Drama Nerds Dressed Up

While watching from your couch, eating pizza and volleying comparative commentary via text to your mom, awards shows are fun. The glimpses of favorite personalities, the predictions, the glamorous crescendos of an industry that touches us, should be as much of an escape as the films they recognize. The two titans of industry cred collide each year, back to back. You have the unfettered, quirky Film Independent Spirit Awards, which air the night before the no-expense-spared Oscars.

The latter has 56 years of tradition over the Spirits, and you can tell by the nods to history-centric movies they tend to honor (deservedly but predictably, that is). I myself tend towards the Spirits in the arena of importance, not just for the sake of being "anti-establishment", or because they're the self-effacing underdog by the nature of guerrilla film making (both are good reasons but are sort of disappearing), but rather for the slightly more realistic view of what it all really is. A bunch of nut-ball creative types mingling, musing and high five-ing over good work, regardless of money involved on either end.

Back in the day the studios owned the actors (let alone the technical peeps) and the award shows were the only chance to see candid celebrity stuff. Now-a-days the lines are so blurred, it seems all too self-revelatory for many-if the blogs reflect accurate stance on the matter-but we still talk about it for days, still tune in.

The Oscars are the old-money cotillion, the Spirit Awards the impromptu drama club mixer. Both are worth spectating for their respective slant.

The Spirit Awards this year (incongruously "brought to you by Acura"), honored quite a few of the exact same films that Oscar did, which has been sort of puzzling. How exactly can we honor "indie" films while they're getting stroked by the money-worshiping establishment (boosting ticket sales/hype) and in fact said movies had million plus budgets, again? But they find a way, in providing an uncensored platform for exceptional strides in film, and it's a good ride, usually. This year seemed a smidge subdued due to the frosty, windy weather us Californians aren't used to but have endured lately, and the ceremony is held in a tent, so I can understand. There were some candid gems none the less: Paul Rudd grabbing a handful of Eva Mendes' boob while announcing nominees to a room of impartial drunken clamoring (and then Rosario Dawson returning the grope for the announcement of the winner to more impartial clamoring), Best Documentary winner Exit Through the Gift Shop acceptance speech (believing in dreams is always a prevalent, welcome message), and of course Joel McHale's awkward, endearing, ownership of his gig as host.


It took the evolution of IFC for most to be aware of this event outside the biz (myself included), it's not on a major network channel, not budgeted with excess zeros but that's the whole idea. I still maintain that it should be Pay-Per-View (around $20 with your own IFC/Spirit Awards t-shirt as gift-with purchase), a portion of the proceeds going to a promising indie film up-and-comer or production team or writer. I SO would pay for that, and many purists/enthusiasts would too, for it makes you a practical, legitimate part of the show (puts the 'I' in indie if you care to venture there) and keeps it corporate affiliation free. It was another year for melding the two ever oppositional forces behind movies-To Art or To Bank-closer than ever, and I have good leads on some otherwise under-exposed work worth checking out, so it served it's most redeeming purpose.


Then last nights Oscars, moved at a slightly forced, jaunty, trot with the youthful hosts and whirlwind-y fusion of "old" and "new" Hollywood. There has always been that element of old/new, so it's not that innovative, the Academy is so far rooted in tradition it fails to see the irony in it's attempts to be fresh every year. There's never going to be a "hip" rendition of orchestral swells and fancy designer formal wear once the red carpet has been trod upon. Ain't gonna happen, and no matter who they try to please, it won't please everyone so they need to stick to allowing winners-however obscure to the general public-their time to accept their props. My mom pointed that out, in one of the many texts of fury while we watched, and I agree. Is that not the whole point?


I appreciated most Mila Kunis, Cate Blanchett, Jenifer Lawrence and Gwyneth Paltrow (her look for the night not her rampant pretense) on the fashion front, they nailed the vibe without disappearing within the gowns. The tribute segment DID leave out Corey Haim and a few others unfairly, Anne Hathaway DID need to take it down a few notches with the, "See? I'm the lovable girl-next-door!" cutesy antics. James Franco WAS just plain over it about ten minutes in, but who can blame him? Homeboy is busy with academic ambitions, refreshingly. He's one of the most consistent "youngsters" around acting wise, let him be who he is and continue to produce noteworthy work. Next year go back to utilizing the "older" icons if it's that big of a deal.

I'll admit, I did tear-up at the finale. The adorable children's choir rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow was magical, proving that even as critical observations sprang forth from around the globe, so did a feeling that at the very center, hasn't ever really eluded Oscars/ watchers and all that entails: dreams came true and cultural history was made on this night, and that's worthy of acknowledgement and praise. Yeah it's a little long winded and not as pressing as other current events, but it always strikes a chord of aspirational gratitude and reminds us for a few hours that we're allowed to get lost in vivid colors, twirl about in the fanfare, and enjoy. Living vicariously or not.



I have a slew of movies/documentaries/careers to watch-don't I always-and a slew of opinions on what I have seen and heard, and I'm glad I witnessed it all. I was proud of those that won, relieved for the collective drudgery to be at an end until next year. I have a feeling the two awards shows will forever be tweaking the format and we will forever have our say. And somewhere along the line, for a few moments of a classic movie ballad, the theatre geek in us all will buy into it and sing along, unafraid of any backlash. That's the REAL reason to watch.