BFCA Awards: Missable

The Broadcast Film Critics Association held their awards on VH1 earlier tonight. I had never watched this telecast before, and I only watched this one on a whim because this may well be the only awards show of the season and the nominees are remarkably similar to many Oscar predictions people are making right now. I sort of enjoyed the telecast, but my frustration with host D.L. Hughley prohibited me from fully finding it entertaining. Hughley acts like he is doing his own stand-up bits, rarely tying anything into the nominated films and focusing mainly on unsavory strike quips and black jokes. The critics gave an award in honor of the late Joel Siegel to Don Cheadle, but I was a bit surprised that the clip supposedly serving as a montage of his film work was actually just a re-edited trailer for Cheadle's recent documentary "Darfur Now" (which I did see). Leslie Mann went up on stage to present a category but was so awed by Daniel Day-Lewis that she swore twice, and VH1 failed to edit it out the second time, which was more than mildly shocking. An out-of-place "In Memoriam" tribute turned out to be nothing more than a parody mocking underperforming independent films and major flops. Not funny at all, except for a quick joke about the mystery of what will happen with the Golden Globes.

The most constantly depressing element of the show was that pretty much no one cared, with the exception of "Hairspray" star Nikki Blonsky, who was way too excited about her two wins. Only half of the 18 winners even showed up for the show, and most of those who did stumbled while thanking the Academy... they meant the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Only two people are really worth mentioning from the evening - Eddie Izzard and Javier Bardem. Izzard spoke in broken sentences (due to the writers strike, he explained) before naming a few dozen countries with better health care systems than that of the U.S. while summarizing "Sicko", which won the Best Documentary award a moment later. Bardem gave a heartfelt speech in which he singled out all his fellow nominees and recognized them individually. He later said something I could not comprehend about Bush which got Hughley to suggest he might not be making any more movies anytime soon.

The winners themselves had few surprises among them. A win in the non-theatrical production category for "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" was especially disappointing after just watching the underwhelming TV movie earlier today. I am thrilled for "Once" and its victory in the Best Song category (I wish Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova had been there to accept!). I am also happy for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and its win in the Best Foreign Film category. Julie Christie takes the first big prize over Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page which is unfortunate because the latter two were in my opinion better and have not yet won an Oscar. There will be more tomorrow with the DGA nominees. For now, the BFCA winners:

Best Picture - No Country for Old Men
Best Director - The Coen Brothers, No Country for Old Men
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Best Actress - Julie Christie, Away From Her
Best Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Best Supporting Actress - Amy Ryan,Gone Baby Gone
Best Screenplay - Diablo Cody, Juno
Best Documentary - Sicko
Best Comedy Film - Juno
Best Family Film - Enchanted
Best Animated Film - Ratatouille
Best Foreign Language Film - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Best Song - Falling Slowly - Once
Best Composer - Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood
Best Young Actor - Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada, The Kite Runner
Best Young Actress - Nikki Blonsky - Hairspray
Best Picture Made for Television - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Best Ensemble - Hairspray