Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Oscars Re-visited

     I purposely waited until tonight to talk about the Oscars, as I wanted to see what everyone would be talking about after all the hubbub had died down.  And what were the main stories in the following days?  J Lo's supposed nipple slip and Angelina Jolie's right leg.  Really??!!  Never mind the fact that a silent movie won the best Oscar for the first time since 1929, let's talk about nipples and legs, for Pete's sake!  Sure they're cute, but come on, it isn't like we haven't seen one before.
     Over all, I enjoyed the show, even Billy Crystal, who is getting a little old to be the host of such a gala.  He had a few good jokes, but unless you were over 40 you probably didn't get them.  Acceptance speeches for the most part were tolerable and mostly non-political.  The best acceptance speech was from first time winner Octavia Spencer, who obviously was over come with emotion as she faced the crowd.  This is what I think the Oscars are about.  People who deserve the award actually appreciating it, and thanking those that got them to that point.
     Another high note for me was Christopher Plummer, who at 82, became the oldest recipient of Oscar.  "Where have you been all my life?" was a great line and the standing ovation was well deserved.  Every role I have seen Mr. Plummer in has been a delight.  I especially like him in "Dolores Claiborne", one of the better Stephen King adaptations, where he played Detective John Mackey, who doggedly pursues a case that he had never solved.  He should have won an Oscar for that role.
     Then we have Meryl Streep.  17 nominations, and now, 3 wins.  I can't say anything bad about her (Ok, I can. It's called "Death Becomes Her".  Ghastly movie.)  She is the current queen of the movies, her career spanning some 37 years, if not more.  She always brings a touch of intelligence to her roles and justly deserves the accolades given to her by her peers.  (Except for "Death Becomes Her".  Ghastly movie.)
     Who would have thought that in this day and age a silent movie would win any Oscar.  Not only did "The Artist" win Best Picture, but Jean Dujardin won for Best Actor for his role in that movie.  I thought I was back in 1929 for a moment there.  Let's just hope that Hollywood doesn't start a race to see how many silent movies they can make and hope that they can copy "The Artist".  I haven't seen "The Artist" yet, but it seems to me that it would be more of a novelty in our time than as a serious resurgent of the once great silent films, which I still occasionally watch.
     Will I watch next year's Oscars?  Probably.  But I will be more prepared next year and watch some of the box office hits and those sneaky independent films that somehow find there way onto the Academy's Oscar night bill.  Until then, here's looking at you kid.
     And don't watch "Death Becomes Her".  Ghastly movie.  Have a better one.
    

No comments:

Post a Comment