The 73rd Annual Academy Awards
For once, the majority of the Oscar races were not “sure things” – with the exception of Juila Roberts (who was brought to us last night by the letters X and Y), there weren’t really any givens across the major categories. Also, for once, deserving people won (for the most part – more on that in a second.) Here’s my take on what went down last night.
As for the show itself, I was amazed how quickly it moved along, especially after last year’s yawnfest. (Unless I miss my guess, they actually finished EARLY!) Steve Martin was a perfect choice for host, and did a fantastic job. (“The FBI has just informed me that they have a suspect in the Russell Crowe kidnapping case, and all I have to say is…Tom Hanks, you should be a ashamed of yourself.”) While I generally enjoy the job Billy Crystal does as host, his routines were wearing a bit thin on the nerves last year.
As I alluded to earlier, NEARLY everyone who won was deserving. I say NEARLY because Tom Hanks really should have won Best Actor. I won’t deny that I enjoyed Russell Crowe in “Gladiator”, but he had a very strong supporting cast to work with throughout the movie – Tom Hanks, on the other hand, carried an hour and a half of “Cast Away” with only a volleyball to play off of, and did so superbly. The real reason Russell Crowe won last night was that Hollywood didn’t want to give Hanks a 3rd Oscar. (That, and they were trying to repent for overlooking Crowe in “The Insider” last year.)
There’s the matter of Julia Roberts, but seeing as how her winning was a forgone conclusion since the nominations came out, I’ll just say this – I’ve never cared for her as an actress. Also, with all her money, why hasn’t she gotten those horse teeth fixed?
I’m gratified that Steven Soderbergh won Best Director for “Traffic” – I was afraid that his vote was going to be split, and Ridley Scott was going to win for “Gladiator”. In my view, substance won out over special effects.
But on that note, I can live with the fact that “Gladiator” did walk away with Best Picture. It was one of those films you just can’t take your eyes off of for the whole 3 hours. It was damned entertaining. The performances were solid, and it was popular as hell. It was also more accessible to a general audience than it’s closest competition, “Traffic” – which is why it won. And I can live with that.
One last thing: Hey, Academy – what was with all the freaky close-ups on Bob Dylan? I felt like the nation was giving him a collective throat culture for a few minutes there.