Oscar!

I love the Oscars, but then I also collect snow globes; I like American kitsch. However, even though I got up at the crack of dawn to watch the nominations in real time (5:30 AM on the west coast) I don’t actually think that the films and actors and actresses and screenplays and what not that got nominated are necessarily the best, or the most interesting, but it’s kind of fun to see who made the cut. The cool thing about watching the nominations live is you get to hear the gasps. Like, when Michael Shannon was nominated for Revolutionary Road. Big gasp.

So let’s talk about Oscar.

I learned today that while Meryl Streep has the most nominations of anybody (15) she has only won twice, which doesn’t seem fair. On the other hand she is Meryl Streep. I would like to see Melissa Leo win Best Actress, because Frozen River was such a complex, intense little film and she comes at it without reserve – I completely believed that she was a broke single mom longing to move up to a double wide. However Kate Winslet will very likely take home the award, and she deserves it – for Revolutionary Road, not The Reader, but that is the strange power of Harvey Weinstein. (Weinstein is the powerhouse Hollywood producer famous for propelling his films into Oscar contention; this time around he is pushing The Reader.) For Best Actor, I just love it that Richard Jenkins got a nod but while his performance in The Visitor was understated and moving, it didn’t require the kind of risk and full throttle commitment that Mickey Rourke brought to The Wrestler. I’m going with Rourke on this one. I’m a big Mickey Rourke fan – if you’re not sure what I mean, Netflix Diner. Or Year of the Dragon. Or Barfly. Skip Wild Orchid, that one is just weird.

Best Picture –well, I can’t get real excited about any of these films. It would have been fun to root for Dark Knight; it seems to me that Hollywood should give a nod to blockbusters now and then. I know people who have a real soft spot for Benjamin Button, but, much as I admire David Fincher I thought the film could have done with some editing. I really enjoyed Slumdog but I am getting tired of all the hype, and that leaves Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Reader; of the three I would probably go with Milk but, if the early odds makers are right (and it is early) Slumdog is the favorite. Damn Brits.

Never mind – the most fun about the Oscars is the nominations, and then the actual show. Especially the pre-game. That can be hilarious. And with Hugh Jackman as host, well, he won’t be funny but he’ll be fun to watch.