Tonight is Oscar night - my Superbowl Sunday. I make no apologies for the Oscars, as has become the fashion of late, because, to be frank, there is no need to. The Academy Awards are a great Hollywood tradition, a celebration of the art and craft of movies.
Yet, every year, people complain. They don't like them movies that were nominated or the show was too long or there were too many musical numbers or there were not enough musical numbers or the speeches were dull or the speeches got played off or the host was lame... (For my money, the funniest complaint in recent history was, "No stars showed up." Ah, but they did, in droves. They were just young stars. Stars an older audience didn't recognize. That one said a lot about the one doing complaining.) Suffice to say, every year it's "the worst Oscars ever."
Though, that's a patently silly (and grandiose) statement - it's becoming as much a tradition as the Oscars themselves. It makes me wonder what people think the Oscars should be. You get conflicting answers when you ask people that, most of them mere lists of what they shouldn't be. But that's not the question. What should they be?
To answer that, it's important to first state in no uncertain terms what the Oscare actually are - a benefit party that helps to fund the great work the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences does to advance the art, science, innovation, resotration and preservation of film.
1. They should be a lavish and unapologetic celebration of movies, let's us relive some of the moments we loved. Because movies matter to our cultural identity.
2. They should be hosted by a gracious lover of movies who doesn't see him or herself as sitting at the kids' table. He or she should be a friend of the movies, too, and as such, have the right to poke a little fun at his or her old buddy without being insulting.
3. They should feel like a relaxing, fun party, where all your friends, dress up, get together and have a good time.
4. They should be a chance for artists to show real gratitude for the honor they've been given. (I think we all agree the worst speeches usually involve lists of agents' and managers' names, whereas the best ones are given by Daniel Day Lewis.)
5. They should be about movies, nothing else.
I think if the Oscars hit these five points, they will work...every time.
But they need the audience to meet them half way. We can't approach them with cynicism year after year. We need to let them be okay. But there are forces that want to keep that form happening.
Ever since the fashion industry intruded on the awards, there's been a steady rise in snark levels. This isn't intrinsic to movie fandom. It's poor behavior learned from outsider fashionistas. "Who are you wearing," is irrelevant to cinema. I agree with enjoying the fashions on display, but a three-hour red carpet fashion show isn't a celebration of movies. It's not as if filmmakers show up to the fashion awards and complain about the designers' taste in movies. That would be silly. Especially if it got a three-hour televised special right before the awards began.
Anyway, I hope the show is good. I hope host Seth McFarlane handles himself with grace and remembers that his "Family Guy" voices have nothing to do with movies. And hope, when tomorrow comes, that people can resist the tired old critique, "That was the worst Oscars ever."
- OO
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