Turns out there's concern in some quarters that this year's Oscars telecast could be one of the lowest-rated ever. And I'll admit the reasons make sense: No mega blockbusters a la Titanic; many of this year's top contenders are limited-release films that most people haven't seen; the lead acting awards are thought to be suspense-free locks for Forest Whitaker and Helen Mirren; and, at least for me, a special performance by Celine Dion holds about as much appeal as Rob Lowe and Snow White singing "Proud Mary."
No matter. I'll be watching no matter what. The Oscars are still maybe our greatest intersection of art and pop culture, and it also feels watching a bit of history -- "Academy Award-winning motion picture" carries more cachet than, say, "Grammy Award-winning song" or "Tony Award-winning musical." And although I don't get into the red-carpet fashion watch all that much, I do love the drama of the stars playing themselves, racing to thank their agents before their 45 seconds are up and the orchestra starts playing.
And, of course, don't forget to fire up the laptop during the telecast to join in the running commentary right here! 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25. Bring it on!
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2 comments:
Thanks for remembering the Rob Lowe & Snow White moment. Made me laugh.
However, I would anticipate a repeat of that performance with atmospheric joy compared to Dion.
Celine Dion?!? Yowzers. Thanks for warning me about that.
I definitely plan to watch. Other than the years that the Lord of the Rings movies were nominated, I usually have little interest in the Oscars because the nominated films are either too artsy-fartsy, too over-rated, or just didn't get released locally.
But, for some reason this year is different. I've been obsessed with seeing Oscar movies this year. For once, a higher majority of the films struck some appeal and/or curiosity in me. Not all of them were that great, but I had fun seeing some other really good movies that, in normal years, I might have skipped.
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