Even though I have devoted the vast bulk of a fairly large page (it is large when you consider how text heavy it is) to the subject of the movies, I haven't watched the Academy Awards in years. So, last night, I started the recorder going so I could watch it later that evening. Well, now it's time to climb up on the old soapbox...
Nicholson: He won last night. Why? Don't ask me. I didn't see As Good as it Gets (the only reason I would want to is for Helen Hunt's -- uh -- performance), but from all that I've read, I've seen Nicholson's performance before. In Little Shop of Horrors. In Easy Rider. In One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest. In The Shining. In The Witches of Eastwicke. In A Few Good Men. In Batman. The fact is, Nicholson has become a one trick pony -- obnoxiousness incarnate. Even The Crossing Guard had a fair amount of that as well, though he became a little more human at the end -- which supposedly happend to him in this film too. Maybe Jack is a really great guy, and 180 degrees opposite of the parts he portrays. And maybe that's why he won.
Sheaths:What was the deal with the dresses this year? Half the female presenters had to baby step thier way to the podium, because the dresses would only let them take 8 inch steps (notable exceptions were Madonna who had a full skirt, and a neckline that plunged to her navel, and Ashley Judd, whose skirt was slit up to her crotch). The time it took them to scoot on to stage aggravated the evenings biggest problem...
The Length:I started the VCR for 3 hours, think 2 1/2 would do it -- yeah right, try 3 1/2 hours. For years, the show's producers have set speech time limits, and for years those limits have been ignored with a vengence. The evening started out with Cuba Gooding exhorting all the winners to talk as long as they want, and it got wordier from there. In the best documentary category, 2 men won -- but 3 men went up. They only had the mic on for the 2 winners, but the 3rd guy (whoever he was) went gamely talking even though no one could hear him over the orchestra. To make things worse, for the anniversary of the oscars, they planned a big "Family Photo" of actor and actress winners. They all sat in chairs, and we spent 15 minutes panning through them. Of course, there were some notable absences -- multiple winners Tom Hanks and Jodie Foster being 2 big ones. A self congratulatory look back at the past 70 years added another 10 minutes, and should have been (along with the Oscar winner get together) a Barbara Walters special before the actual telecast.
Titanic:The producer of L.A. Confidential said his film was the iceberg waiting for Titanic. Sure, except this time the Titanic hit it straight on and plowed it under. Cameron went from no oscars to 3 in the space of an hour and a half. He managed to be both crass and classy both (though there were no 'Size does matter' cracks this time). The boat flick won just about every category expected (few people really thought Kate Winslet or Gloria Stuart would actually win, and Men in Black's make up was hard to beat) -- Madonna even said 'big suprise' before announcing Titanic's win for best song (which gave James Horner his second statue of the night). Now I guess it's only a matter of time before people start snipping about it and other effects of.....
The aftermath....Anyone want to place bets on how long Spike Lee takes to start griping about the African American Man in Hollywood? Or is too late to ask? His documentary about 4 girls killed as a result of racial hatred was considered his finest work, and most likely Oscar winner. He lost to another holocaust film. Thanks to men like Louis Farrakhan, many black men claim the Jews as their biggest problem, and Spike loosing to a Rabbi is going to get someone spouting off about the Jews running Hollywood. Let's just hope it isn't Spike.