The fancy clothes. The pretty faces. The little gold men. No, I'm not talking about THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL! On February 22nd, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences launches perhaps the most inappopriately bling-y of all the self-congratulatory award ceremonies of all time--THE 2009 OSCARS!
What excitements await on Oscar night? Watch as Brangelina tries to adopt one of the Octomom's babies on the red carpet! Thrill at the awkward exchanges between Mickey Rourke, his latest labradoodle and Billy Bush! Exalt in the presence of the greatest song-and-dance man from Down Under, Hugh Jackman, as he smiles his way through a four-hour parade of Bernie Madoff victims! Oh, please excuse me while I tuck my cynicism back into its beaded clutch bag. Aren't the Oscars about having fun? I think so. Ready to have some FUN? Can I get a YES?
What we are really going to do is indulge in a little fantasy, the same fantasy that our friend Hollywood has been perpetuating for decades--that on this little patch of sunshine perched atop a rapidly-shifting volcanic fault at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, dreams come true, regardless of the economy, regardless of wars and hunger and world-wide strife. Somewhere there is a Slumdog Millionaire who gets the girl AND the money; somewhere there's a wrestler who gets a second chance (or a third or a fourth); somewhere there's a clown-faced villain with the heart of a philosopher who can take a city by the throat but isn't allowed to threaten its very existence by virtue of a guilt-ridden rich kid with a jones for bats; somewhere an old man gets younger with each day of life's experience . . . who's to say these things aren't happening in some corner of this mixed-up planet?
In this day and age, when getting through the day is a Spartanesque struggle for most people, Hollywood still offers an escape. What movies helped you get through the ups and downs of this year? Who do you want to see take home the statuette? Do you even care about the Oscars or is the glitz and glamour losing some of its lustre in this recession? Or, as happened during other difficult times in American history, does this golden boy and his many ardent admirers give us the only glimpse of restorative, imaginative rest from the assembly line of hard work, tact and patience that life has us on now?
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Show Must Go On!
Enough about those two jerks already
Caught with the trees in their backyards
hahahahaha
Two old men cutting down some trees in a tiny town in New Jersey might be less important even.
What could be less important?
I don't care for football anymore either. But I don't find watching hollywood to be escapism. Just another bunch of people who are out of touch with reality and have no clue what life is like in the real world. Similar to investment bankers.
Those of us who are happy for a break from watching aging juveniles fight over pig skin, get arrested for carrying guns, killing animals, and injecting illegal drugs. Ahhh, an evening of escapism. Go glamor!
Who gives a ---- which overpaid egomaniac wins a dust collector?
Here's to escapism and the hunky Hugh! Nothing like the red carpet and Winston jewels to help bridge the dreary end of winter to the promise of spring. And the envelope says..........!