How can I put this nicely? The modern Academy Awards are....no, there's no nice way to put it. I guess I'll just put it as non-vulgarly as I can. The modern Academy Awards are an absolute joke. It hasn't always been this way. There used to be a time when winning an Oscar meant something. I'm not sure when things changed exactly. At some point, it went from recognizing greatness in the medium of film to just being an insulting party of back slappers and in-crowders boosting egos and celebrating how great they think they are with little regard to the actual films.
I can still remember the exact Academy Awards Ceremony that was the final straw for me. It was 2001. I was watching it because of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. When I saw that it had won for Best Foreign Language Film, I knew that it was not going to win the Best Picture Award it truly deserved. Even back then, I was cynical enough to know that since it was foreign, the Academy would give it A Best Picture but not THE Best Picture. That was it for me. I was done with them.
Now, before you go on about my love of foreign film, especially Wu Xia, making me bias, let's look at some of the other mistakes the Academy made in just that one year. Gladiator won Best Picture. Give me a break. That was a piece of crap. It tried to be an Epic and failed. It was so full of cliches and slow and...I could go on and on, but I'll hold myself back. I will admit that I have not seen all of the movies that were nominated, but here's the list. Someone please tell me not only how Gladiator made it onto the list, but how the hell did it win? Gladiator, Chocolat, Erin Brockovich, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Traffic were the nominations. Also out that year and nominated in other categories were Cast Away, Requiem for a Dream, Wonder Boys, O Brother Where Art Thou, Pollock, Billy Elliot, etc. etc. etc. Granted, some of those are not Best Picture contenders....wait...what? Cast Away wasn't a Best Picture contender!?! Nope, but you know what was? Sadiator. Get it? Sad because compared to many many films it is just sad. Not sad emotionally, although I'm sure at points they tried to evoke that emotion, but like with so much of that film, they failed.
Let's just continue our investigation a little further. Best Leading Actor...I just mentioned Cast Away being out that year. Of course Tom Hanks had to of won the Best Leading Actor Oscar. I mean, that movie hinged entirely on him, and he succeeded. I cannot think of any other actor that would have really made that role work. Well, at least the Academy got it right on that one....OH WAIT! NO! NO THEY DIDN'T! Russel Blows...err Crowe won it for Gladiator. Hmm, oh how about Best Costume Design. Did it go to Crouch Tiger? How about a period piece like Quills? I know, a live action Dr. Seuss? Nope. Gladiator again. I know with movies nominated like The Perfect Storm, Cast Away, U 571, and the Patriot, I'm sure Best Sound wouldn't go to Gladiator, except that it did. Best Visual Effect? There were only 3 nominations. Two of them were Hollow Man and The Perfect Storm. Any guesses on what the 3rd nomination was. Hint: it won the award. Hint 2: It didn't deserve it. That's right. Gladiator again.
Ok, I should probably pick some other mistakes the Academy has made. Let's look at 2011. The biggest travesty was Hailee Steinfeld. If you have not seen the new version of True Grit. Go and see it. Once you see it, maybe you'll be able to explain something to me. The girl in it, Hailee Steinfeld, was in fact nominated for an Oscar. Considering that the entire film centered on her character, it is quite obvious that she is not only A Leading Actress in the film but is THE Leading Actress in the film. One could even go so far as to say that without her character the movie couldn't have been made. She is the cornerstone of the whole thing. It is her story. Jeff Bridges' role is supporting her role. So why in the name of all things holy, did she not get nominated for Best Leading Actress? She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. WTF!!!! Explain this to me! Explain this to me now! Oh and Jeff Bridges was nominated for Best Leading Actor. So the support gets the lead and the lead gets the support. Neither won by the way.
It seems commonplace these days for a movie to win multiple awards. In some cases, I'm sure this is appropriate. Well, at least it was back when the awards meant something. The Deer Hunter deserved all of its awards and nominations. That's another thing. The nominations. It used to mean something to have been nominated. Putting that on a DVD case to promote a movie had some value. Back then. It used to be there were 4 maybe 5 nominations for any of the major Oscars. These represented the best. The winner was therefore the best of the best. 2011 had 10, count them 10, nominations for Best Picture. 2012 had 9. 2010 had 10. Damn near every other year, had 5 or less. I'm sorry, but even though there are probably some really good films amongst the 29 nominations over the past 3 years, I'm guessing many of them are not Oscar-worthy. Well, at least they wouldn't be if they were actually held to the standards of the past.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm sure there was some back slapping and ego stroking back in the earlier days of the Oscars too. I just don't see where it was nearly as prevalent or as blatant as it is in modern times. Also, just as a little word of warning, not only should you be cautious of any movie claiming nominations and wins as part of its selling points, at least any post a certain time period when the Oscars lost meaning, be sure to check to see what the awards were actually for. I saw a DVD case that spouted the director as being an Academy Award Winner. It was true. He was. It just wasn't in directing. It was for special effects or sound editing or something technical of that sort.
Oh yeah, and one last thing before I forget. When did the critics and studios start labeling certain movies as "their Oscar contender." It has seriously gotten to the point where instead of just making great film, you can simply make your film a certain way to practically guarantee not only a nomination but an award itself. And this year, the award for best contribution to the degradation of film and its art goes to....Hollywood. Go ahead, stroke your egos and pat your backs. I'll be over here watching good film and spreading the little lesser known gems to people I know who appreciate film. Even if I do it in the most pretentious, cliquey, and snooty way I can, I will be safe in the knowledge that every year, the Academy Awards Ceremony will outdo me.
Now stop reading my ranting and go watch some good films. Peace.
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