Oscars: The Day After

Well people, it’s over. Awards season has come to a close. Everyone can stop speculating now because we have the answers.

The debate will continue about the pros and cons about The King’s Speech and The Social Network, but the Academy has spoken.

www.lancashire.gov.uk / Flickr

The King’s Speech took home Best Picture, Colin Firth won Best Actor, and Tom Hooper mysteriously won Best Director. They also took home Best Original Screenplay, and I’m not quite sure what to think about this.

You can easily argue that The Social Network should have won all of these awards, except Best Original Screenplay (TSN won Best Adapted Screenplay). I understand that TSN will probably go down as one of the films that defines our generation. I loved the movie, I really did. I agree with those who believe David Fincher should have won Best Director. Tom Hooper seems to have made far fewer decisions that really made the movie than Fincher did. The Sorkin/Fincher team turned a story about nerds and computers and business decisions into a compelling story of friendship and loyalty with more than a hint of social commentary.

Jesse Eisenberg was also a popular choice for Best Actor, but when compared to Colin Firth I don’t really see it. This is nothing against Jesse, as I think he’s a wonderful actor and a fantastic human being, and he clearly put his best effort into making this movie. And his performance, along with Andrew Garfield’s, was what made this movie so spectacular. They were spellbinding. But Colin Firth is flawless. He was the perfect Bertie. I genuinely can’t think of anyone else who could have pulled the part off as well as he did. He and Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter are basically British acting royalty, and they have brilliant on-screen chemistry. Firth’s fake stutter along with the sheer emotion he brought to the part made him the best choice for actor.

When it comes down to Best Picture, I truly believe it’s a matter of personal taste. I have a weird love for historical movies, and few things are as wonderful as WWII Britain. I love Facebook and hate Mark Zuckerberg as much as the next person, but The King’s Speech was just beautiful. I know people who will be bitter forever about this win, but as Steven Spielberg pointed out, some of the most brilliant and culturally defining movies didn’t win Best Picture in their time.

Quickly through some of the other awards of the night:

Melissa Leo is crazy. After campaigning for a win, she seemed overly shocked to have actually won. I mean really, woman, pull it together. She took Kirk Douglas’s cane to walk off stage. That’s just weird. And, to be perfectly honest, I wanted this award to go to Hailee Steinfeld. The more times I see this girl the more I like her. She has more poise than Melissa Leo…not that that’s saying much. One other side note: where was the nomination for Mila Kunis, people?

Now, I didn’t actually ever manage to see The Fighter, so I can’t be sure she didn’t deserve the award. I also can’t be sure about Christian Bale’s win for Best Supporting Actor. I loved Geoffrey Rush, hated Mark Ruffalo, and can’t pass judgment on the other nominees. I’ve always loved Christian Bale (or Jesus Bale, as we’re calling him these days), so I’m inclined to be okay with this win.

Of course the other story behind this Oscar night was the hosts. Anne Hathaway and James Franco, the youngest hosts. In my opinion, they were entertaining. She carried all the weight, and at times she got a little too crazy. The suggestions that James Franco was smoking weed backstage have already begun based on how clueless he seemed the whole night. However, I will say that I absolutely loved their intro video. “You’ve been INCEPTIONED,” and Morgan Freeman saying Alec Baldwin likes him to narrate his dreams are just so wonderful and entertaining that I wonder why no one thought of this concept sooner.

In other news, can Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law host next year?

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This post was also published on my personal blog, The View From My Bed.