Oscar Disappointments and Highlights

Oscar Disappointments and Highlights

I'll start with the L-A-M-E:

1. That Crash was nominated at all, and then took the top award. This film was a slickly produced, well-cast after-school special or way-too-long PSA made to make liberal white people feel good that: yeah, they get it and isn't it appalling?

2. That Munich was nominated for Best Film. It was a typical overdone Spielberg film that didn't leave that much of an impression because the characters felt rather hollow - or that you really didn't care about them. The Constant Gardner falls into this category as well - too much on the message, not enough of the characters.

3. That Junebug wasn't nominated for Best Film. Now this was a film that dealt with all of the discomfort associated with class and power and did it so successfully, leaving a strong, lingering impression of these issues without beating it over your head and turning it into a didactic message. And one was left caring about the characters and feeling their depth, or lack there of. So, so, so much better than Crash or Munich.

4. That Rachel Weisz took Best Actress In A Supporting Role - she was fine, did her job, but by no means was it a memorable performance. Again the deserving winner was Amy Adams from Junebug for her phenomenal performance of Ashley. The fact that she didn't get it makes it oh so obvious that the behind the scenes politics much more often trump the reality - or perhaps it's possible that the folks making those decisions really are just that vapid.

Okay, now for the highlights:
1. Definitely Jennifer Lopez's dress - wow!
2. Philip Seymour Hoffman as Best Actor - Every film I've seen him in, he's AMAZING!
3. That the mainstream news was in such a tizzy that the majority of the films nominated were not big blockbusters at the box office - love, love, love this! As if the headliner(s) at the Whitney Biennial should be Thomas Kincaid (or the like).
4. That Wallace & Gromit took the Best Animated Feature! Sadly Howl's Moving Castle was disappointing - the most Disneyesque of Miyazaki's works.