Review: HBO's 'Girls' screams hipster

Lena Dunham has created a show that makes you say, “Look at this fucking hipster.” The 25-year-old writer/director/creator and star of HBO’s ‘Girls’ tries to portray four 20-something women girls living in New York City trying to make sense of their lives and this crazy world. However the problems and relationships she creates for these characters is not of that of a 25-year-old but rather an 18-year-old. From taking bubble baths with your BFF while eating cupcakes and complaining about boys the one dimensional girl she’s trying to be makes me laugh. The show starts out with her girl going to dinner with her parents who abruptly tell her that after years of giving her a monthly allowance of 1200 dollars they are cutting her off. Completely blindsided she spits out how they should be so lucky they she didn’t turn out to be a drug addict, although addiction is treatable and being a spoiled hipster brat has no recovery program. Furious, the next day at her internship she asks to be promoted so she can make money, but instead she is let go.

Now what is she going to do? How will she ever find a job in New York City? Her super smart BFF tells her that she need not degrade herself and work at McDonald’s or any kind of place of servitude but to ask her parents to uncut her off for just a little bit longer, until her book of essays gets published, which I’m sure will only take like another month or two. In between the money problems, her parents and awesome bestie, her boyfriend – who isn’t really her boyfriend, just a sex buddy – treats her like shit, and fucks her like a whore and never texts her back, which she loves complaining about, but that’s just totally the way he is and she's fine with it.

As a 25-year-old white female living in the city, I have to say this demographic is not geared towards me in the slightest. I remember the days with asshole boyfriends, begging my parents for money, and stomping around irresponsibly until I got my way, but then again high school was so long ago. This show is nothing but a hipster delusion. Having already been picked up for a second season, maybe viewership will lose steam or at least change the setting to a high school. Otherwise, the show ‘Girls’ falls flat on its face which is so totally embarrassing.

Come What May - Dissecting the Romantic Comedy

Two people meet, they fall in love, something bad happens, they fight or break-up and then they realize the error of their ways and live happily ever after. I pretty much dissected the romantic comedy in that one sentence, but when it comes to making a truly great romantic comedy, there’s more to it than that besides the slutty/fat/playboy/insecure best friend. Earlier today I saw The Five-Year Engagement with Jason Segel and Emily Blunt. I was expecting a lot more laughs than what I saw, but I did think the movie was cute. Basically Tom and Violet meet and fall in love, he proposes, and sometime later Violet has to move to Michigan for her dream job for two years. Problems ensue as Tom leaves his dream job of being the head chef for a new restaurant and is having a lousy time adjusting. To sum it up, they get into a fight, they break-up, eventually realizing they’re meant to be and *spoiler alert* get married! YAY!

Overall I thought the movie was cute, which is pretty much an archetypal way to describe a good rom-com isn’t it? Cute isn’t enough though. In 10, 20, 50 years of movie history are people going to look back and remember The Five-Year Engagement? I don’t think so. (Sorry Jason Segel, I still love you dearly.) What will you remember? Josie Grossie, Come what may, I wrote you every day for a year. That’s what will still resonate. No matter how many times the E! Channel plays Never Been Kissed I find myself enthralled in watching it, because it’s still exciting and heartbreaking to see Drew Barrymore waiting on the pitcher’s mound for Michael Vartan, and after the time runs out he comes running onto the field like Prince Charming. Dreamy sighs can still be heard. Let’s take a moment.

Never Been Kissed has everything. The slow clap, multiple self-realization speeches, funny asides, and finally the kiss. The kiss that makes everything comes together in a wonderful way. There are many rom-coms that get it wrong though. Not in a ‘cute’ way either. Sometimes they can be so commonplace and formulaic, or to put it more simply, way too cheesy. Just Like Heaven is a perfect example. Despite Mark Ruffalo and Reese Witherspoon’s cuteness factor the plot is so moronic that even The Room has a more balanced structure. (Well, at least The Room is funnier.) Basically from what I recall, she’s an uptight doctor who has no time for fun. She then gets into a car accident on her way to a blind date and goes into a coma, and her spirit returns to her apartment. Mark Ruffalo is the new renter and only he can see her. In a nutshell, he helps her get back into her body before they pull the plug. They also fall in love. She also wakes up, having never actually met him, mind you, but remembers who he is from the spirit realm and they end up together. The kicker is he was the blind date she was driving to meet when she got into the car accident. It was so meant to be! Unfortunately I cannot type out an eye roll.

I could talk about every movie under the sun that I think is a really great romantic comedy, but that would just get repetitive. So instead, here are my top 3 non-traditional, underrated or well done rom-coms.

1)    The Switch (2010) – Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston

Rotten Tomatoes rating – 51%

Box Office Gross – 27 million

When you watch the trailer for this movie I will say it is very misleading. I watched the trailers for all three of my favorite rom-coms and that was something I found with all of them. If you’ve seen it you most likely went in thinking it was going to be some hilarious comedy about Jason Bateman switching his sperm for the donor Jennifer Aniston was going to use to impregnate herself with. Antics would ensue, and in the end they’d end up being one big happy family. Yes, this did happen, but not in the way that critics and viewers probably thought it would. Instead, I found it to be a much better-rounded movie, with brilliant performances from Bateman, Aniston and all the supporting cast. It was completely heartwarming, which sounds clichéd but I actually felt a warmth after having watched it. Jason’s character Wally, is so in love with his best friend Kassie, and even though they are adults in their 30’s/40’s he’s still afraid to tell her how he feels. It sounds like a cop out, but it’s not. The way he portrays the neurotic Wally is very Jason Bateman like, but he gives him this extreme vulnerability that makes you think of how hard it was to tell the person you love how you feel, whether you were dating or not. I know I’ve been there. One of the rules in Hollywood is don’t work with kids. This kid should be the exception. Thomas Robinson, who should be getting more work soon I hope, is maddeningly adorable as Sebastian, Kassie and Wally’s son. It wasn’t just portrayed as a kid who’s neurotic like Wally, and he wasn’t a sidebar in a movie that was about Wally and Kassie. Wally was not only madly in love with Kassie, he fell madly in love with this kid, his son, and it was beautiful. A bulk of the movie was about a father bonding with his son, the love part came later, but everything ended up happily ever after. If you want to see a real romantic comedy, this should be on the top of your list.

2)    Shallow Hal (2001) – Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow

Rotten Tomatoes rating – 51%

Box Office Gross – 70.8 million

Another big determinate for a romantic comedy for me is heart, and even though it may not seem like it, this movie is chock full of it. It may seem like another Jack Black-esque comedy with lame, old jokes we’ve heard before. Also being a Farrelly brothers movie, some might not really call it a romantic comedy, since they are the creators of some of the greatest comedies of all time, but this movie teaches an important lesson. Yes, we’ve all heard this lesson before. Beauty is on the inside and you shouldn’t judge people by the way they look, which is all true. Some people may think that this is just another crazy Jack Black movie and for that may not even give it the time of day, but I promise that Black’s subdued performance is one of his best, and teaches us to not judge anyone for their appearance. Cheesy, but that’s a romantic comedy for you. Even after he finds out how “ugly” Rosemary is, he still misses her and sweeps her off her feet, not literally, and they live happily ever after. You wouldn’t think that Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow would have great chemistry, but they do, and this movie deserves a chance, or another try.

3)    Down With Love (2003) – Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor

Rotten Tomatoes rating – 60%

Box Office Gross – 20.2 million

This is my last attempt to steer you in the right direction for the best romantic comedies, and I wanted to end on a high note. First of all, this movie has Ewan McGregor.

Okay, now that you’ve let that sink in, this movie has a wonderfully fantastic twist. I will not divulge what it is, because I know a lot of you out there probably haven’t seen it, but basically the movie is set in ‘60s era New York and Barbara Novak is getting her first book published, Down With Love, as a how to guide for women to become more like men, and have sex without love, because love is a messy, complicated little thing isn’t it? Catcher Block is a handsome ladies man, who is also the top journalist for Know, the magazine for men in the know. His plan is to go undercover and scoop Barbara Novak by making her fall in love. Do they, don’t they? Go see this movie and find out for yourself. Besides the hilariously silly puns and the beautiful set and costume design, this movie is about love. It’s as simple as that.

Honorable Mention: The Break-Up (2006) – Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn  

Rotten Tomatoes rating – 34%

Box Office Gross – 118.6 million

Money wise, this is a successful movie, but critically it wasn’t. The biggest complaint and kind of spoiler alert about this movie I heard was; “The movie was fine, but they didn’t get back together and that pissed me off!” “What movie was this?” “The Break-Up.” (BLANK STARE.) I get it, everyone is always supposed to live happily ever after, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. It almost never happens, so the fact the writers were bold enough to go against the mold and not put them back together is noble. I love that about this movie because even though they loved each other, they weren’t meant to be together, and that is always hard, and that is real. Sometimes it’s nice to see something real for a change.

My last plea and aforementioned message is you shouldn’t judge a romantic comedy by its cover. They’re all different and the same. I believe that heart, hilarity, and the overall message make a great romantic comedy, and the relationships established, whether believable or not should be honest, and have electrifying chemistry. Because come what may, I will love you to my dying day.

Jim Carrey Should Be an Oscar Winner

Ever since I can remember I’ve wanted to make people laugh. I’ve wanted to write, act, direct, but from the youngest age I remember wanting to put a smile on everyone’s face. The reason for this is because of one man. He will always be my idol and inspiration for everything I want to achieve in life. Yeah, the guy that talked out of his ass and sold a dead bird to a blind kid. He’s also the guy who embodied the soul and mind of Andy Kaufman in an utterly mind blowing performance. He’s the guy who ran all over his quickly erasing memory to remember the love of his life, and to get her back. He’s the guy who should’ve won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a man named Truman Burbank, and this is why I believe Jim Carrey deserves that golden statue.

Recently I found myself watching Inside the Actor’s Studio with Jim Carrey. I felt ashamed for forgetting how amazing he is. While in recent years he hasn’t put out his best work, (*excluding the fascinatingly beautiful I Love You Philip Morris) it certainly doesn’t deter away from the fact he has been robbed of this award. He won a Golden Globe for Best Actor for The Truman Show and for Man on the Moon. (*Truman was in the Drama category while *Man was in the Musical/Comedy category) Despite being nominated and winning two years in a row, he was completely snubbed by the Academy both times. Even though his portrayal of Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon should’ve gotten him an Oscar prospect, there was some hard competition in the 2000 Oscar race, and still didn’t stand a chance against Alan Ball’s American Beauty. Even though it’s been a little overrated over the years Kevin Spacey’s remarkable performance couldn’t be beat that year. He was also nominated again in 2005 for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by the Golden Globes, but even if the Academy had nominated him Jamie Foxx’s portrayal of Ray Charles in the biopic Ray was a shoe in to win and no match up was going to beat him. This is why the fact he didn’t win or get nominated for his performance in The Truman Show is a tragic mistake on the Academy’s end.

Here were the Golden Globe nominees in 1999 for Best Actor in a Dramatic Role.

Wilde: Stephen Fry

Saving Private Ryan: Tom Hanks

Gods and Monsters: Ian McKellen

Affliction: Nick Nolte

The Truman Show: Jim Carrey

While most people were expecting Hanks to win, Carrey took home the Globe and the Hollywood Foreign Press knew how deserving he was of this. As a whole The Truman Show is one of the most perfect movies to date. The structure, story, score, acting is superb. One of the most riveting scenes is a crazed Truman driving a frightened Meryl around the city trying to leave but being stopped at every turn. Before I move on, here were the nominees and the winner of the 1999 Academy Awards.

Winner – Life is Beautiful: Roberto Benigni

Saving Private Ryan: Tom Hanks

Gods and Monsters: Ian McKellen

Affliction: Nick Nolte

American History X: Edward Norton

Hanks, McKellen and Nolte were in the Globe running too. Instead of Stephen Fry the Academy nominated Edward Norton. His performance was most likely too controversial to grab a win. Then put into various lists of many winners over the years that shouldn’t have really won the award, Roberto Benigni took home the Oscar. Through a lot of blogs and articles Benigni’s win was described as unjust being that he was the obscure curveball in the group. It’s always nice that the smaller, more gracious performances get recognized, but unless they are truly superior they shouldn’t win.

Not even nominating Jim Carrey was a horrific mistake. It has been known throughout the years the Academy Awards are driven with politics and a strong love for dramatic performances. Only being 12 at the time I wasn’t as engrossed in the awards season as today. Perhaps Jim failed to promote his performance in a suitable way the Academy would’ve deemed reputable. Recently Monique famously did not promote herself except by promoting how anti-Academy she was, and still took home the Best Supporting Actress prize. The Academy has also been allergic to comedians and comedies, except when fellow In Living Color alum Jamie Foxx won for Ray. With this past year it gives hope that the Academy has lifted the Comedy Curse, with multiple nominations and winners with strong comedic backgrounds. Bridesmaids was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress. Groundlings alum Nat Faxon and Community co-star Jim Rash won with Alexander Payne for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Descendants. So the question is what the hell happened in 1999?

My guess is Carrey’s tongue in cheek approach to awards season, (which I can only guess because of his acceptance speeches from the Globes) or his unpredictability at the awards could’ve scared them off. Granted Carrey has put on some ridiculous, but still hilarious stunts at other venues, namely the MTV Movie Awards. Jim has won the most in the history of the MTV Movie Awards, with 11 wins including the MTV Generation Award. Even Truman Burbank got a MTV movie award, but despite this Carrey never did anything so over the top to cause a huge controversy. Trey Parker and Matt Stone showed up in dresses and on acid when their song “Blame Canada” was nominated for Best Song. Sacha Baron Cohen has caused plenty of problems for the Academy red carpet, with his most recent stunt pouring the “ashes” of Kim Jong-Il all over Ryan Seacrest. At the time was Jim too much of a gamble to take, and they felt he wouldn’t have taken the ceremony as seriously as it should’ve been? Obviously they were afraid because there is no way that it was because of the performance. The movie grossed over 125 million, so popularity wasn’t an issue either. The Truman Show has a 95% critical rating on rottentomatoes.com, making it his highest rated movie according to the website. (*His highest rated work is actually a 30 minute documentary about the work of Michel Gondry, so in this case that is omitted.) Eternal Sunshine is right behind with a 93% rating, and although Man on the Moon ranks at only 62% the audience ranked it at 74%.

So through the box office, the critics and the facts I have given proof that Jim Carrey’s performance was critically and widely received. Maybe sometime in the future Jim will finally get a golden statue. He’s been deserving of this for a long time. Even though Dumb and Dumber is not the typical Academy choice, I believe his work in it is one of his greatest to date as well. Why shouldn’t it be? Melissa McCarthy shit in a sink and got a Best Supporting Actress nomination. There was one scene in the movie, small, and definitely not the most widely talked about throughout the past 18 years, but it truly solidified for me how great of an artist Jim Carrey is. When he’s leaving the bar near the end of the movie to go find Mary’s house, he looks up at an old newspaper replica of the moon landing. He shakes his head and quietly says; “No way, that’s great…” opens the doors and loudly shouts, “WE LANDED ON THE MOON!” That whole part was improvised because Jim happened to look up and see the picture on the wall. My point is, if he puts that much creativity, vigor, and character into Dumb and Dumber, think just for a second what he probably did during his time making The Truman Show. This is why Jim Carrey should have an Oscar on his mantle, and even though he doesn’t, I have full confidence that one day he will.

Miley Cyrus Parks in a Handicapped Space - People Are Grossed Out

Earlier this week Miley Cyrus was seen leaving her Mercedes SL550 in the handicapped parking spot outside the pilates class she was going into. Most people's reactions to this have been things such as...

"I hate when able-bodies people do that!"
"what a tool."
"Jerk."

I get it, but she's a celebrity! It's so totally okay for her to park there. I mean, when you think about it, do you see a lot of handicapped people doing pilates? That's what I thought. Let the little pothead have the space for the hour. Who cares? I mean she's obviously totally awesome and cool. Here's a couple pictures from dailymail.

I mean let's face it, pilates is super strenuous and maybe her tiny Cyrus legs couldn't handle walking across a whole parking lot. Parking there was probably just way more convenient, and she probably thought since people think she's retarded it's like the same. Oh but it is not the same Hannah Montana. You know better Smokey Cyrus. I don't even care if she had gotten a ticket (sources confirm she did not.) I would've loved to see a guy in a wheelchair coming up to her while she was getting out of the car. That would've been my version of sweet revenge. It's like going to the bathroom and thinking about going into the handicapped stall, but realizing if you did and someone came in right after you with a wheelchair you'd look and feel like a total douchebag.

So I guess there are two lessons to be learned from here today. 1) Don't park in the handicapped space, and 2) This...

Adam Sandler's Comeback?

Is Adam Sandler making a creative comeback? When you think of Sandler and the word 'comeback' you may ask yourselves, well he hasn't really left, but he has been making a lot of shitty movies. Upon seeing the newly released red band trailer for his movie, That's My Boy, (with a Father's Day release) I had a renewed faith in him, that I haven't had in a very long time.

The movie is about a man, (Sandler), who gets into some trouble with the IRS and unless he can pay over $40,000 in back taxes, he's going to go to jail. Then he sees an article about his estranged son, (Andy Samberg), who is now rich, and getting married. This guy immediately comes off as a douchebag because he's on the next flight to reconnect with his son, but really he's there to borrow the money. You can watch the trailer below.

Judging by the trailer the movie looks promising. Most likely it's going to get an R rating, and the last Sandler movie with an R was Funny People, which was more of a Judd Apatow vehicle than a true Adam Sandler movie. Also the problem with Funny People was that it wasn't good. I've heard some people make their case for it, but there were a few problems with this one. Adam's character was so unlikeable, that he didn't have one redeeming quality. It's a character piece, and in the end he does grow, but I can't root for someone who I will never like. The story also fell pretty flat.

With that being said there have been many other movies he's made in the past five years. While Grown Ups was good enough and did make a lot of money, it was obviously just an excuse to get together and party for a few months. There is nothing wrong with that, but if you're not going to actually give it a try, then what's the point? Money, obviously. A Grown Ups sequel is also in production, which means another big effortless money party. It's been stated that 50 First Dates was only made because Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler wanted to work together again, and also they just wanted to go to Hawaii. Unlike Grown Ups, this movie worked, and it worked well. The great supporting cast, the script, the love story, everything about it made it a wonderful movie.

So, what happened? After 2007's I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry the Sandler train took a turn for the bad and the ugly. First there was You Don't Mess With The Zohan. Can I still get my $10 back? Being in a theater full of laughing morons while I sit there loathing every second on screen with gross out gags, a bad accent, among other things that made the movie atrocious I was in awe at the mess taking place before me. This is coming from someone who loves Dude, Where's My Car? I enjoy all types of humor in movies, except the ones that have none.

Then there was Bedtime Stories. My niece didn't even like this one. Besides being replayed on Starz everyday for three months, there would've been no other way I would've sat down and watched this movie. Fortunately for my sanity I couldn't finish it anyway. You know something stinks when even a children's movie can't make children laugh.

I've already discussed my pleasant distaste for Funny People and while it was nice seeing the SNL buddies and Kevin James as their replacement Chris Farley, Grown Ups was not anything special or new. So, moving right along to the unfunny disaster that is Just Go With It. Agreeing with mostly everyone who has seen this movie, Jennifer Aniston seemed to be the only redeeming thing about it, and while she was delightful it was a shame to see her waste a few months filming this garbage. This movie could've worked, but instead of writing an actual comedy for adults, Sandler decided to make the same dull jokes he pulls with buddy Nick Swardson, (who was completely useless in this film, despite actually being a real funny person) that he's been doing since the early '90s. Also the *NSYNC jokes were just offensive and hurtful. Lance appeared in Chuck & Larry and you just stab him in the back. Shame on you Adam.

There's no need to dwell on Jack & Jill for a paragraph, because it was so bad a couple sentences will do. I mean, it was Adam Sandler as himself and also dressing in drag as his twin sister. Do I really need to continue?

Now you may be thinking that I really dislike Adam Sandler. On the contrary, Billy Madison is in my top 5 favorite movies of all time. How I long for Nude-y magazine day, invisible penguins and snack packs. I dream of the day when Bobby Boucher rises again, and whether or not he still wants to grow old with Drew Barrymore. If 50 First Dates was any indication, then the answer is yes.

Even before this wave of terror he had a dud or two back in the day. Mr. Deeds, Spanglish, and Anger Management were all not very well received. Most of you would say Little Nicky should go in the duds section, but I say the ridiculous weird that is Nicky should go in the win category. Creatively it's one of the most far away things he's done, in the comedy department at least. Punch-Drunk Love was definitely a magnificent movie and very distant than the Sandler we're used to seeing. So, what happens now? Are we ever going to see an all around good Adam Sandler movie again? Or has Happy Madison productions lost their credibility? (If you can even believe I just said that.) Who's to say really? All I know is that when I saw this new trailer, and heard a voice that was a mixture of Little Nicky and a drunk Billy Madison, I got a little excited. Even if the days of Billy are gone, I will always be able to quote that movie back and forth, listen to the 50 First Dates soundtrack and also wonder why Kathy Bates wasn't nominated for her role as Momma, a.k.a. Helen. Ciao, Roberto.

Chris Brown Will Not Go Away

Chris Brown did not deserve to win a Grammy. This doesn't change the fact that he did. Should he be recognized with the likes of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston or The Beatles? No, he should not. Over the years of course this isn't the first time the Grammy's have given an award to someone who was less than deserving of it. Incase you've forgotten or didn't think it was possible, the Baha Men, MC Hammer, and Sir-Mix-A-Lot have all won a Grammy. Even Milli Vanilli was given one until it was revoked. This isn't as prestigious an award as some people think. Just like the Oscars, there have been many misjudgements in character and some people have been robbed while the talentless get rewarded. Although I think 'Can't Touch This' and 'Baby Got Back' are catchier than any Brown tune.

When Brown debuted in 2005 with his hit single, "Run It!" I thought just what we need, another Omarion or Ray-J with auto-tune. I was unimpressed with him from the start. Being from Richmond, VA everyone around me seemed to love the fact he was from just beyond the city in a little town called Tappahannock. This however made his entrance into the music world more annoying for me. If you live in the area you sometimes hear a friend of a friend or a sibling or whoever who's spotted him around town, at the gym or driving his blue Lamborghini. My sister saw him and Rihanna at the mall during their heyday, and all she commented on was Rihanna's "big ass feet."

Despite being a public nuiscance, his career soared, with sold out concerts, double platinum albums and a surgence into the world of acting. His second album blew up, with the hits 'Wall to Wall' and 'Kiss Kiss' and also what I know it as to be the Doublemint gum commercial. Many people will recognize this song from the very popular wedding video that blew up on Youtube with over 73 million views to date and an appearance on The Today Show, (the wedding party, not Chris Brown.) Incase you don't know how the internet works here's the video below.

How is this possible? How can someone with so little talent invoke such a heartfelt dance at a wedding ceremony? Ironic that two people committing to each other for life start out their vows with a song by someone who choked and beat up his girlfriend.

Now, I'm not a gigantic Rihanna fan either, but I do enjoy the occasional song or two. Chris Brown pretty much went into hiding after this famous incident, and he should've. Everyone was obviously on her side. Recently though there have been sightings of the two together, and they even guest starred on the remixes of each other's songs. They have been reports of him apparently making all guests of Rihanna's birthday earlier this month signing confidentiality agreements that would state they wouldn't mention his being there. There was also a recent legal battle of him apparently stealing a fan's iPhone.

A lot of haters, like myself are wondering why can't he just go away? He had his moment in the sun, and because of all these mistakes he should be done, right? No, he's not even close to being done torturing us. When it comes down to it, you think of people in the past and what happened to them. The Baha Men were a one hit wonder, but also people just forgot. Same with MC Hammer, Sir-Mix-A-Lot, anyone else who can fit that description. That doesn't mean you still don't know all the words to 'Baby Got Back' or had a pair of parachute pants. It's the fact that people stopped caring. Personally I've never cared about Chris Brown. My extreme distaste for him stems from his music I don't like, his smugness I hear so much about, and his history of beating up Rihanna, but before he won the Grammy, before he made a remix of 'Birthday Cake' where was he? It seems like everyone had forgotten about him since the incident except for some impending legal battles.

So, until we all just forget, he will still be around. Everyone needs to accept it and move on with their lives. I mean the Baha Men are sitting in their one bedroom apartments staring and polishing their Grammy's. One day Chris Brown will be doing the same.

The 2012 Academy Awards: Winners and Losers

The Oscars were last night and to my surprise it was probably the best Oscar show I've seen in a long time. Billy Crystal proved there was a reason he's done this so many times. He knows the ins and outs, what to say, do, and make it an all around fun show for everyone. I'm gonna talk about somne of the winners, losers, surprises, best and worst dressed, and some things that weren't that great, so let's start off with the big winners.

First of all I want to say out of all my Oscar predictions I only missed on two, and technically the people who I thought should win did, so I'm very happy for who won last night, starting with Best Actor.

WINNER - JEAN DUJARDIN

I really thought that the Academy was going to give this one to George, but they delightfully proved me wrong and went with the person who I thought should win, and did, Jean Dujardin! Not only is he the first French man to win this award, but the fact he's a comedian makes it even sweeter. One of the reasons I thought his chances were slighted were the recent appearances on SNL and the video he made for Funny or Die. While quite enjoyable and so funny, it's not the type of behavior that boasts well for winning this type of award. Also taking into consideration the recent controversy surrounding his new movie opening in France, Les Infidèles (The Players). The movie posters were pretty raunchy and provided a little bit of an uproar. Here's one of the posters below.



Despite this, the Academy came through and gave Dujardin something he deserved so much. I'll admit, George Clooney's performance was a career defining one, but Jean Dujardin in The Artist? Well, there simply won't be something so eloquent and beautifully acted for awhile. So there it is, congratulations to Jean Dujardin!

WINNER - MERYL STREEP

This win left a lot of people totally shocked, even Meryl herself, starting her acceptance speech with, "When they called my name I had this feeling I could hear half of America going, 'Oh no! Oh come on, why her? Again?' But ... whatever." Adorable. After 17 nominations and her last win being in the '80s the Academy awarded her for a third time, and deservedly so. The transformation she made to become Margaret Thatcher was astounding. Reading about it, and seeing the trailer going, um okay is that really Meryl Streep? I know a lot of people were expecting Viola Davis to take home the gold, but I still thought Streep would take it. Viola was remarkable in The Help, and definitely made me shed some tears, but I'm sure it won't be long before she is nominated again. Her time will come.

WINNER - THE ARTIST (BEST ACTOR, BEST PICTURE, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST SCORE, BEST COSTUME DESIGN)

This movie deserves all these awards, whole heartedly and unconditionally. If you haven't seen it yet, you must be crazy or living under a rock. It's biggest competition in these categories I felt was most likely Hugo, but once Hugo started to win all those technical awards I knew it was doomed and The Artist would take home all the big prizes. The only movie to ever sweep every category was Titanic, and come on, Titanic is what it is. Hugo is not Titanic. Just like a couple years ago when everyone expected Avatar to take it all home, but it only won the techincal stuff, and The Hurt Locker perservered and took home the big stuff. Congratulations to The Artist!

WINNER - COMEDIANS!

Not only did this year's Oscars emerge with the amazing nomination for Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids, but also nominations and wins for other fellow funny people.

BEST SONG - MAN OR MUPPET (BRET MCKENZIE)

Flight of the Conchords alum Bret McKenzie won for his hit Man or Muppet tune sang by Jason Segel and Walter in The Muppets. Who would've thought?

WINNER - BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY (ALEXANDER PAYNE, NAT FAXON & JIM RASH)

Nat Faxon and Jim Rash are from The Groundlings. Not only have they acted in a slew of great movies and done many funny things, but Jim Rash plays my favorite Dean A Ling Ling from Greendale Community College! Maybe Community won't get cancelled now that they have an Academy Award winner in their midst.



KRISTEN WIIG AND MELISSA MCCARTHY BEING NOMINATED FOR BRIDESMAIDS

They didn't win, but isn't this statement insanely awesome regardless? Yeah, that's what I thought.

HITS

Billy Crystal saved the day by hosting for a ninth time, and totally kicking ass and proving he knows what he's doing. Honestly I am so glad Eddie Murphy backed out because while there was some initial excitement, seeing Murphy discuss how awesome it was going to be on Jimmy Fallon a few months ago was a big disappointment. I've seen more people enthused about taking a shit. Murphy just did not care about this, and he probably only accepted the offer because of money and Brett Ratner.

Billy's highlights were his awesome singing monologue, and his hysterical bit of where he knew what others were thinking. When the camera panned to Nick Nolte, what Billy believed to be in his mind was a bunch of mumbling and grunting. Props Crystal. So funny.

Even the presenters had some fun moments too, such as Ben Stiller and Emma Stone being so damn lovable like she always is. And Robert Downey Jr.'s fun documentary feature being filmed on stage was only something he could pull off.

MISSES

The Cirque Du Soleil routine seemed a little out of place to me. While it was something fun to watch in the middle of a very long show, it still to me just didn't quite fit in there.

Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez being lame. While they were presenting they wanted to have fun, but no one else was, and everyone seemed confused at what they were trying to do while presenting best costume design and best make-up, which is ironic because their costumes and make-up made my worst dressed list. Oh well.

BEST DRESSED

Oh something so superficial, but let's face it, it's one of the reasons we tune in. Who are you wearing?! Remember? Here's a couple people who I think were best dressed.

TINA FEY in custom Carolina Herrara

 

Tina Fey hasn't looked better on a red carpet before. The dress is such an amazing fit for her, and the jewelry and hair go so beautiful together.

ELLIE KEMPER in Armani Prive

 

She looks AMAZING. Probably the absolute best dressed on the carpet. Everything looks flawless.

MERYL STREEP in Lanvin

 

Come on, it's Meryl Streep! She always looks amazing. Sometimes gold can be a little too much, but I love what she's done with it. And look, her and her Oscar match!

WORST DRESSED

MICHELLE WILLIAMS in Louis Vuitton

 

This dress looked awful! Not just on her, but anyone. I can't find a picture of the back, but that is the worst part. Instead of being a red dress all the way around, the back is this different nude/clear fabric material. To top it off she didn't even know what color the dress was. How about not your color? The pink clutch makes it look like she's going to a cheesy Valentine's Day dance. Miss.

JENNIFER LOPEZ in Zuhair Murad

 

Normally J.Lo looks flawless and gorgeous, and while her hair and make-up are impeccable, this dress was just all sorts of wrong. I just didn't like it, and the clevage it gave her was not very flattering. Let's just say she should've brought back the Grammy gown.

CAMERON DIAZ in Gucci

 

Where do I even begin? The make-up, the hair, the dress, it's all wrong. It's just wrong.

Not intentional to end on the sour notes of worst dressed but this was my take on the Oscars this year. A wonderful show, with a lot of very talented, deserving winners, and with only a couple hiccups, it made this year's Oscar show one of the best in years. And on one last plea, if you haven't seen The Artist make it a goal for this week. You won't be disappointed.