Bored by the MTV Movie Awards
06/11/2004 04:00 Filed in: Movies and Television
I remember a time when the MTV Movie Awards represented something really cool and edgy, something fresh and even anti-establishment. Frankly, last night while watching the 2004 MTV Movie Awards, I realized I was bored. And I can't be the only one. On most of the major news sites, there is VERY LITTLE mention of the awards show at all.
In years past, I've gauged how "in-touch" I felt with pop culture and especially the under-25 crowd by how many presenters I recognized. Last night I didn't even care that much. All I saw was two hours of self-absorbed, self-indulgent ego.
Consider Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore accepting the award for "Best On-Screen Team" (a very loosely defined category based on the nominees). They didn't really have anyone to thank, so they thanked the state of Hawaii where they filmed the movie. Seann William Scott who won for "Best Dance Sequence" in a very goofy and stiltingly memorized acceptance speech thanked Patrick Swayze, Kevin Bacon, and John Travolta (for their past dancing roles).
The MTV Movie Awards used to be known for their spontaneity. Regardless of how scripted it actually was, it used to not seem that way. Everything was scripted last night from the introductions to many of the acceptance speeches. And the scripting itself seemed poorly done.
Listening to Snoop Dog botch his lines as he used the award for Best Kiss to finagle a kiss from Paris Hilton was nothing but painful. And what have we come to as a culture when the winners of Best Kiss are three individuals, not two?
In past years, MTV has spoofed the most popular movies of the year. They moved away from that this year and engaged more in dialogue and faux interviews from Will Ferrell's character Ron Burgundy from the upcoming movie Anchorman. Two were mildly noteworthy. The opening sequence featured Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn portraying Hollywood producers trying to convince Peter Jackson (played by himself) to stretch the Lord of the Rings just a bit more into a fourth movie. It was mildly amusing.
And then Ron Burgundy interviewed Jim Caviezel (who portrayed Jesus in The Passion of the Christ). I'm still convinced that Caviezel is a clone of the taller guy on Adam 12, but that's another matter. In this piece, Ron Burgundy was under the impression that Jim Caviezel really was Jesus Christ in disguise. In the end Caviezel gets tired of denying it and gets up to leave in disgust only to walk across the top of a swimming pool as Ron Burgundy runs after him. Okay, we saw that (or something like it) coming, but it was still somewhat amusing. Caviezel was nominated for Best Male Performance for his role in The Passion, by the way.
Politically, the left was represented, but even that only felt like token representation. Jack Black was wearing a "Kerry for President" t-shirt. And Michael Moore, via a pre-recorded spot, plugged his new "documentary," Fahrenheit 9/11 under the guise of "we have 15 extra seconds because one of the winners isn't here." Sheesh.
Here's a lineup of what won:
Best movie: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Male performance: Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Female performance: Uma Thurman, Kill Bill: Vol. 1
On-screen team: Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, 50 First Dates
Best kiss: Owen Wilson, Amy Smart and Carmen Electra, Starsky & Hutch
Best villain: Lucy Liu, Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Action sequence: "The Battle at Gondor," The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Dance sequence: Seann William Scott, American Wedding
Breakthrough male: Shawn Ashmore, X2: X-Men United
Breakthrough female: Lindsay Lohan, Freaky Friday
Best fight: Uma Thurman vs. Chiaki Kuriyama, Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Comedic performance: Jack Black, School of Rock
One final thought... I found it interesting that Lord of the Rings won both Best Picture at the Academy Awards and the same top spot at the MTV Music Awards. Everyone likes LOTR--young and old, liberal and conservative, religious and non-religious.
I guess in the end, Tolkien brings us together...
In years past, I've gauged how "in-touch" I felt with pop culture and especially the under-25 crowd by how many presenters I recognized. Last night I didn't even care that much. All I saw was two hours of self-absorbed, self-indulgent ego.
Consider Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore accepting the award for "Best On-Screen Team" (a very loosely defined category based on the nominees). They didn't really have anyone to thank, so they thanked the state of Hawaii where they filmed the movie. Seann William Scott who won for "Best Dance Sequence" in a very goofy and stiltingly memorized acceptance speech thanked Patrick Swayze, Kevin Bacon, and John Travolta (for their past dancing roles).
The MTV Movie Awards used to be known for their spontaneity. Regardless of how scripted it actually was, it used to not seem that way. Everything was scripted last night from the introductions to many of the acceptance speeches. And the scripting itself seemed poorly done.
Listening to Snoop Dog botch his lines as he used the award for Best Kiss to finagle a kiss from Paris Hilton was nothing but painful. And what have we come to as a culture when the winners of Best Kiss are three individuals, not two?
In past years, MTV has spoofed the most popular movies of the year. They moved away from that this year and engaged more in dialogue and faux interviews from Will Ferrell's character Ron Burgundy from the upcoming movie Anchorman. Two were mildly noteworthy. The opening sequence featured Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn portraying Hollywood producers trying to convince Peter Jackson (played by himself) to stretch the Lord of the Rings just a bit more into a fourth movie. It was mildly amusing.
And then Ron Burgundy interviewed Jim Caviezel (who portrayed Jesus in The Passion of the Christ). I'm still convinced that Caviezel is a clone of the taller guy on Adam 12, but that's another matter. In this piece, Ron Burgundy was under the impression that Jim Caviezel really was Jesus Christ in disguise. In the end Caviezel gets tired of denying it and gets up to leave in disgust only to walk across the top of a swimming pool as Ron Burgundy runs after him. Okay, we saw that (or something like it) coming, but it was still somewhat amusing. Caviezel was nominated for Best Male Performance for his role in The Passion, by the way.
Politically, the left was represented, but even that only felt like token representation. Jack Black was wearing a "Kerry for President" t-shirt. And Michael Moore, via a pre-recorded spot, plugged his new "documentary," Fahrenheit 9/11 under the guise of "we have 15 extra seconds because one of the winners isn't here." Sheesh.
Here's a lineup of what won:
Best movie: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Male performance: Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Female performance: Uma Thurman, Kill Bill: Vol. 1
On-screen team: Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, 50 First Dates
Best kiss: Owen Wilson, Amy Smart and Carmen Electra, Starsky & Hutch
Best villain: Lucy Liu, Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Action sequence: "The Battle at Gondor," The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Dance sequence: Seann William Scott, American Wedding
Breakthrough male: Shawn Ashmore, X2: X-Men United
Breakthrough female: Lindsay Lohan, Freaky Friday
Best fight: Uma Thurman vs. Chiaki Kuriyama, Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Comedic performance: Jack Black, School of Rock
One final thought... I found it interesting that Lord of the Rings won both Best Picture at the Academy Awards and the same top spot at the MTV Music Awards. Everyone likes LOTR--young and old, liberal and conservative, religious and non-religious.
I guess in the end, Tolkien brings us together...