further though if she thinks a room full of actors are going to get her jokes. "psst. Ellen these are mostly the actors, not the writers. Your deep, almost crippling sarcasm is very confusing for them. Why don't you turn the sarcameter down from it's Daily Show setting to something around Oprah Winfrey or The View."

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  2. The Departed was an INCREDIBLE movie. It was literally the best movie I've seen in years. Anyone who thinks otherwise knows nothing about movies.

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  3. just the messanger - but I heard it from young and old, liberal and conservative, short and sort of medium sized people...

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  4. Anonymous5:09 PM

    Meryl Streep, great dramatic actress, and awesomely comedic in The Devil Wears Prada.

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  5. Anonymous6:04 PM

    Go see The Departed, Sean. You might be surprised. It's surprising how everyone is connected, and makes you think a little... who knows, you might find it fascinating. I did.

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  6. Anonymous4:38 PM

    I thoroughly enjoyed The Departed as well. It was a great movie and well done. You may need to find new movie critics to listen to before judging a movie you haven't seen.

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  7. judging a movie I haven't seen?

    I said, "I'd heard nothing but bad things" I didn't say, "this movie sucks"

    (just a quick correction)

    Annie and I are going to rent it - so we'll see...

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