February 2008 Archives

If you look at this year's Oscar nominees, you'll notice a lack of comedies on the list. It looks like the Academy tossed Juno in there as a bone to those who don't go to the movies to see psychopathic killers, and yet the Academy will inevitably choose the psychopathic killer. The other comedies in the mix got relegated, as usual, to categories such as sound editing and animated feature (i.e., the deserving Ratatouille).

Why is this the case? Why does Oscar favor certain "types" of movies? Why wasn't Knocked Up nominated for anything? It has excellent acting and writing. They should have at least nominated Paul Rudd for best supporting actor. Why Tom Wilkinson over him? (Has anyone even seen Michael Clayton?) Or what about Amy Adams in Enchanted? I haven't seen it yet, but, given the Disney genre, the Academy probably wouldn't dream of nominating it for any "real" awards. It must not be "serious" enough. (Even though Julie Andrews won as Mary Poppins back in the day.)

I know it's a grave joke in Hollywood that you have to play a character with a mental illness or an addiction of some kind to get the gold statuette. But it shows the Academy's severe myopia. Of course there are exceptions (It Happened One Night, Annie Hall), but apparently only ten comedies have won since the Oscars began 80 years ago (that's 1/8 overall). And the ones that made it could be sub-categorized as smart and/or dark comedies. No Will Ferrell nomination for Elf, brilliant as it was.

The Academy Awards need to be divided like the Golden Globes. They need to have action/drama separate from musical/comedy. Bob Hope, a long-time host, had this to say about the Oscars: "They don't recognize comedies. They don't have a comedy category. I have two Oscars and a plaque and a gold medal from the academy, but I never won for acting."

Good comedies are harder to make than good dramas. The delivery of the lines is more nuanced. The timing is more complicated. Overall, it's much more difficult to be funny than to be serious. As Steve Martin said, "Onions make you cry, but they have yet to invent a vegetable that makes you laugh."

With all this said, the Oscars aren't really all that important. Will Ferrell, whatever happens in reality, you'll always be an Oscar-winner in my heart.

This article in the New York Times breaks down the issues that the next president will have to deal with regarding the tax system. None of the candidates have given us a complete picture of how they will balance the budget, and the problems are compounded by the coming Social Security and Medicare crisis. It seems like taxes used to be a big election issue back in the 80's, at least during the first election that I remember in 1988 ("read my lips, no new taxes"). But now we have some serious problems looming, and the only candidate who seems to be giving taxes a full platform is Mike Huckabee. (And his proposal of the fair tax would face a lot of obstacles in Washington.) We need someone who will balance the budget: Mike Bloomberg, where are you?

I'm just puttin' this picture up so I'll have it in the archives. Everyone, watch the Stewart/Colbert/Conan brawl from Monday night, on their respective shows. It'll make you believe again in the power of physical force to solve this nation's problems.