I JUST THINK THAT IF YOU'RE INTO DJUNA BARNES JOKES, THEN THIS IS THE FILM FOR YOU: Anthony Bourdain makes his Oscar picks, praising
The Tree of Life while panning
Midnight in Paris, saying of the latter: "If the word 'elitist' didn’t exist before, now it would. I hated everything about it."
I'm not quite as harsh as Bourdain is on Midnight in Paris, but I completely agree that it's been extravagantly overpraised. It's the ultimate white people problems movie, which is perhaps why it has so much resonance with the Academy. (Much the same could, in all fairness, be said of The Descendants, though I think it more fully realizes its female characters in particular.)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm not shocked Bourdain loved "Warrior." Solid and underrated flick (though I actually thought Nolte was kind of awful in it--very hammy and over the top).
I think if it were still a 5 nominee category, Best Picture would not include "Midnight in Paris." And I say this as someone who really, really liked it.
ReplyDeleteAnd, hey, Bourdain, anyone who had the good fortune to eat at elBulli should think very carefully before slinging around the word "elitist."
Re "elitist": In the same breath, he praises THE TREE OF LIFE. Although, actually, I think the words "impenetrable" and "pretentious" better describe it. I'm a HUGE fan of MIDNIGHT IN PARIS - didn't find it elitist at all. It's a very *specific* with specific references movie, which is completely different. (In a way, it's a nice variation on THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO.)
ReplyDeleteI LOVED WARRIOR.
ReplyDeleteAlso, agree wtih Randy re: TREE OF LIFE. As for MIP, I think it's just proof at what a lackluster year for movies this has been overall. In a more robust year, I don't think you see that getting nommed at all (maybe screenplay?). I totally enjoyed the movie, but it's a trifle, not something that sticks with you.
I have to quibble with "impenetrable". That word suggests that we were missing something. "Pretentious", on the other hand, is right on. It suggests that something was missing.
ReplyDeleteI agree. And I should watch my Warrior screener sometime! Most everyone has good stuff to say about it.
ReplyDeleteI thought "Midnight in Paris" was a nice escape for two hours, but I don't get the "elitist" tag. It was a goofy, silly movie, but because the people were upper class, it's elitist? It was just the setting of the movie. A story about upper class people can be just as compelling as "Slumdog Millionaire". And where's Bourdain coming from to throw that label down as if he's some cultural warrior? Doofus.
ReplyDelete