One of the best ways to escape this non-stop news coverage of the Florida recounts, confusing ballots, George W. Bush, and Al Gore, is to slip into a darkened movie theatre and see some of the films now in local theatres. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to go see THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE the other night and not actually hear anything about this historic albeit somewhat embarrassing election mess for almost two solid hours.
Which brings me to the article this week. Not much news wise for the Oscars this week, but the 2000 films are continuing to be released for Oscar consideration, and I have to tell you I still do not see a film yet released that has the push to be the Best Picture winner come March. ALMOST FAMOUS, still one of my best films of the year, has not picked up at all at the boxoffice, and I'm afraid it may be forgotten, unless some of the critics organizations start handing out awards to it come December and January. I don't know why this film, with such glowing reviews, failed to find an audience.
However, let's discuss two more recent releases since last we talked. I finally did see the critically reviled PAY IT FORWARD, and have to admit, it's not as bad as most critics made it out to be, IMHO. True, the premise is not played out very effectively, but I thought these three main characters were all fascinating individuals, and I wanted to see them in a much different film. I thought Kevin Spacey was outstanding as usual, and I thought his character was very intriguing. Helen Hunt looked absolutely sexy (she'll no doubt make my list of the sexiest actresses from this past year!), and I thought she gave one of her best and most nuanced performances, even better I thought than her Oscar-winning performance in AS GOOD AS IT GETS. And even Haley Joel Osment was good as the kid with the promising idea. So yeah, the story was sappy and went to great lengths to pull at your heartstrings, but the characters made this film for me, and I would have loved these characters in a much better story ... forget the whole Pay It Forward idea and make a different film about these people. Either way though, the universally reviled film will not see any Oscar nominations come February.
