Archive for March 2nd, 2005
Oscar Night Wrapup
- Took Chris Rock all of about eight seconds to make his first racially-oriented joke. I’m surprised he was able to restrain himself for that long. Rock didn’t do a bad job as host, but it certainly wasn’t a great job, either. But that wasn’t entirely his fault. He’s just not the kind of comedian you want hosting a celebratory event like this one–his entire image is build on “edgy,” and everything else about this year’s awards said they were trying to minimize “edgy” as much as possible. Just not a good fit. I’d have been happy to see Steve Martin again, or bring Ellen DeGeneres in–her gig hosting the Emmys a couple years ago was hilarious. She’d be able to make fun of all the nominees without seeming angry or hateful. (And yeah, that’s kind of how I’m implying Rock came off.)
- Once again we see how little the Academy values comedies, even smart, well-made ones. Sideways picks up its lone award for Best Adapted Screenplay, much like Lost In Translation‘s only win last year was for Best Original Screenplay. Good comedies are every bit as difficult to make as good dramas but never get the respect that effort deserves. It seems like just getting the nominations has to be enough–the makers of
Sideways should feel just as proud of their Oscar accomplishments as the makers of Million Dollar Baby. It ain’t fair, but it is what it is. (And before you say anything, yeah, Shakespeare In Love was a comedy and it won Best Picture, but it was a comedy with Shakespeare, by god, so the Academy voters didn’t have to feel like they were lowering themselves when voting for it.
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