Quick Oscar Wrap-Up

Not much to say about last night’s Oscars, as there weren’t too many big surprises, save for one or two. Pretty much everything else has been discussed ad nauseam  in previous posts about the nominations. Nevertheless, I owe it to my readers to give a few brief thoughts: 

• I went 10 for 15 in the categories for which I made predictions. I’ll take it.
• The biggest surprise of the evening, in my opinion, was actually Meryl Streep winning Best Actress for The Iron Lady. You might be saying, “Meryl Streep winning an Oscar? How is that a surprise?” Nevertheless, it was, as Viola Davis (The Help) seemed to be the clear favorite to take home the trophy. But it was Streep who swooped in and grabbed the award (shockingly, it was only her third win despite 17 nominations), accepting it with class and humor. The Iron Lady was a pretty lackluster movie, in my opinion, but Streep was of course stellar. Without her, that movie would have had exactly zero redeeming qualities.
• Best Actor was really a toss-up between George Clooney (The Descendants) and Jean Dujardin (The Artist). Between The Ides of March (which Clooney also directed) and The Descendants, 2011 was a big year for Clooney, and I ended up thinking that it might culminate in an Oscar win for him. But the evening really belonged toThe Artist, as it took home the Best Actor prize for Dujardin as well as (among others) Best Original Score and of course Best Picture. Perhaps that will be the last silent film that will even win Best Picture (one would think).
• Nice to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo win something. Film editing is not a glamorous thing but speaks to the technical prowess with which that film was made.
• Billy Crystal’s best moment was the “what everyone is thinking” bit, especially with respect to Martin Scorsese and Nick Nolte. That being said, Crystal was a solid host as always.
• What was up with Angelina Jolie’s leg? It actually has its own Twitter account now.
• The cast from Bridesmaids, normally hilarious, had quite an awkward time when they presented awards.

I came out of 2011 thinking it was one of the weaker cinematic years (as far as Best Picture noms go) in recent memory. Could that just be because 2010 was so great (Inception, Black Swan, The Social Network, 127 Hours)? Perhaps, but I hope we see a stronger Best Picture lineup next year.

That’s all I have for now (before the inaugural Tommy D Awards, which are coming soon…). Feel free to share your thoughts on the Oscars in the comments section.