Can I get a "!"?
I have to give the Oscars some warped kind of credit. They lulled me throughout the first three hours and twenty minutes or so: absolutely no surprises beyond Kong taking more tech stuff than I thought (cool!) and "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" winning Best Song (which I called, so I can't say it was a total surprise). Jon Stewart was very funny and I loved those fake campaign ads -- very clever and fairly offbeat for an Oscarcast. But, like I said, no real surprises. And then Crash up and wins Best Picture. I had been primed for maximum shock.
I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I'm happy any time the Oscars pull off something unexpected (like, I didn't much like The Pianist, but Adrian Brody, that was neat, huh?). And I did like Crash, and Brokeback Mountain wasn't my #1 favorite of the year. But there's definitely some "WTF?!" with that win regardless. I really thought all of that Crash stuff over the past month and change was just punditry BS designed to make the race seem interesting. If the rumors about support for that movie were true, I have to wonder if the related rumors about the Academy being collectively homophobic enough to feel icky about Brokeback -- pretty much a superior movie on all counts, but since when does that inhibit Oscar glory -- are also kinda true.
Interesting stat that I totally haven't fact-checked: the "most wins" for the night actually comes out to a four-way tie: Crash, Brokeback, King Kong, and You Are to Become Geisha, three awards apiece.
My beloved Amy Adams lost, but at least "Pimp" won, Stewart was great, and I actually dropped my jaw at the end.
I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I'm happy any time the Oscars pull off something unexpected (like, I didn't much like The Pianist, but Adrian Brody, that was neat, huh?). And I did like Crash, and Brokeback Mountain wasn't my #1 favorite of the year. But there's definitely some "WTF?!" with that win regardless. I really thought all of that Crash stuff over the past month and change was just punditry BS designed to make the race seem interesting. If the rumors about support for that movie were true, I have to wonder if the related rumors about the Academy being collectively homophobic enough to feel icky about Brokeback -- pretty much a superior movie on all counts, but since when does that inhibit Oscar glory -- are also kinda true.
Interesting stat that I totally haven't fact-checked: the "most wins" for the night actually comes out to a four-way tie: Crash, Brokeback, King Kong, and You Are to Become Geisha, three awards apiece.
My beloved Amy Adams lost, but at least "Pimp" won, Stewart was great, and I actually dropped my jaw at the end.