David Edelstein and Lynda Obst
Well. That is rather hurtful.
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StumbleUponLet's go back to being nice, OK? Those people can get their own columns and we'll post nasty things on their sites.
Actually, I have a large number of supportive e-mails. R. Herzog says: "Loved it! You and Lynda are great. Don't worry about the 'Fray.'" And Emma Waterhouse writes: "You two are the funniest, sexiest, most delightful couple since Nick and Nora. Please write more!"
Well, OK, I made Emma Waterhouse up, but R. Herzog exists and there are others where he came from.
And I think the reason Jennifer Mendelsohn got more marriage proposals than you, Lynda, is that you mentioned a kid, and you know what a can of worms that is.
Before I sign off, I want to mention that my vote for the best awards organization goes not to the Oscars but to the Silver Lenas of Toronto, Canada. They have some extra categories that the staid Academy never thought of. Most important, there's both a "best" category and a "coolest" category--a useful distinction. This year's "coolest" prize went to South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut--which was actually my choice for the best film of the year. (But think of the ridicule I'd have been spared if I'd had a "coolest" category.) Other coolest winners were Cate Blanchett in Ripley and Janeane Garofalo in Mystery Men (a movie I thought I was alone in liking). In the categories Best History, Most Underrated, and the Eric Stoltz's Head Award for Widescreen Composition, the Silver Lena winner was the magnificent The Iron Giant.
Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace was named the year's worst film, while the Most Overrated prize went to American Beauty. Something called the Big Mallet That Goes Bok-Bok Award--my favorite category name of all time--went to Eyes Wide Shut. The Silver Lena press release adds that "Nicolas Cage achieved a remarkable feat when his performance in 8mm was presented with both Most Underplayed Role and Most Overplayed Role; the first time such a thing had happened. As more than one voter said, 'Those who endured the movie should understand.'"
That's great criticism.
Now then. Where do you and I stand on the Oscars?
We think, along with everyone else, that American Beauty will win big. But I like Cider House Rules best of all the nominees and will hold out a slim hope. (My feelings have nothing to with the DreamWorks vs. Miramax feud.)
We think Kevin Spacey will win. You prefer Denzel Washington; I have greater affection for Richard Farnsworth and Sean Penn. But Spacey, we both agree, was the cat's pajamas. (Oh, I forgot to mention, the Silver Lenas gave the Best Animal prize to the psychic cat in Go.)
We think Annette will snag it. In truth, I think Hilary Swank deserves it more but I won't be unhappy to see Bening with that statuette, especially if Roberto Benigni's broken body lies nearby.
We don't know about the Supporting Actor category, but your casting-agent friend says it's Tom Cruise. We think it could be Osment or Caine. I think they're all deserving in this category except for Michael Clark Duncan, but I blame the bum role, not the actor. (And I want to mention John C. Riley, Peter Skarsgaard, Christopher Plummer, and Peter Fonda in The Limey as being plausible nominees. Great category.)
We think Angelina Jolie is DA BOMB. Chloë Sevigny and Toni Collette are also superb and deserving, but it's Jolie who's the force of nature.
We think Sam Mendes is a lock.
We'd like to see my old Hebrew-school chum (er, I think) Charlie Kaufman get it for Being John Malkovich. And although we didn't talk about it, I'd be happy with either Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor for Election or John Irving for Cider House.
We have not eliminated world hunger or deposed Rudy Giuliani in the "Breakfast Table" this week. But it seems to me that if--thanks to your lobbying of the Zanucks--more drunken exhibitionists are allowed the time and space to make fools of themselves on Oscar night, or if Annette Bening's child is born with no physical (or mental) trauma at the hands of Roberto Benigni, then we'll have contributed something of lasting value to society. Can the Mendelsohns say that?
XXX
David
on the Fray
Is the Democrats' Health Care Fight a "Prisoner's Dilemma" or a "Battle of the Sexes"?
Sorry, the Iranian Regime Isn't Going To Collapse Anytime Soon
How Vegetative Patients Really Communicate With the Scientists Who Scan Their Brains
The Minstrel Origins of the Phrase "Who Dat?"
Why We Shouldn't Bother Cleaning Up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
No Director Has Done More With Rubble Than Roberto Rossellini
Reader Response from The Fray (to be read after the final Breakfast Table entry):
After reading the last month or so of Breakfast Table banter, I am struck by how unwilling participants are to ruffle each other's feathers. I mean, am I the only one who thinks that David should take Lynda to task for Hope Floats (or Sleepless in Seattle?). Maybe its just in bad taste to get involved in a flame war before lunch, but some honest criticism isn't a bad thing. Please, can't we not get along?
--Michael Craven
(To reply, click here.)
[Other Fray readers agreed, and David Edelstein responded:]
Lynda and I were asked to discuss the Oscars and certain peripheral issues in the entertainment world; I'm very, very happy she agreed to do it. (Think of the last time you read literate, off-the-cuff musings of a Hollywood executive.) This is not the place to go after seven-year-old movies (or even to praise a great nine-year-old one, The Fisher King). Cyberarguments can provide lots of bloody spectacle and fun, I've never shied away from one, but should they be started for no reason?
[Read stunningly polite responses from two of the original complainants, and follow the thread in more detail, here. This discussion brought the welcome re-appearance in The Fray of the star of last week's "Breakfast Table", Jennifer Mendelsohn. Click here for her views on the mean-spirited quibbling that goes on in every cyber-forum. And guess who wants to marry you this week, Jennifer...click here to find out.]
Oscar's biggest problem these last few years is its quest for taste. And it should really stop that right now. I watch the Oscars to see people with more money than me spend it horribly. I want to see not just ugly clothes, but fashion roadkill. It's not that I think that interpretive tap to the Private Ryan theme song is tasteless; it's just not tasteless enough. I will never forget the glee I felt when Rob Lowe and Snow White sang Proud Mary. The phone started ringing right away--it was a communal moment. That's what Oscar needs. More moments with Rob, Snow White, and the dancing tables doing a kick line behind them. I can get bad Riverdance numbers from my local PBS station, but only Oscar had Teri Garr do a salute to aviation dance number. Let Oscar do what it does best. Let it be tacky. Please.
--Dea
(To reply, click here.)
If the Supporting Actor Award is the kiss of death, couldn't we give it to Tom Cruise?
--Old Timer
(To reply, click here.)
David: Given that you and Lynda agree that winners should be allowed to be garrulous and weird in their acceptance speeches, why don't you applaud Roberto Benigni's whacked-out performance last year? Yes, I know, you believe that the man is at best a dangerous ignoramus, at worst an anti-Semitic goon. But even assuming all of that is true (which I doubt, but that's a different discussion), he's still just a clown for heaven's sake. A goofball, a buffoon, a jester. So what's the deal?
--Russell
(To reply, click here.)
[To read more from David Edelstein on the subject, click here.]
Hilary Swank as dumb as a post [see Monday's entry]? In the interview I heard this weekend on NPR with her and director Kimberly Peirce, she was brilliant.
--Sarah Brown
(To reply, click here.)
To Sarah Brown: The smart one in that (excellent) Fresh Air interview was Peirce. Swank did typical actor-speak. Isn't it hilarious that Swank has to get the words "my husband" into the first two minutes of every interview?
--David Edelstein
(To reply, click here.)
To David: I noted but didn't find it "hilarious" that she mentioned her husband. I was startled to find myself thinking of this actor as a soft, feminine wifely sort. Frankly, it's in her interest to avoid typecasting at this stage of her career. When an obscure actor is suddenly famous for a single highly distinctive role, there's the risk that the audience will confuse the actor with the character, which would bode poorly for her career. I think pragmatism, not homophobia, is what's going on.
And, actually, Peirce sounded like a doctrinaire grad student, the one who won't shut up in seminars.
--David Fellerath
(To reply, click here.)
On Monday Edelstein mentioned the new season of the Sopranos, and how it has struggled to make a showing. He goes on to say, however, that the newer episodes seem to be improving. What I'm thinking, with the second season already close to its end, is that it has sucked and I'm seriously pissed--or in FraySpeak, 'it has been unrewarding thus far, and has left me smoldering with animosity.'
--Broham
(To reply, click here.)
[Your Fray Editor likes the idea of FraySpeak, but has not noticed any Fray participants understating or sanitizing their views.]
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