JENN McKINLAY: It’s that season, folks. Award Show Season! From January through March, we have so many award shows. It’s crazy! We have the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice, the BAFTA, the SAG, and then the mother of them all–the Oscars.
Here's the full list: https://deadline.com/feature/awards-season-calendar-oscars-emmys-golden-globes-list-1234814076/
Honestly, I have very mixed feelings about these award shows. First, how many awards do y’all need to give yourselves? Just sayin’. Second, if I’m not nominated (LOL) why should I care? And third, oooh, look at all the sparkly people–okay, bring me the popcorn!
See? I’m conflicted. Mostly, I think film award shows are a big snooze, especially if I didn’t get a chance to see every film that was nominated. But back when I was a librarian, my friend Joe Cajero and I would open up the Vanity Fair website while we worked the reference desk the morning after an awards show and we would dish about all of the outfits – boys and girls – and we’d laugh ourselves stupid doing terrible Joan Rivers-esque commentary. Good times!
Refreshingly, the Golden Globes this year were wonderful. A perfect antidote to last year’s Oscar debacle. Heartfelt and hilarious speeches from actresses and actors who have done their time in the industry and were FINALLY recognized. I loved it! (Probably, because I saw both Everything Everywhere All At Once and White Lotus). Although, full disclosure, I didn't watch the show but caught the highlights the next day, as you do.
How about it, Reds? Do you watch award shows?
HALLIE EPHRON: The one award program I always watch is the TONY AWARDS. I’m a huge Broadway fan and you get to see scenes and musical numbers performed by the original Broadway casts. Priceless. And in the event that I DO get to NY and sometimes it seems like need to win the lottery (SO expensive!) I know which plays are at the top of my list when I get to the front of theTKTS discount ticket line.
Otherwise I do skip the other awards. Completely. Except for looking up what Tom and Lorenzo have to say about the outfits the next day.
Jenn: Love the fashion critiques! But in my eyes, Michelle Yeoh can do no wrong.
RHYS BOWEN: I’m with Hallie about the Tony’s. I love musical theater. But the others? The hideous dresses on the red carpet? All those speeches thanking the little people? No thanks. Having said that I do watch the Oscars sometimes.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: I rather guiltily confess that I love the awards shows. My daughter and I like to message gossip as we watch. Of course I've seldom seen more than one or two films, but it gives me a chance to sample what I might like to watch. After the Golden Globes (which I really enjoyed) we watched The Fablemans and Everything Everywhere All At Once and loved both. I just saw the nominations for the Baftas and they have SNUBBED Spielberg and The Fablemans! I am shocked! Although it is a very Amercian-experience film, but still!
LUCY BURDETTE: Before Covid, we liked watching the Oscars and made a big effort to see most of the best pictures, and also the shorts. (The Tropic Cinema in Key West brought these to town, and we always felt a bit like insiders.) These days we’ve only been to the movies once, so I doubt we’ll be watching anything!
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I always used to watch the Tony awards and the Oscars with Youngest, and Debs talking about “message gossiping” makes me realize I should make a date with her to enjoy the shows together. They’re always so much more fun when you’re with other people, virtually or not.
One of the things I love to do when award shows are on? Follow the Twitter stream. Pick a hashtag and stick with it - there is always so much delightful wit and snark on display.
OMG, We need to do our own Jungle Reds Oscar group-watch livestream.
Jenn: YES!!! That would be a hoot!
HANK PHILLIPI RYAN: Julia! We DO! I will confess that I love any kind of competition about anything. It is SO sad, and so un-self-actuallzed, and I feel very guilty about it.
You have to remember, if you will, that I was maybe 10 when I watched my first Miss America, and back then, to a little girl in the fifties, it was a really fun thing to watch with my mother. And actually aspirational. I still think it’s complicated. And that’s probably another blog.
But awards shows for productions–again, I love competitions, as unenlightened as it seems. I love the clothes! I really do. And I love the speeches, and I love hating when they play music to stop them. And I love watching the fake approval on the faces of the audiences (and losers.)
I don’t believe that “winning” actually means that the thing was the best of the things, but as someone who has won (and lost) it’s much more fun to win, and it’s actually gratifying. I really enjoy seeing the winners be happy.. And fun to see something that you love win. Like-yeah, I knew that.
And yes,the Tonys, that’s a different deal. You get to see scenes, and that’s great. That’s totally value added.
And the Grammys are a great way of finding out what music you’re supposed to know about but don’t. And again, like all of them, SO much fun to yell at the clothing choices!
How about you, Readers? Any award show watchers out there? Yea or nay?
