The awards season, as Drew Carey so accurately put it, is a bunch of people making millions of dollars patting each other on the back. Still, I am fascinated by the Oscars, and predicting their outcome. Why am I so engaged by such masturbatory self-fulfillment? First of all, because I find it entertaining, and secondly, I do think the Oscars has some value because they sometimes get people to watch smaller films (like Whiplash), and see great films and great actors that may never have seen otherwise.
Here are some opinions and projections for what will happen during the big show. Keep in mind that I have only seen 3 of the 8 nominees (better than the 0 I saw last year), and a lot of this is based on what I am reading, and general trends I have seen from past Oscar ceremonies.
Best picture: I will talk briefly about the three movies I have seen.
The Grand Budapest Hotel: I liked this movie a lot. The film, about the concierge and lobby boy of an Eastern European hotel, is full of witty moments and black humor and had me laughing out loud at times, but it also does a good job at crafting characters and their relationships. It is directed by Wes Anderson, so it obviously incorporates his distinctive directing style with whimsical, colorful set pieces, and trademark shots of people in the center of the frame looking directly at the camera. I can guarantee you that if you didn't like Anderson's other movies, you will not like this one. This is a deserving first nomination for Anderson, but this film has no chance of winning the big prize.
Whiplash: My personal favorite movie of the year, and the best movie I have seen in a long time. Yes, it's that good. This film is about a drummer at a jazz conservatory who tries to win the approval of a tyrannical band director. I immediately connected to this movie, because it was about one of my other true passions (besides movies): jazz music. However, this movie is about more than jazz. This is about a young man doing anything and everything he can to win someone else's approval. This is definitely not one of those typical awards bait triumph-of-the-human-spirit movies. You will understand what I mean when you watch it. As you've probably heard, J.K. Simmons gives the standout performance here as band director Terence Fletcher. Simmons, who, until now, was best known as well-coiffed newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson from the Tobey Maguire Spider Man movies, portrays a character who is manipulative, frightening and purely evil at times, but you understand his motivation. Simmons is the front-runner for supporting actor, and it would be an understatement to say this is well-deserved. I don't think this will win best picture, for the reasons I explain below when I talk about "Boyhood."
Boyhood: This movie follows a young man through 12 years of his life. However, this was not done with different actors, makeup or any other kind of movie magic. The crew got together once every year over a 12-year period. In other words, it took 12 years to make this movie, so the aging of the characters is 100% real. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Boyhood, but I can't go so far as to say I loved it. Some critics say nothing really happened in the movie, but I agree with director Richard Linklater's argument that childhood is made up of many small moments. I though it dragged a little bit, and it delves a little too much into artsy-fartsy existentialism towards the end of the movie. This was the same type of dialogue that made me turn Linklater's film Before Sunrise off after 30 minutes. Nevertheless, it all seemed to have a degree of realism that you don't usually see in movies. Someone I know said the story got a lot of details right as to what happens when there is a divorce, and the movie really hit home with him. (Director Linklater is a child of divorced parents). The performances from Ethan Hawke, and especially Patricia Arquette, who is likely to win for supporting actress, are believable and moving. Ellar Coltrane, who plays the main character, also grew up into quite a good actor. Boyhood is now the favorite to win best picture, and will win because Oscar voters like to see Something That Has Never Been Done Before. That is why Forrest Gump, a mediocre movie, beat The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp F------- Fiction to win best picture, and that is why Titanic brought home a boatload of Oscars (no pun intended). Because this is a well acted and well-executed movie, I am sure it will win Best Picture becasuse it is, like I said, Something That Has Never Been Done Before.
The Selma Snubs: I have yet to see "Selma," and I hear the movie and the performances are top-notch. However, its only nominations are for Best Picture and Best Original Song. Its director and actors were not nominated, and, as a result, all 20 acting nominees are white folks. Whoops. A few theories as to Selma's failure to earn more nominations are being thrown around: The Academy is made up of too many old white men, The movie plays fast and loose with history (apparently people forget what the term dramatic license means), the cast and directors are newcomers and aren't familiar to Academy members, etc. The one that makes sense to me is that the studio released the movie at the last minute, and it wasn't able to get screeners to the Academy Members in a timely fashion. Unlike the HFPA and the Golden Globes, members of the Academy actually like to watch movies before nominating them, and not enough members were actually able to see the movie.
As I mentioned, the acting nominees are whiter than the Republican Party. Not only is it unfortunate that they didn't nominate one of many worthy performances by minorities this year, but this also means they will probably overcompensate next year, meaning that every somewhat decent or even mediocre performance by a minority will be nominated, and it will end up like the year that Halle Berry won for Monster's Ball (the sole decent performance by a horrible actress), and Denzel Washington won for Training Day (good, but not his best, he should won for Philadelphia or Malcolm X).
Other snubs:
Amy Adams: Critics say that her performance in "Big Eyes" is one of her best. Poor Amy is becoming the female Leonardo DiCaprio. Five nominations, no wins, and she couldn't even snag a nomination this year.
The Lego Movie: This is the one most people are bitching about. I haven't seen it, but it was reviewed well by critics, and lots of people went to see it. Many people were shocked this wasn't one of the 5 nominated films, and the movie's director even built his own Oscar out of Legos.
Miles Teller: J.K. Simmons may have had the flashier role in "Whiplash," but Downingtown native Teller, who played the main character in this movie, also deserves some recognition. Without giving anything away, the motivation of this character is very clear, and you can almost feel the struggle he goes through as he tries to reach his goal. You will see a lot more of this young actor in the future, and I am not just talking about the stupid Divergent movie series.
Guardians of the Galaxy: I realize it will be a cold day in hell before the Academy nominates a comic book/superhero movie for anything besides technical awards, but this space adventure suprised everyone with how entertaining and well-crafted it actually was. I personally believe writer/director James Gunn should have received a nomination for best adapted screenplay. Yes, the screenplay is mostly formula (a group of good guys, a bad guy and Yondu, a.k.a. Blue Merle, look for a powerful shiny thing). But this screenplay is full of intelligent touches, memorable characters, pop culture references, and a ton of irreverent humor that made this movie a blast to watch. And we can't forget the funky '70s "awesome mix" soundtrack.
Life Itself: The snub that irked me the most was the documentary on the life of film critic Roger Ebert. Skillfully directed by Steve James, who also directed the unforgettable "Hoop Dreams," this gives as full and well-rounded a picture of Ebert's life as one possibly can in 2 hours. It pulls no punches, detailing his early days as a journalist during which, according to others, he was an obnoxious, pompous ass, as well as his fight against cancer, during which his boneless, rubbery jaw hangs from his face, rendering him unable to talk, and necessitating the use of a keyboard to communicate. I admire Ebert's courage as he doesn't hesitate to show what cancer has done to his body, as opposed to many celebrities who hide from the public. The documentary also does a great job showing Ebert's relationship with his late TV partner, Gene Siskel. Although the two were adversaries from competing papers in Chicago and certainly were not friends, you always sensed mutual respect between the two critics. Finally, you get to see what a truly kind woman Chaz Ebert, Roger's wife, is. They have a strong, loving marriage that started at an AA meeting, of all places. This missing nomination is a mystery to all, because this was supposed to be a frontrunner in the documentary feature category. Furthermore, Ebert was always an advocate for this form of filmmaking, frequently promoting and praising many documentary films. You would think some of these directors would show their appreciation.
Other observations besides snubs:
Meryl Streep: This legendary actress picks up an unprecedented 19th nomination. Some people have said "Into the Woods" isn't that good, and she was nominated just for being Meryl Streep. In my opinion, you can't criticize anyone with this many accolades, especially because she is so modest and appreciative. It will only be a matter of time before we see nomination number 20.
Best song nominees: After last year's lineup which included a couple of genuine pop hits, and a little-known tune called "Let It Go," this year's slate of nominees, comparatively speaking, aren't the most exciting bunch of songs I've ever heard. Maybe they will just play snippets, as they have done in past years.
Award for Outstanding Performance by an Old Fart: Every year, there seems to be an award that goes to an elderly, well-respected actor just for appearing in a movie. This year it is octogenarian Robert Duvall for his performance in The Judge. I heard that this was a decent performance in an otherwise lousy movie. Clint "I talk to chairs" Eastwood doesn't count this time because he was only nominated for director.
I will be back after the Oscars to give a recap of the night's events. Please comment if you have any other snubs, surprises or opinions you want to discuss.
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