The Last Comedy to Win Best Picture?- Page 2

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 9:19am

Ditto, Rath.

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 10:10am

Shakespeare in Love is one of those movies I can watch again and again.

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 10:47am

I know that Diane Keaton is the queen of overacting, but really, to give her an Oscar for THAT? Please.

To each their own, but I've always found Keaton to be an extremely natural actress. Have you ever seen REDS?

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 10:48am

Ditto, DayDreamer.

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 10:57am

I'm guessing one's appreciation of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE as a comedy depends on their knowledge of Shakespeare's work. Though I'd hardly call myself a scholar, I'm familiar enough with the canon to appreciate many of the references Stoppard was making in his brilliant screenplay. And how could you go wrong with those performances: Gwyneth (for one brief shining moment...like Camelot), Joseph Fiennes, Geoffry Rush and, yes it was only 8 minutes, but 8 BRILLIANT minutes, Dame Judi Dench. Terrific film and, indeed, the last comedy to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:03am

Oh, Robbie, we'll have to agree to disagree on La Paltrow. I found her excruciating and was shocked that Joseph Fiennes seemed to really garner no acclaim for a vastly superior performance to hers.
But, then again, Dame Judi Dench could have spent that 8 minutes onscreen in an excruciatingly executed toilet sequence and still be award-worthy.

[jasonf]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:03am

I agree on Shakespeare in Love - I thought it was easily the best movie that year (yes, better than Saving Private Ryan which, after seeing once, I have zero interest in watching again - same can't be said of SiL for me). It is also most definitely a comedy.

My first thought, though, was American Beauty -- I think if a show like Desperate Housewives is being put into the "comedy" category, then in a way so could American Beauty. It really straddles the two genres, though, so it's hard to tell.

As for Dreamgirls/Chicago -- musicals are a separate category from drama or comedy. I think they're lumped into the same category as comedy for the Golden Globes because enough aren't made to merit their own, but really they're not either...

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:04am

I'm with bway on this one.

And having taken courses on Shakespeare's works, my familiarity with the canon would not have been my issue.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:05am

Did you guys actually laugh during SIL?

Updated On: 1/11/07 at 11:05 AM

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:05am

Hell to the no. I studied Shakespeare in-depth for several years in college but, while I did appreciate in-jokes, it didn't make up for what I found to be a terribly trite film overall...especially in light of some of the other so-called discoveries about Shakespeare in the last 100 years or so.

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:06am

It's the only thing I've ever enjoyed Paltrow in. NOT saying that I would have given her the Oscar over Blanchett...but I still thought she was lovely, in part because Fiennes made her look so.

And as a fan of both Shakespeare and, even moreso, Stoppard, I was in heaven.

Added to say...Yes. I laughed throughout most of SIL...so much so that some old woman in front of me asked me to be quiet. I have a hearty laugh.

Updated On: 1/11/07 at 11:06 AM

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:08am

robbie, I think the problem is I didn't see it until after the Oscars and all the hype. I just sat there, stunned at what I considered to be a second-rate script and a subpar performance that won an Oscar.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:09am

I prefer more original Stoppard.
Am I the only person who always conjures up an image of Tom Lehrer when trying to picture Stoppard? Maybe it's the first names...

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:12am

'I prefer more original Stoppard.'

What does that even mean, you crackwhore??

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:16am

Well... for this person who never really studied Shakespeare (we don't really study him in Latin American schools that much), is not familiar with Stoppard, and pretty much enjoys movies at face value, the movie was quite entertaining, and very romantic. I loved it! And I still react to it the same way when I see it.

And I have also enjoyed Ms. Paltrow's work in other movies.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:17am

Yeah, but did you laugh?

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:19am

Interesting, DayDreamer!

I only know my own reaction to the film and have explored my own reactions to it. But I should realize that this movie worked for many people on many levels, since it was a hit.

I will admit to liking Paltrow in The View from the Top.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:24am

I should have said something not "based on."

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:27am

You mean like that awful ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD?

Come on, lady!

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:28am

Shh. :-P
Clearly where he got the inspiration for the less-than-desirable "...in Love."
Hey, what about all that stuff he's got in that three-parter or whatever at Lincoln Center? I hear he ripped all that off ol' Bill, too. ;-P

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:32am

Well...I could go on about how much of his career is an exploration of writing and writers and it's relationship to art and to the world so it's only natural that he would be inspired to explore Shakespeare in different ways.

But I'd so rather listen to Rosie talking about tossed salad.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:34am

CLEARLY! And it's one thing to write about writers. It's another to help the Weinsteins win Gwyneth an Oscar. He should be ashamed.

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:50am

Girl,

I was working in publicity at the time and saw every one of those FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION ads in Variety. The campaign they ran for Paltrow was unbeatable. One full page ad, featuring Paltrow as all four of the 'characters' she plays in the movie: The girl, the girl dressed as a boy, Romeo and Juliet. I knew the second I saw that ad, I knew she had it sewn up.

[lildogs]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:52am

I didn't think SIL was very funny either--romantic and fun, but not funny.

And I never thought I'd ever hear Diane Keaton being described as an "overactor". Wow.

I'd say AH was the last one too, but I suppose SIL is a comedy too.

Gwyneth beating Fernanda is just one of many ridiculous choices.

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/11/07 at 11:55am

"And I never thought I'd ever hear Diane Keaton being described as an "overactor". Wow."

Did you miss her classic screaming of 'UNCLEAN!' in The First Wives Club. Mind you, I love it. But she ain't the most subtle.