The Oscars

Friday night I decided that I had to watch at least one movie nominated for an Academy Award before the big show. So I rented Walk the Line (which I'd been anxious to see anyway) and Pride and Prejudice (the new one released last year).

Walk the Line should have been nominated for picture of the year. What a fantastic film. Both lead actors are simply mesmerizing in their roles. There were moments during the film that I actually believed that Joaquin was Johnny Cash. And Reese Witherspoon was amazing as June Carter Cash. The fact that both actors did their own singing is also laudable. I'd rank this film up there with Coal Miner's Daughter (which also won its lead actress an Oscar). If you have not seen this film, you must. Forget about the demoralizing cowboy wannabes in other nominated films (yes, I'm talking about you, Brokeback Mountain), check out the real-life struggles and triumphs of a true American legend.

As a Pride and Prejudice purist (it is my favorite book afterall), I chose not to see the latest film version in theatres. However, because it was available on Friday night and Keira Knightley is nominated, I decided to give it a go and watch the movie. Unfortunately, it met all my expectations. It was boring, vapid and sophomoric. There was almost no character development. If this was your first introduction to Jane Austen, you would be completely turned off, or at least lead astray as to her immense literary capabilities. Now, I think it's a widely known fact that most Austenphiles agree Colin Firth is the very embodiment of Mr. Darcy. Any actor who dares touch the character is playing a fools game. This was the case with Matthew McFadyen. He's a great actor and I've enjoyed his other work but his Mr. Darcy is unable to endear himself to the audience. As for Ms. Knightley, about 3/4 of the way through the movie, I asked aloud where the Oscar-worthy performance was because I had yet to see it. And by the time the credits rolled, I was still puzzling over how she had received a nomination. I suppose that as an Austen purist, I will always be critical of film adaptations of her masterpieces. However, sometimes I do enjoy certain film versions of her books (BBC's version of P&P is the best). Unfortunately, this adaptation was not worthy of the title.

As for the Oscar ceremony itself, I was proud of Jon Stewart's hosting abilities. I've been a fan for a few years now and was glad that he did so well. I just hope he doesn't give up his day job because I enjoy watching it so much. Probably my favorite part of the Oscars is watching the red carpet show. I always enjoy seeing what the starlets are wearing. Sometimes they're fantastic (Nicole Kidman, Rachel Weisz, etc.) and other times you wonder what they were thinking (Charlize Theron).

I was very happy that Reese won and disappointed that Joaquin did not. I was also pleased that Rachel Weisz won her Oscar as I believe she is an immensely talented actress (check her out in About a Boy!), although I cannot comment about the role for which she was nominated as I haven't seen the film.

Sometimes you just want a favorite actor to win--regardless of the role--because their body of work is so good. For instance, one of my faves, Denzel Washington won for a role that I do not consider one of his best. Nonetheless, he deserved to win at some point in his career. Same goes for George Clooney. The man deserved to win for O Brother, Where Art Thou. He won for a role in a film I don't want to see but he won anyway. He may be a big liberal (annoyingly so) but he's the closest thing we've got to Cary Grant in this generation (which is a compliment to George and insult to Cary).

So overall, I enjoyed the red carpet parade but the awards were not that entertaining. However, it was fun to see some of my favorite actors win.