I have always had a love affair with the Academy Awards but at the end of 2010 I realized how few of the Best Picture winners I’d actually seen. So I made it a goal to see all [then] 83 winners and write my thoughts about them along the way. (I even re-watched the ones I'd already seen so I could write a fresh post.)

That was the initial inspiration behind this blog... I wanted to document my thoughts as well as start a potential conversation or at least ask some thought-provoking questions. Why did it win? Should another movie have won instead? Has it become a beloved classic or do many of you not even recognize the title? For each film, I post the original movie poster, a brief synopsis, the films it was up against, my favorite scene(s), and any lessons I learned.

I have since completed the challenge and have seen all of the Academy's Best Picture winners. (For my collective thoughts at the end of the challenge, including lists of my favorites and least favorites, check out this post.) I keep this blog up-to-date by coming back each year to post my thoughts on the recent winner. I still invite you, my friends and guests, to comment along with me. Do you agree/disagree?

And the Oscar goes to…

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Tom Jones, 1963







Not Rated

Ridiculous. That’s my review of this movie. (I want to photoshop the phrase “except Amy” on the movie poster.) [Thank you Jen...]


First of all, have any of you even heard of it? I hadn’t. (I do know of a pop singer named Tom Jones who sang the song "Sex Bomb".... which is comically ironic considering the premise of this film.) "Tom Jones" is the second British film up to that date that won Best Picture that year over “America, America”, “Cleopatra” (with Elizabeth Taylor), “How the West Was Won”, and “Lilies of the Field” (with Sidney Poitier). Seriously, what happened this year Academy? Apparently, those epics didn’t stand a chance next to this bawdy comedy. Supposedly, it’s one of the most critically acclaimed and most popular movies of its time. Man, I did not get it then.

I’m trying to keep in mind how comedy has changed. What seemed daring and different back then, now seems boring and trite. But if you can understand that the audiences (both British and American) enjoyed this rough slapstick humor back then, it is pretty easy to see how future films like “Monty Python” were successes too.

So, I read it’s based on the “raucous” classic satire set in 18th century England. The movie is about Tom Jones who is an illegitimate servant-born country squire who fancies the ladies… A LOT. But even when his mischievousness (swordfights and sexcapades) finds him at the end of the film on a hangman’s platform, there still is a happy ending. I found the plot to be a little hard to follow, but that could be that I subconsciously “checked out” after 30 minutes. I adore comedies; I guess I just prefer mine with more depth.

“Tom Jones” also won Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Musical Score (another win over which I’m seriously confused). I guess critics raved about its inventive cinematography and editing, but in my opinion, it all just made me nauseas at times. This movie is the only film in Oscar history that had three Best Supporting Actress nominations (though none won… and I’m not sure I could even point out those three actresses in the film).

Albert Finney played the “hero” Tom Jones in the film. I love Finney (because of his role as Ed Masry in "Erin Brokovich", but even more so because of his role as Daddy Warbucks in “Annie”). But even his fine acting couldn’t save this film from being an utter mess. I also recognized David Tomlinson in probably the shortest and lamest role of his career. (He played Mr. Banks in “Mary Poppins”, and was in just about every other British and/or Disney film you can think of).

FAVORITE SCENE:

None exists. But I found a picture of young Albert Finney so you can at least see what the movie looks like.

LESSONS LEARNED:

The Academy and the audiences must’ve been smoking something this year.

To steal the last line of the movie from the Narrator, “Tomorrow, do thy worst, for I have lived today.”
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5 comments:

  1. JenniferMay 31, 2011 at 6:15 PM

    So dumb. And I like british humor. I just couldn't get into it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. M LoosemoreAugust 6, 2011 at 9:12 AM

    I did get into it.... While at school in Dorset I was recruited as an extra and can be seen as one of the four drummer boys at the execution scene. The drum roll on the sound track was also provided by my three friends and I...

    Loved it

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lady AmyAugust 9, 2011 at 1:57 PM

    Thanks M Loosemore for your comment and I apologize that I lambasted a movie you starred in. I am jealous of you in that regard though; I think it would be loads of fun to be an extra. You (almost) make me want to rent it again to try to look for you. Do you think it was a movie defined to its generation or did I just not appreciate it (or get it)? Thanks again for your comment. Perhaps there's a different movie in which our reviews might be similar...

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  4. MLoosemoreAugust 14, 2011 at 12:22 PM

    The film has definitely aged unfortunately. If you do get to watch it again, my appearance is brief but to me memorable. As the scene changes from the tumbril on a street to the first shot of the gallows you get a very brief sight of myself and friends leading Tom to the execution site. As Tom is hung there is a tracking shot across the drumheads. Mine are the third pair of hands performing a drumroll and the soundtrack features our actual 'performance' Oh and as for best films my all time favourite is Lawrence of Arabia :)

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  5. Lady AmyAugust 30, 2011 at 4:02 PM

    Oh no MLoosemore! That's another film I didn't like... We must just enjoy different genres. :) A male friend of mine said "Lawrence of Arabia" was a "man's movie" and he knew several guys who enjoyed it. I didn't see what the big deal was. But I did enjoy Omar Sharif in "Funny Girl"! :)

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