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Subject: Re: Academy awards/Oscars - nonsense... ( 28 of 30 )
Posted by Spartus

According to the American Film Institute's top 100 (which I found here, the only out-and-out comedies I noticed were Dr. Strangelove at #26 and M*A*S*H at #56, although one can argue that M*A*S*H isn't actually a comedy per se. It's the next closest, however.

The Academy doesn't seem to believe that comedies can be real movies, it would appear.
Personally, the only movies I can take "seriously" are comedies, paradoxically for the reason that they don't take themselves seriously. There's Something About Mary was just a fart-noise jokey movie that did well at the box office and was amusing for the thirteen-year-old kid that dwells within my psyche, but not a true Best Picture qualifier. If I could think of a comedy that could conceivably have competed in that bracket, I'd mention it (Okay, I have to: The Blues Brothers), but most can't.

There also seems to be a different kind of movie made specifically to compete for Oscar contention, and another entirely for box-office numbers.

Contrast the careers of Kenneth Branagh, Steven Spielberg [In the 90's, particularly], and any number of costume-drama actors/directors versus Bruce Willis, Stallone, Schwarzenegger et al. and you'll see what I mean. It's as if the studios make one type of film to make money, and the other for acclaim. Apparently, they think that the general public is so stupid, they won't actually go to see a good movie in droves like they will to go see movies about giant space rocks.

@:^)
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