Academy Awards – ND #110

A Heart (of a Sort) – Or is this pepper just acting? – Photo: L. Weikel

Academy Awards

I wrote back in February (here and here) about a few of the films we’d watched that were nominated for Best Picture in the Academy Awards. The last time I gave an opinion, I was still rooting for Dune. I was surprised to discover when I checked a few minutes ago that I never ended up writing about Coda. We really liked it, but even if I’d written about it, I probably would’ve still had Dune as my preferred front-runner.

Over this weekend, we tried to stuff in a couple more nominees, if only because it makes watching the Academy Awards more interesting. (Yes, I know, many people no longer even bother to watch them. But we do.)

Licorice Pizza and Belfast

The last two we managed to see before the Oscars were Licorice Pizza and Belfast. To put it succinctly, perhaps my taste is too pedestrian (harkening back to my reaction to The Power of the Dog), but Licorice Pizza was…odd. I tried to like it, but none of the characters spoke to me. I didn’t even actually like the characters, which is crucial, at least for me. And I don’t mean that I have to ‘like’ the characters in the sense that I would want to be their friend or family. I just like to find someone in a movie who intrigues me, makes me want to understand or protect them, or is even such a ‘bad guy’ that they capture my imagination.

For whatever reason, I just couldn’t make heads or tails out of the main characters of Licorice Pizza. In fact, I don’t even understand the title. The best I could guess is that the two flavors just don’t go together. (I won’t explain any further, since I don’t want to spoil it for you if you want to see it and still haven’t.)

I’m so glad we watched Belfast today, though. It gave me a much greater appreciation for the competition and I have to say, it really touched my heart. I know a few of you had recommended Belfast a while back, and now I understand why. When I wrote about wanting to see it (back in February) it was available on Amazon but it was $19.99 and you had to buy it. It’s now rentable on Amazon for $5.99. I guarantee, it is money well spent.

Bizarre Behavior

Finally, we did end up watching the Oscars tonight. We re-watched the utterly bizarre assault by Will Smith on Chris Rock several times. That whole interchange was so bizarre, we kept trying to discern if it was staged.

It was quite obvious that Chris Rock had no idea he was going to get clocked by Smith. And that’s understandable, since Will Smith did not have even the slightest look of disapproval on his face when he heard the joke. (Jada Pinkett Smith had a cloudy expression cross her face, but ?) And quite honestly? I had to think a minute before I even got the joke. Heck – GI Jane was from back in 1997! And when I got it, it didn’t even seem mean – dumb, maybe, but it was simply an allusion to her shaved head.

The Reactions

I’ve been watching the reactions of people online and on Twitter and I find it astonishing that so many people assume that Chris Rock ‘should have known’ that Jada Pinkett Smith has alopecia, a condition that involves hair loss, and that’s why she shaves her head.

Why on earth would Chris Rock be presumed to know that? Do people really think everyone follows every utterance of every so-called ‘famous’ person? She’s a stunning woman – and to me (I didn’t know she had alopecia until tonight either) her shaved head just seemed like a bold fashion statement that could only be carried off by someone both beautiful and confident.

I find it much more deeply disturbing that people are rallying around Smith for his utterly inexcusable and unprovoked assault on live tv, and then vulgar shouted threats at Rock when he returned to his seat. It was a joke. It probably went over the heads of half the people there because they weren’t even born when GI Jane was released. And anyone could see from the delivery that it wasn’t intended as a real cut to Pinkett Smith.

Worst of All

The worst reaction though, in my opinion, was Smith’s truly bizarre tearful ‘acceptance’ speech when he later won for Best Actor. Ew. He didn’t even have the grace to apologize to Chris Rock – which at least would’ve been a step in the right direction. Instead, he tried to justify his behavior as an act of love.

Sorry, but that’s an excuse used all too often in abusive situations. As are the tears. (Let’s remember – he just won for Best Actor, too!) And then capping it off with some baloney about thinking his supposed great talent as an actor makes him a vessel of LOVE?

Please.

The fact that he received a standing ovation after that garbage was appalling. What in the world are we modeling to our children? He is no better than TFG, who infamously said, “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

A little self-restraint, followed up with some humility, would have served him – and the world he thinks he’s here to inspire as a ‘vessel of love’ – far better.

(T+110)