shaftr (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} shaftr) wrote,@ 2006-03-06 07:16:00 |
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A Rant
Last night, Crash won the Best Picture at the 78th Academy Awards. I cannot even begin to describe to you how upset I am about this, but I willl try my best anyways. I saw Crash in Madison with the writer/director Paul Haggis present last year. This showing was actually 3-4 months before the movie would get a wide release. I was actually really excited about it since Haggis also wrote Million Dollar Baby.
The film ended and I thought it was terrible (as did my friend I attended it with). There are various reasons why I criticize the film so much. First off, the structure is a direct rip off of PT Anderson's Magnolia. I'm not saying this only because of the interconnnected stories, but because the film is even set up the same way Magnolia. Both films also feature a segment where we get a glimpse of the characters at their lowest point while a song plays (in Magnolia it is Aimee Mann, in Crash it is an Aimee Man rip off). Some could point out that Magnolia is very similiar to Robert Altman's Short Cuts and I would agree with them, but that doesn't bother me as much. Anderson and Altman are friends, so to me it is more of an example of influence than rip off. Finally, one could argue that Magnolia is a streamlined, polished version of Short Cuts (22 characters > 9 characters). Either way they are both excellent by 2 of my favorite directors.
My other problem with Crash is that I don't feel it says anything. I realize what it is trying to say, but that doesn't mean it does a good job of it. In fact, the writing is awful (Crash also won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar). In all, the movie reminds me of those cheap shirts in malls with the little boy in your favorite team's facepaint with his middle finger up. Crash takes the same approach, take something that seems innocent and throw a racial slur into it. It might be effective if it felt natural instead of forced. It is at this point that I found out that Haggis also wrote Walker, Texas Ranger.
After the film ended, there was a Q&A. It is at this point that people started praising the film, one girl even suggested that it should win a Nobel Peace prize. At that point, my friend and I had to leave. A few months later the movie would be released and become a surprise hit. Here we are now and it is a Best Picture winner. (The 2nd worst Best Picture selection in the history of the Academy. #1 would be 1976 when Rocky beat Taxi Driver, All the President's Men & Network). I am constantiy getting into arguments with people who claim Crash is good. As some have pointed out, Crash received a good reception because people desperately want to see socially conscious films so they are willing to praise movies that try to do something, even though they may fail at it. I think this very well could be part of it since it did come out in April, a month when film releases are historically poor. Another thought is that people like to say they like Crash because it makes them feel good (Kind of like saying, I'm not racist). I think it could be because every year a fringe mainstream film becomes a hit. Normally the movie is solid but nearly as good as everyone claims. I think Crash falls into this trap as well (Kind of like saying, I like independent films). The best quote I've heard about Crash is someone said that Crash is the favorite movie to everyone who likes to say, "alot of my friends are black".
In summary, I hate Crash and I'm embarassed that it won Best Picture.
Last night, Crash won the Best Picture at the 78th Academy Awards. I cannot even begin to describe to you how upset I am about this, but I willl try my best anyways. I saw Crash in Madison with the writer/director Paul Haggis present last year. This showing was actually 3-4 months before the movie would get a wide release. I was actually really excited about it since Haggis also wrote Million Dollar Baby.
The film ended and I thought it was terrible (as did my friend I attended it with). There are various reasons why I criticize the film so much. First off, the structure is a direct rip off of PT Anderson's Magnolia. I'm not saying this only because of the interconnnected stories, but because the film is even set up the same way Magnolia. Both films also feature a segment where we get a glimpse of the characters at their lowest point while a song plays (in Magnolia it is Aimee Mann, in Crash it is an Aimee Man rip off). Some could point out that Magnolia is very similiar to Robert Altman's Short Cuts and I would agree with them, but that doesn't bother me as much. Anderson and Altman are friends, so to me it is more of an example of influence than rip off. Finally, one could argue that Magnolia is a streamlined, polished version of Short Cuts (22 characters > 9 characters). Either way they are both excellent by 2 of my favorite directors.
My other problem with Crash is that I don't feel it says anything. I realize what it is trying to say, but that doesn't mean it does a good job of it. In fact, the writing is awful (Crash also won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar). In all, the movie reminds me of those cheap shirts in malls with the little boy in your favorite team's facepaint with his middle finger up. Crash takes the same approach, take something that seems innocent and throw a racial slur into it. It might be effective if it felt natural instead of forced. It is at this point that I found out that Haggis also wrote Walker, Texas Ranger.
After the film ended, there was a Q&A. It is at this point that people started praising the film, one girl even suggested that it should win a Nobel Peace prize. At that point, my friend and I had to leave. A few months later the movie would be released and become a surprise hit. Here we are now and it is a Best Picture winner. (The 2nd worst Best Picture selection in the history of the Academy. #1 would be 1976 when Rocky beat Taxi Driver, All the President's Men & Network). I am constantiy getting into arguments with people who claim Crash is good. As some have pointed out, Crash received a good reception because people desperately want to see socially conscious films so they are willing to praise movies that try to do something, even though they may fail at it. I think this very well could be part of it since it did come out in April, a month when film releases are historically poor. Another thought is that people like to say they like Crash because it makes them feel good (Kind of like saying, I'm not racist). I think it could be because every year a fringe mainstream film becomes a hit. Normally the movie is solid but nearly as good as everyone claims. I think Crash falls into this trap as well (Kind of like saying, I like independent films). The best quote I've heard about Crash is someone said that Crash is the favorite movie to everyone who likes to say, "alot of my friends are black".
In summary, I hate Crash and I'm embarassed that it won Best Picture.
