I don’t think I ever actually plan on watching the Oscars, it just sort of happens. I understand the concept of Oscar parties and pools and all kinds of wacky hijinks that surround the event, but I usually forget it’s even on. And then I just turn on the TV and POW! I’m watching it for the next 5 hours.
It’s not like the GRAMMYs, mind you. I actually have respect for the Oscars. The only reason I bothered to watch the GRAMMYs (am I seriously supposed to capitalize the entire word?) was because they managed to get 3 very immature grown-ups to get into the same room as each other for like the third time in 2 decades. And after their five minutes were up, I only checked in every 20 minutes or so to make sure James Blunt didn’t win anything.
No, this is much more my typical laziness kicking in and preventing me from scheduling anything in life more than 2 hours in advance. Honestly, I really enjoy the show (at least now that I’m confident Whoopi Goldberg is no longer a host) because it’s filled with lots of cool montages that remind us of what awesome movies have been made and what people have died this year even though you were sure they bit it back in ’99. And I’ll even admit that I enjoy the new ways they try to get people to appreciate the other aspects of film making (reading excerpts from actual scripts, showing the costumes on stage, and, of course, the sound effects chorus). It’s also a great way to fill up my Netflix queue. Yet somehow this isn’t enough of a motivation.
I think I tend to get jaded by years like 2004 when they just gave every award to that horrid Return of the King movie regardless of whether or not it was deserving (“And the award for Best Documentary, Short Subjects goes to…”). So this year was a real treat as lots of upsets led to truly appreciative recipients as well as a nice diversity of films getting awards. The highlights of the night included Al Gore’s fake announcement (where was this personality 7 years ago?), Alan Arkin getting some much-deserved recognition, and Martin Scorsese finally winning a Best Director award as presented by the triumvirate of Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg.
Of course this all would have been even better if Lisa could have stayed up late enough to watch it to the end…
I actually have respect for the Oscars.
Really? REALLY?!
Ugh, that was another bad year. Considering Gladiator won Best Picture – I don’t think a worse film has ever won the award (or possibly even been nominated).
I have respect for them because, most of the time, they do a fairly good job with the nominations. Even if I disagree with the winner, I’ll usually agree that most of the films and actors involved deserved to be up there.
But there have been a few years of late that have made that stance harder to maintain.
I don’t care what anybody says, the most entertainment I got at the movies last year was Borat.
I was just thrilled I was able to stay awake the whole time, since I’m on the West Coast and was in bed by a little after 10:00. Nyah, Nyah, Nyah.