Awards Show Season
Jan. 15th, 2014 05:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23It's the time again for awards shows, and as much as they really aren't relevant in our lives, I can't resist watching them.
Last week was the People's Choice Awards.
The PCAs are the lowest rung on the Awards Show chain. You can always tell who will win the award because it's the people in attendance. You almost never see the runners up in the crowd.
There is something a bit satisfying in seeing shows like Psych and Castle winning awards, and you get the satisfaction you don't always get in the Oscars in that Iron Man 3 was named Movie of the Year.
It's easy to see why this is the awards show stepchild when things happen like Britney Spears wins female artist of the year. No one with any kind of eye would have said that. She had a couple of singles, but surely Rhianna, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and others were more in the public conscience.
The PCAs also are trying to find a niche for itself which means it feels like a watered down version of MTV's VMAs. To lively things up, they included categories like 'Best Bromance" and played up genres like Sci-Fi.
The stars of Two Broke Girls -Beth Bliers and Kat Dennings hosted, and I thought they did fine with an unenviable task of making these awards relevant. I think both are funny and work well together. Two Broke Girls is a funny series that is going through some growing pains that come with working into a third season, and although it gets a lot of internet hate, I still find mostly humorous (and raunchy, like CBS's other hit Two and a half Men, it's all pot and sex jokes that I wouldn't dream of watching with my kid.
They had a great opening (that included cameos from Christina Aguilera, Bryan Cranston, and others) and their hosting job won't propel them to the next level, but I thought was decent.
This weekend was the People's Choice Awards. Hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who America (if the media is to be believed) dearly loves. I am not a Fey fan at all, but Poehler and Fey do seem to have the right combination of humor and tastefulness that makes them work as presenters.
There were plenty of funny moments. My favorite was presenter Kevin Bacon asking if he was "connected" to anyone at the Awards show, but there were certainly memorable moments like Amy Poehler making out with Bono, Amy portraying Tina's cranky son, Tina's George Clooney zinger ("He would rather float out in space and die than spend time with women his own age" and of course, Alfonso Cuaron telling Sandra Bullockhje was going to give her herpes.
Yeah, thumbs up. I usually like to be snarky, but credit to the two of them who have made this awards show (which has been an afterthought,. or at least just a show for film diehards) and crossing over to a broad audience.
I am not hip enough nowadays to comment on their selections. American Hustle clearly has the momentum headed towards the Oscars, and 12 years a Slave and Gravity should fare okay. I knew there were films that I wouldn't have crossed path with, but there were some like Nebraska and Her that I was completely unfamiliar with. I am slipping.
TV has become equally obscure. Ten years, there might be a series on HBO that would steal the spotlight, but there are so many good shows on sucha wide array of channels- AMC and HBO of course, but other pay channels like Showtime have picked their game up and channels that aren't even really 'channels' like Netflix and Starz.
Like last year's Jodie Foster's speech last year, this year's honoree speech was lost on America- Woody Allen was honored and Diane Keaton gave the speech complete with singing a Girl Scouts song. While Woody Allen diehards took something away, it seems like the Lifetime Achievement award is the WTF moment for this show. Jacquline Bisset similarly gave a speech that was more incoherent rambling than anything else.
As far as snark, yeah, that's what I am here for, but I don't have a lot of it. I didn't think Captain Phillips was Oscarworthy, but the performances were (It got nominated for Best Film at the Globes). I am not quite convinced Brooklyn99 is the end-all, be-all comedy, but it is funny. I certainly don't get Andy Samberg winning best comedic actor for essentially being Andy Samberg.
Leonardo DiCaprio took Best Actor. His speech was a bit overwrought for my tastes, but people seemed to enjoy it, and I really think he is one of our finest actors. It would be nice to see him win an Oscar this year.
Anyway, that's what I had. Thoughts?
Last week was the People's Choice Awards.
The PCAs are the lowest rung on the Awards Show chain. You can always tell who will win the award because it's the people in attendance. You almost never see the runners up in the crowd.
There is something a bit satisfying in seeing shows like Psych and Castle winning awards, and you get the satisfaction you don't always get in the Oscars in that Iron Man 3 was named Movie of the Year.
It's easy to see why this is the awards show stepchild when things happen like Britney Spears wins female artist of the year. No one with any kind of eye would have said that. She had a couple of singles, but surely Rhianna, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and others were more in the public conscience.
The PCAs also are trying to find a niche for itself which means it feels like a watered down version of MTV's VMAs. To lively things up, they included categories like 'Best Bromance" and played up genres like Sci-Fi.
The stars of Two Broke Girls -Beth Bliers and Kat Dennings hosted, and I thought they did fine with an unenviable task of making these awards relevant. I think both are funny and work well together. Two Broke Girls is a funny series that is going through some growing pains that come with working into a third season, and although it gets a lot of internet hate, I still find mostly humorous (and raunchy, like CBS's other hit Two and a half Men, it's all pot and sex jokes that I wouldn't dream of watching with my kid.
They had a great opening (that included cameos from Christina Aguilera, Bryan Cranston, and others) and their hosting job won't propel them to the next level, but I thought was decent.
This weekend was the People's Choice Awards. Hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who America (if the media is to be believed) dearly loves. I am not a Fey fan at all, but Poehler and Fey do seem to have the right combination of humor and tastefulness that makes them work as presenters.
There were plenty of funny moments. My favorite was presenter Kevin Bacon asking if he was "connected" to anyone at the Awards show, but there were certainly memorable moments like Amy Poehler making out with Bono, Amy portraying Tina's cranky son, Tina's George Clooney zinger ("He would rather float out in space and die than spend time with women his own age" and of course, Alfonso Cuaron telling Sandra Bullockhje was going to give her herpes.
Yeah, thumbs up. I usually like to be snarky, but credit to the two of them who have made this awards show (which has been an afterthought,. or at least just a show for film diehards) and crossing over to a broad audience.
I am not hip enough nowadays to comment on their selections. American Hustle clearly has the momentum headed towards the Oscars, and 12 years a Slave and Gravity should fare okay. I knew there were films that I wouldn't have crossed path with, but there were some like Nebraska and Her that I was completely unfamiliar with. I am slipping.
TV has become equally obscure. Ten years, there might be a series on HBO that would steal the spotlight, but there are so many good shows on sucha wide array of channels- AMC and HBO of course, but other pay channels like Showtime have picked their game up and channels that aren't even really 'channels' like Netflix and Starz.
Like last year's Jodie Foster's speech last year, this year's honoree speech was lost on America- Woody Allen was honored and Diane Keaton gave the speech complete with singing a Girl Scouts song. While Woody Allen diehards took something away, it seems like the Lifetime Achievement award is the WTF moment for this show. Jacquline Bisset similarly gave a speech that was more incoherent rambling than anything else.
As far as snark, yeah, that's what I am here for, but I don't have a lot of it. I didn't think Captain Phillips was Oscarworthy, but the performances were (It got nominated for Best Film at the Globes). I am not quite convinced Brooklyn99 is the end-all, be-all comedy, but it is funny. I certainly don't get Andy Samberg winning best comedic actor for essentially being Andy Samberg.
Leonardo DiCaprio took Best Actor. His speech was a bit overwrought for my tastes, but people seemed to enjoy it, and I really think he is one of our finest actors. It would be nice to see him win an Oscar this year.
Anyway, that's what I had. Thoughts?
