I was watching TV this afternoon and I had the luck of tuning one of Seinfeld's funniest episodes, which name I do not know, so I'll reference it by calling it the one in which Elaine goes to the movies to see "The English Patient".
I find this episode particularly funny because I relate to it very much, especially the scene where she goes to the theater with her boss J.Peterman to see the movie for a second time (unknown to him). Back in 1996, I was a frequent cinema goer and I had this tradition of watching most movies with this girlfriend of mine, who was also a big movie fan. I had already seen The English Patient by the time he invited me, but I had asked him for a few favors prior the invitation, and I felt guilty for not going with her, so I kept it to myself and went with her as if it was the first time... knowing exactly what was coming.
At one point in Seinfeld, Elaine yells "Quit telling your #$%& story and DIE already!!", which is something quite close to what I said at some point in the movie when I went with my friend. She looked at me pretty much like J.Peterman looked at Elaine and asked me the exact same question "Don't you like the movie?", to which I replied "no! it's TERRIBLE!" She laughed and said "wow, I think it's terrible too! In fact, I thought you thought it was good and didn't want to say anything....let's get out of there!!"
The English Patient ended up sweeping the Oscars that year and it became known as one of the most overrated movies of all time. I understand that the selection of nominees wasn't too great, with Fargo, Jerry Maguire, Secrets & Lies and Shine competing, but I guess it's one of those never ending topics where the Academy Awards simply hand Oscars out to political well marketed films within Hollywood's territory. Ironically, the best thing in The English Patient -in my opinion- was the one that ended up not winning anything: Kristin Scott Thomas.
1996 was not a particularly good year for movies, but there is one film that stands above The English Patient: Trainspotting. This Danny Boyle gem is the one that has gained praise and glory, featuring a young but powerful performance by Ewan McGregor -another overlooked nomination/award-. I also felt that Woody Harrelson should have won Best Actor, over Geoffrey Rush; I've always had a thing for short screentime, and I guess the fact that Rush was playing the typical "mentally challenged" character, he got al the glory over Woody's perverted Larry Flynt. Quoting Kirk Lazarus from "Tropic Thunder, at least Rush didn't go "full retard".
Another weird year in awards was 1998: the romantic comedy "Shakespeare in love" (which in my opinion is neither romantic nor comedic) also swept most awards, topping more elaborate and complex films like Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line, American History X, The Big Lebowski, Festen, and one of my personal favorites, Life is Beautiful.
Believe me, I have nothing against romantic movies. I praise Casablanca, Dr Zhivago and my beloved Brief Encounter, but Shakespeare in love is a riggidly popcorn formulae movie. There is just nothing inticing about it, less enough to earn awards of any kind. 1998 should have been a year when foreign movies should have triumphed. Either Festen or Life is beautiful were clearly among the best films made that year. LIB is a bit corny, but in the end it's a powerful movie. Also questionable was Gwyneth Paltrow's Oscar over Cate Blanchett (from Elizabeth) or Fernanda Montenegro (from Central Station); competition was tough, and Gwyn is a good actress... but still...
To me, the fact that a movie like Shakespeare in love earns the qualification of "Best Movie" puts me in a thought process that goes like this: you might as well give the Best Movie Award to Armageddon. There's just no difference between them. A similar case can be made with On the waterfront and Marty. One is a classic that cemented Marlon Brando as a legendary presence onscreen, while the other one is... well... what is Marty about anyway?
Growing as a teenager in college, I began to lose interest in the Oscars after the 1996 and 1998 Best films were wrongfully awarded in my opinion. Ever since, I have relied in forums and online communities to choose what film to watch. A couple of nights ago I posted my experience of going to the movies to see "Prometheus", which I was already aware wasn't as good as I thought it would be, so I tried to make the best out of the situation. My friends on the other hand -who weren't as warned as I was- kept regretting every cent spent on the ticket. It made me wonder: "Why even bother to go see the movie?"
There are plenty of other examples on overrated movies and awards, but I'll post them in a future edition. For now, let's try not to donate money to the association of golden hair brushes of filmmakers ;-)
