Welp, it’s that season again. No, I don’t mean the lingering frigid temperatures and precipitation of February. I mean award season. Is it just me or do The Oscars nominees seem particularly far removed and uninteresting in comparison to what us plebs are actually watching? I’m intrigued by The Brutalist, now being heralded as Adrien Brody’s greatest work since The Pianist, but I have a feeling my interest in architecture won’t be enough to keep me in my seat for over three and a half hours. Do you ever get the feeling that the teams behind these often bloated, slow-moving marathon pieces are in some kind of secret competition to make the longest movie possible? Whenever a film exceeds two and a half hours, I generally wish the editor had stepped in with their metaphorical (and anachronistic) scissors to cut large swaths of unnecessary film from the picture. If you’re like me, and you look for award competitions that honour plucky, underdog ventures, look no further. I found some awards that have applauded what I’ve actually been watching and what I hope you’ve been watching too! In the tradition of anti-proms, I hereby dub this the Anti-Oscars. Last year around this time, I introduced you dear readers to the Dorian Awards — a competition run by GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. Read more about the Dorians here, but suffice it to say, there are traditional award categories like Film of the Year, and there are also ones you don’t see everyday, like LGBTQ Film of the Year and Visually Striking Film of the Year. This time around, more than one of the nominations for Unsung Film of the Year are movies I’ve seen and very much enjoyed. Let me tell you a bit about them.
Dìdi
It’s very cool that this little film with a hefty dose of nostalgia for the AOL Messenger-soaked days of the late 2000s has found a following, despite being snubbed by the larger award shows. This is a quintessential coming-of-age story if I’ve ever seen one. Excellent performances buoy a poignant narrative about a barely teenaged Taiwanese American boy named Chris Wang. After striking out with his friend group, he finds a crew of skateboarders and convinces them he is an experienced videographer, able to capture their sick tricks with ease. An outsider in many ways, he finds himself skating too close to the excelling-in-social-situations sun, an Icarus falling back to earth after failing to grind on a railing. Needless to say, all does not go to plan. The relationships between Chris and his family members are touching, supported by high caliber acting from his mother, sister, and grandmother. Fun fact: the woman who plays Chris’s Nai Nai (or grandmother) is actually the director Sean Wang‘s grandmother. Found-footage style camcorder scenes are gritty and perfectly of-the-era, matching early YouTube-style videos included in the movie. After winning the Sundance Audience Award, Dìdi was not only nominated for the Dorians’ Unsung Film of the Year, but also the Film Independent Spirit Awards nominated the work in several categories. I would definitely recommend checking out this heartwarming, under-the-radar gem.
The F Word
One of my favourite watches of the past year was My Old Ass — an Aubrey Plaza gem that hasn’t been released on DVD yet, if it ever will be. The Film Independent Spirit Awards echoed my sentiments when they nominated the hilarious picture shot in Muskoka, Ontario for Best Screenplay and Best Breakthrough Performance for lead Maisy Stella. Of course, this one was nominated for Unsung Film of the Year by The Dorians as well. Since we don’t have this one in our collection, I won’t tempt you with too much of a plot synopsis, but if you ever see it somewhere to rent or stream, do yourself a favour and give it a looksie. It’s a genuine, earnest picture with an immense amount of heart behind it. Maisy Stella is a teenager having the last summer before university with her friends and family in the picturesque lake country of Muskoka. After a particularly heady mushroom trip, she’s able to see herself as an older woman (this is where Aubrey Plaza comes in). It’s excellent. I’m already jonesing for a rewatch. After a little digging, I was surprised to discover I recognize the impressive writer/director Megan Park from a Canadian production that came out in 2013 called The F Word. You may have seen it as What If? That’s the American title for some reason. I like The F Word more. The F in this case referring to “friends.” Daniel Radcliffe plays a slightly misanthropic, med school dropout called Wallace opposite to Zoe Kazan’s charming, up-and-coming illustrator Chantry. Aside: What kind of name is Chantry? I don’t know, but I love it. Chantry is in a serious relationship when she meets Wallace, and that becomes the central conflict in the film. What do you do when you’re on one trajectory with a person, and you meet someone who knocks you off course? Chantry’s illustrations come alive and literally animate the interstitial (in-between) moments in the film. Megan Park’s role is sister Dahlia to Kazan’s Chantry. By the way, if the name Kazan sounds familiar it’s because Zoe is the granddaughter of the famous director Elia Kazan and playwright Molly Kazan. The former directed On the Waterfront, East of Eden, and A Streetcar Named Desire to name a few. The soundtrack is also wonderful, featuring the accomplished musician, Patrick Watson. I love his song “Into Giants.” I also learned what a Fool’s Gold sandwich is from this film. I won’t spoil it here if you don’t know. It was Elvis’ favourite, and it becomes a recurring bit in the movie. Please check this one out.
What We Do in the Shadows
On the television front, and getting away from The Dorians, What We Do in the Shadows was nominated by the Writer’s Guild of America for Best Comedy Series. The hilarious vampire sitcom is based on the cult classic Taika Waititi film of the same name. Makes sense that my fellow writers would give credit where it’s due. (The show has been nominated for several Emmys as well, and I know the Oscars don’t do nominations for TV shows. Just bear with me, okay folks?) The latest season is the sixth and final of the often farcical show about the complexities of shared accommodations for mythical creatures. I continue to laugh out loud watching my beloved Guillermo, Nadja, Nandor, and Laszlo get into gripes with each other and occasionally find themselves facing big problems that always somehow get solved. There’s also Colin. Instead of preying on humans for their blood, he’s an emotional vampire — draining people of all their energy with pontification and pointless stories. Waititi’s bone-dry sense of humour still saturates the writing. I also get my kicks out of watching Toronto double for Staten Island. We have the original New Zealand film in our catalogue as well (above right). If you’re feeling particularly keen, you could start with the film and move on to Seasons One and Two. The most iconic line from the film is Rhys Darby insisting he and his gang are “werewolves, not swear-wolves.”
Well, that’s it for me this time. I hope you give one of these picks a try if you haven’t already. I certainly enjoyed them. Hang in there. Warmer weather is coming everybody. I will see you next month and take care!