Sunday, February 26, 2012

Best Picture?

Most people who know me, know that I am a self-proclaimed awards show junkie.  Oscars, Grammys, Tonys, Emmys, MTV, Espys, you name it - I love me some award show action.  And no, I'm not that girl who drools over the dresses on the red carpet.  In fact, I rarely watch the red carpet stuff. I love the show!!  Grammys and MTV tend to be my favorites, because I love watching the performances.  Heaven knows I'm an audiophile and there is nothing more exciting than seeing two people you would NEVER expect to perform together, knock out an amazing show (e.g. Elton John and Eminem).

So what's the appeal for shows lacking performance element, like the Oscars?  Well, certainly the host can always make it great show. But again, that's not what it's about for me. I'm gonna say it, I love watching the speeches.  I loved watching that moment when Sandra Bullock, queen of rom-com's and fluff movies, heard her name announced for The Blind Side.  The look of shock and amazement and the utter gratitude that her peers would choose to honor her in that way. Maybe it's that little girl in me who always wanted to grow up and be a movie star.  Maybe it's just fun to see people so happy to be honored.  Whatever... I love it!!

Over the last couple years, Will and I have started a tradition of watching all of the Best Picture nominees before the big show. This generally helps us with votes for the other big categories as well, as there tends to be a lot of cross-over between Best Picture and Best Actor/Actress, Supporting, Director, etc. But what defines a Best Picture?

I did a little searching (really, like 2-3 minutes) in hopes of finding guidelines that should be used by voting members when selecting the Best Picture.  I was sadly unsuccessful.  It's never really occurred to me to look for voting guidelines in the past, because in the past I've had movies that I just said, "Yeah! That's a Best Picture!"  This year, sadly, is not that kind of year. I don't know if I've just become more scrutinizing, or if Hollywood just didn't deliver this year.  In fairness, I have tickets for an hour an half from now for  Hugo, perhaps it will blow me away. But really, how do you define a Best Picture?

Is it cinematography, actors, characters, plot, directing, music?  Is it taking all the other categories and deciding who did the best at all of those things?  Is the saddest, happiest, most dramatic?  I'm looking back over the list of previous winners (thanks Wikipedia!) and while I don't necessarily agree with all the winners... I remember them all.  They were all unforgettable films.  Frankly, if The Descendants win this year, I suspect I'll be looking back a few years from now asking myself what the movie was about.  If Tree of Life wins, I'll be looking back wishing I didn't remember that movie, and that I could somehow get those hours back.

Last year's winner, The Kings Speech, just seeing the name listed brings all these wonderful thoughts back.  Great story, endearing characters executed magnificently by the actors who played them (granted I've always had a huge crush on Colin Firth, but that's not the point!), music, costumes, it's all there.  I LOVED that film! The Hurt Locker, Slumdog Millionaire, Chicago, Crash, Million Dollar Baby.  Some heart-wrenching, some inspiring, some just down right fun. There's no formula.  Until this year, I've usually had a hard time deciding between some of the nominees, this year, I'm not convinced any of them deserve it.

What am I missing blogosphere? Do you have a clear cut winner?  Are you trying to decide between a couple nominees?  Did I just miss something in the films I've see this year? Help me out!  What's a Best Picture?

posted at 2:53 PM   ::   0 comments