In past years, I've written long, analytical essays about the Oscar nominations, either the day after they came out or, more likely, just before the Academy Awards ceremony at the end of February (or, as it happens this year, the first Sunday in March).
This year, though, is different. This year, I can say with absolute honesty that I don't give a damn.
It's not just that I've seen so few of the nominated movies and performances. I caught four of the Best Picture nominees last year, and most years that would mean something. Not so much now that the Best Picture category has been expanded to ten movies (from its usual five). This is not unprecedented--the Academy routinely nominated 10 pictures per year into the 1940s.
It's also not just that so many of the acting races this year appear to have been decided already. Jeff Bridges will win a long-overdue Oscar for Best Actor for Crazy Heart. Sandra Bullock will likely win Best Actress for The Blind Side.Christoph Waltz is a lock for Best Supporting Actor for Inglourious Basterds, and it would be a major surprise if Mo'Nique didn't win Best Supporting Actress for Precious.
I think it comes down to the ceremony itself. It just rambles, no matter how excited I am about individual nominees.
From time to time, the Academy tries different things to slim down the telecast, but nothing ever really changes--it remains the longest, dullest awards ceremony on television, and I just don't have the patience for it anymore. Plus, since I've seen so few of the nominated movies (hence I don't have anyone to root for) and so many of the races are foregone conclusions anyway, it would be a monumental waste of time for me to sit there for nearly four hours awaiting outcomes for which I care not one bit.
So for that Sunday night, I'll fine something else--something better--to do. Cook a nice meal. Play some jazz (my recently acquired copy of the Dave Brubeck Quartet's Time Out would do nicely). Channel-flip. Do my taxes.
Or, best of all, whether I go out or stay in, I can do the most appropriate thing of all: Watch a good movie.
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2 comments:
Ooh I love Time Out!
This year the Oscars are on Miss Ronica's birthday.
I know! for years, I'd heard the song "Take Five" many times without knowing who'd recorded it (one of the local Chicago TV stations used it as intro music for a late-night movie showcase). Once I finally bought the CD, I fell in love with the whole thing--it's great to cook to!
Party at Bel's house on Oscar night!
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