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Sydney Poitier

Nice is the new normal

By March 4, 2014 Film, Performance

Award season is almost over but for the Canadian Screen Awards (March 9th) and Junos (March 30th).
Cinema has embraced a dazzling new ingenue and everyone in Hollywood can relax, now that they know they’re not racists ( a ridiculous rationalization of why 12 Years a Slave should win, rather than why it did win, simply because it was a great film).


43 million viewers, the most in a decade, watched the Oscars this year.

Was it due to a slate of better quality movies, even though, on his recent Hollywood junket, Toronto mayor Rob Ford couldn’t name one of the nominees for Best Picture?

Was it the affable host Ellen?

Everyone likes Ellen, just as we all like vanilla ice cream because it doesn’t stain when it drips and can be paired with everything.  As host, Ellen was just one of us, hanging out and tweeting, except her crowd is draped and bejewelled, and eating pizza. “Look at us, the regular folk kicking back in our finery”.
I like Ellen enough for the soft peddle but I miss the wit of a Billy Crystal spoof or the tag team wink of Fey/Poehler. And that pizza business? Just dumb.

But who’s going to argue with those ratings?

Nice is in. Let It Go may have won Best Song but the real theme of the evening belonged to Pharrell Williams’ Happy, a vibe that continued throughout the evening of loose pacing and heartfelt speeches.

So is diversity. Sydney Poitier’s appearance was a reminder of what was once a reality. The Oscar winner now stands out only because of his age (nobody ages in Hollywood). 2014 Oscar presenters, one quarter of whom were not white, now reflect what new Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs outlined as a “increasingly diverse and global membership”.

“The world is round, people!”
Cate Blanchett, winner, Best Actress

Cate Blanchett’s equality quips and Matthew McConaughey’s drawl were impressive but few will remember anything else but Lupita Nyong’o. Her sheer exuberance was matched only by her director’s giant leap on stage at the end of the show.
None of the evening’s winners were particularly surprising. Gravity’s slew of awards were predictable. The film was technological eye candy. All four acting awards were telegraphed throughout the season at other awards shows. While it may have been disheartening for the team behind American Hustle, with 10 nominations going in, to go home without a single trophy, the nod to much more serious fare was what resonated with Academy voters.

Last September, I wrote here of a theme that connected the opening weekend films of TIFF, one addressed Sunday by director Steve McQueen as he concluded his thank you speech for Best Picture for 12 Years a Slave. Living well, with respect and dignity, is a message 43 million viewers can take home.

Pretty nice indeed.

For more on film, see Oscar countdown

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