erin goes on about the oscars

Let me begin by saying that I am a hypercritical individual who believes movies are not just for entertainment value, but rather a medium of visual, performance, writing, and technical art.

Be warned all ye lovers of "Walk the Line" and "Crash."

I'll start with the good stuff:
George Clooney for Syriana--a win for an under-represented film and an under-recognized actor.
Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener--a win for a lovely actress (sorry to have pointed out that the reason for her "nice rack" was the result of being 7 months pregnant..I'm such a killjoy) and a lovely film. Sure it would have been nice had Michelle Williams won for Brokeback, but whatev.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman for Capote--a win for an unbelievably talented actor who has paid.his.dues and methoded the bejeezsus outta that role. Again, I'm mildly disappointed in a Ledger loss, but the joy of not having to listen to the media wax poetic about Joaquin Phoenix and Walk the Line for the next few weeks balanced that win out nicely.
Gustavo Santaolalla for Brokeback--a win for the perfect match between the visual experience and the musical experience. People who haven't seen Brokeback love the score. That says something.
Ang Lee--A most deserved win. A Chinese man who masterfully told a beautiful love story set in the idyllic American West with a steady and light hand. Though I was a fan of "Good Night and Good Luck" there was no real competition between the Clooney and the Lee. The Lee. Hands down.
Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana--Having read Brokeback made this screenplay that much more perfect. They took a 35 page short story and turned it into a 2 hour and 14 minute masterpiece. Sparse, deliberate dialogue that was so faithful to the book it knocked me socks off. And McMurtry gets my favorite speech award for reminding a bunch of Hollywood-types that books reign supreme. And he's an old guy. Who doesn't love a really old guy?!

The "Huh. How's about that. I don't much care" section:
Geisha-- Well. Huh. How's about that. I don't much care. It got mediocre reviews and didn't even manage a nomination in any of the heavy categories. Good for them?
King Kong--In a "my bad" moment, I managed to miss this on the big screen. Seems like quite a mistake given the technical awards they racked up, but oh well.
That damn penguin movie--I really can't muster THAT much disgust for it's win to bump it into my "what the hell" category, but Enron was better. The penguins were cute, but honestly.

The "What in the name of God is going on with the Academy this year" section:

Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line--I'll admit, I'm glad it didn't go to Charlize Theron and her second attempt at if-I-look-ugly-enough-maybe-they'll-overlook-the-fact-that-I-suck or Keira Knightly and her maybe-they'll-take-me-seriously-if-I-show-up-in-an-Austin-film-wearing-an-empire-waisted-dress, but REESE WITHERSPOON? In all fairness, I have not seen Transamerica, but methinks Felicity Huffman had a wee bit more of a challenge acting-wise than Ms. Witherspoon. Reese played a beloved American icon who was from the same regional area as herself and has a lot of the same qualities as June Carter Cash, according to her husband. Wow. What a stretch.
Hughes Winborne (editing) for Crash--one of the most glaring aspects of Crash, for me, was just how hard they tried to edit that film. You could actually see what they were trying to do--and it was something that had been done, more effectively, countless times before in films like Magnolia and Traffic. The editing felt clunky and obvious. Good editing should be seamless. Nor should you notice it. Ever. The Constant Gardener was far superior.
Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco (original screenplay) for Crash--some of the worst dialogue I have heard in a loooooong time. Contrived and over-the-top forced. There were scenes that were painful to watch, not because of the "harsh" racial slurs, but because the dialogue was that awful. It, again, attempted to work as Traffic, but fell short. The plot was fairly predictable and bordered on ridiculous (I'm referring to that scene with Matt Dillon coming across Thandie Newton after her SUV was wrecked. Granted, I've never been to L.A., but my understanding is that it's a pretty big and sprawling mess of a city. What a coincidence that he happens to be the officer whose job it is to save the exact same woman he degraded a few short hour before!). The use of racial slurs was not shocking, at least to someone of my age and generation. Syriana and Good Night and Good Luck were far superior screenplays. Beyond superior.
Those lucky producers of Crash for Best Picture--I think I've rambled enough about the reasons I don't think this remotely deserved a best picture win so instead let me tell you why I think it did: There appears to be a major divide amongst the generations regarding the importance and greatness of this film. I know many people who are anywhere from 20-40 years older than myself who believe this to be a very important and timely film. They completely bought the story line. They didn't care about the dialogue or the editing. All they knew was that the society that they fought so hard to change, the stereotypes that they thought had been debunked were not only still around, but more cruel and harsh and in your face than ever before. The one thing that this film did do was start yet another dialogue about the racial divide in this country and that's never a bad thing. I only wish that they had made a better film.

Today I was supposed to show up to work wearing something in the spirit of the film that won Best Picture. It was suggested I show up in blackface wearing a slinky dress and he would show up as a racist white cop and inappropriately frisk me while I'm on the desk.

Too cruel and harsh and in your face?