Monday, January 28, 2008

The Glam Factor

Didja watch the SAGgies last night? I did because a) I'm a member and b) there wasn't anything else on.

I was going to try to catch up with my "For Your Consideration" viewing of all the contending films, but I got hopelessly behind and gave up for the time being. Since I don't have to return the "screeners" I can view them at my leisure. They are somewhat annoying, though. Every few minutes you get a superimposed message that this dvd is "for your consideration" and remains the property of whatever production company happens to own the film.

Still, the price is right. Free. It saves me from plunking down real money to see some films ("Hairspray") I really don't want to waste money on seeing. Oh, and don't get me wrong about Hairspray. But I saw the original John Waters' film, way back when and I saw the Broadway show a few years back. I have zero interest in seeing it (again) on film.

But it didn't matter if I'd seen the films or not. What I really wanted was my mid-winter dose of glamour, something that's been sorely missing from my steady diet of cold and darkness this winter. I needed glitz, tinsel, red carpets and bad fashion decisions to brighten up a Sunday evening. And the SAG awards did not disappoint.

I love Charles Durning but would it have killed them to put a ramp up to the stage to save the poor old SOB from having to climb up the stairs? Jeebus, I thought he would fall and kill himself.

Everybody else were either modest to the point of self-effacement (Javier Bardem) or over-the-top in love with themselves (Josh Brolin). Mostly, though, the winners were damn glad they were the winners and too bad for the losers.

The best part of last night? it was mercifully brief and unusually lacking in the sort of self-aggrandizing bullshit that the Oscars indulge in ("Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to the most self-important night of the year in Hollyweird... Oscar Night.")

I love my parent union and my fellow 119,999 members.

My name is JoyZeeBoy and I am an actor (SAG member since 1981).

4 comments:

Bev Sykes said...

There was something really nice about the SAG awards. i didn't miss the bloated fillers and I loved that they didn't cover up the thank yous with music. I was surprised seeing how articulate Durning was, given his expressionless face during the intros and the painful climb to the stage. But what was with Burt Reynolds? He looked like was either in terrible pain--or feeling NO pain!

JoyZeeBoy said...

Beats me what was up with Reynolds.

But weren't you appalled by Mickey Rooney? I was. He shamelessly milked the applause (and was clueless that the winner he announced wasn't there) until they finally yanked him off. They should put him out to pasture somewhere.

Bev Sykes said...

Mickey Rooney has ALWAYS shamelessly milked the applause!

JoyZeeBoy said...

Sigh. You're right.

A hundred years ago he and Ann Miller appeared together on B'way in a pastiche of old vaudeville routines called "Sugar Babies." My ex fell in love with it, so we wound up seeing it about 4 or 5 times.

The NYTimes review said, "Mickey, who is 60 (this was 1980 or thereabouts), comes across like a spry 80 year old!"

But Annie-Pie sure hadn't lost her touch. She could STILL tap 100 beats a minute! We always sat in the front of the mezzanine so we could see her feet in action.

That dame (and she'd be the first to call herself "a dame") new what it meant to be a STAR, God love her!