There seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding the Oscars. "The Academy is largely comprised of white males," "The Oscars didn't get as many viewers as is financially feasible," "Harry Potter should have won SOMETHING." But me, I just don't really care. The Oscars are kind of like politics, there's nothing I can really do to change anybody's mind so why get emotionally involved? I'm at enough risk for high blood pressure, I don't need more needless stress in my life.
But I did watch a little bit, and I do think the Academy, in general, is pretty predictable. I do think they play it safe, to some regard. If they liked a movie, they're going to give it a bunch of awards in as many categories as it is nominated regardless if it really deserves it for that category. I'm thinking specifically of Hugo, which beat out a bunch of movies in several categories that I don't think it necessarily should have. But then again, I haven't seen it so I can't really comment on it at great length. I'm sure it's a good movie, but I doubt it's -- what, five Oscars? -- good.
And I'm sure Meryl Streep earned her Oscar, again, I'm just sad Rooney Mara didn't get it for her fantastic work in Girl with the Dragon Tatoo. What a fantastic movie. And Ms. Streep was glamorous and gracious and had a very moving speech, so I'm not overly upset about the whole thing. I just think this is an instance of the Academy being predictable and playing it safe.
I'm also sad that Gary Oldman didn't win. He's one of the best actors out there and turns out consistently high caliber performances, even if the movies he's in aren't always that great. Actors of his quality should get an Oscar. He probably will eventually, it's just too bad it didn't happen this year.
Here is one Academy decision I will support, though. The Artist should get Best Picture. Now, I haven't seen it, but I know what it's about. I've read articles of people bemoaning it, saying the story is really nothing new. That's fine and may be true, but a movie is more than story alone. You can't argue that The Artist is stylistically unique. I guess Tree of Life is also unique, but I think the Academy was right to choose The Artist. I look forward to seeing it. After all, it won Best Picture. So it might not suck.
