OVP: Original Song (2012)

OVP: Best Original Song (2012)

The Nominees Were...

"Before My Time," Music and Lyric by J. Ralph,  Chasing Ice

"Suddenly" Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil, Les Miserables

"Pi's Lullaby," Music by Mychael Danna and Lyric by Bombay Jayashri, Life of Pi

"Skyfall" Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth, Skyfall
"Everybody Needs a Best Friend," Music by Walter Murphy and Lyric by Seth MacFarlane, Ted

I feel really bad that it took this long to finish up our 2012 OVP, but know that I definitely wanted to be here, but Comcast and their shoddy service managed to stop me from publishing this.  But I am back now, and we’re going to pile drive through these write-ups, starting with our next two categories, both centered around the musical accompaniment that surrounds our nominated movies.

You all want to dive into Adele first, I know, and since I (and certain cable companies that missed installation appointments twice) made you wait so long for this actual write-up, I’m not going to make you wait again, so let’s start with Skyfall.

It’s kind of stunning that so few songs in the James Bond franchise have been nominated for an Academy Award, considering that for a while there with Oscar, giving a trophy to a rock or pop star was very much en vogue (Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, The Beatles-they all have Oscars).  Songs by Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, Jack White, and of course all three Shirley Bassey ballads were turned down, so it was refreshing that Adele broke the trend, getting Bond his first nominated ballad since 1981’s For Your Eyes Only.  The song, of course set to the opening credits, is deceptively intertwined with the film.  As the song was by Adele, a superstar in the music world right now, it was expected that it would be a hit (the last time an Oscar-winning song was in the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 was Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” also at the height of his popularity), but since it was released before the film, Adele and Epworth kept the soaring ballad fairly vague.  You don’t realize until you’ve seen the film exactly how much the lyrics tell you.  It’s a great trick, and it gives the song upon repeat listens a lot more character.

The same can be said for “Before My Time,” a film that plays over the end credits of Chasing Ice, something I’m always a little leery about honoring at the Oscars (shouldn’t the song be incorporated into the movie at least somewhat?), but in this case, it works as everyone sticks around to watch this film to the very end in the theaters, as you are mesmerized by the beautifully shot looks at the depleting glaciers.  The film’s song is also deceptively clever-J. Ralph uses a well-known voice in Scarlett Johansson, which is smart so it’s more relatable to the audience.  The lyrics triple their meaning by being connected to our chief protagonist in the documentary, James Balog, to the glaciers, and to those that see the movie and desperately hope for something better in the battle against global warming.  It’s a strong, mesmerizing song, and it rings in your ear as you leave the movie wanting to find some way to make a difference.

Seth MacFarlane has always known how to incorporate clever music into his works (think of how frequently Family Guy or American Dad break out into song), and so it seems appropriate that he received his first Oscar nomination for his lyrical, rather than screenwriting or acting, abilities.  The song plays over the opening scenes, with us finding the relationship between Ted and John deteriorating from cute and cuddly to boozy and codependent.  The song is, like most things in a MacFarlane work, supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, and never really breaks down its chipper, 1950’s era lyrics to match the increasingly lascivious behavior onscreen.  And I have to say hats off to MacFarlane for picking Norah Jones rather than himself to sing the song (MacFarlane, a fine singer, would have been an inappropriate choice as Ted’s voice is so similar to his own and we would have thought it was Ted singing the song).

I do feel that songs in foreign languages generally are at a disadvantage in this category, as since you don’t know what they’re saying (it’s just a cold hard fact-unless it’s a foreign musical with closed captions), you’re going off of the spirit of the song and of course the actual music, but little off of the content of the song.  I did look up the lyrics of the song (trying to be unbiased), but that actually lessens the overall appeal of the music, in my opinion, as the lyrics are rife with overwrought metaphors and is way too saccharine for my taste.  The film’s song blends too much into Mychael Danna’s score, and while it sounds fine, it doesn’t separate itself enough from the musical composition to make sense as a best song nominee.

The final song nominee is one of those standard musical tropes, where they throw in one additional song to the score to gain an easy Oscar nomination (see also Evita and The Phantom of the Opera for other examples).  The problem is that unless you are going to go for the rafters ala Evita, this seems a bit out-of-place in the film and the song cannot compete with the rest of the score.  “Suddenly” doesn’t seem like it’s completely alien to a 25-year-old score, but it cannot remotely compare to “I Dreamed a Dream” or “On My Own,” and you forget that it was sung before even the movie is finished.  If you’re going to try for an Oscar, you need to make a bigger dent into the movie you’re representing.

Other Precursor Contenders: The Golden Globes adore handing this category over to the musical superstars, so in addition to Adele (who won) and “Suddenly,” we saw the inclusion of Keith Urban in Act of Valor, Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars in The Hunger Games, and Jon Bon Jovi in Stand Up Guys.  All three songs would have gotten their films their only Oscar nomination, and I want to say of the three that Urban’s was probably the closest to making it in at the Oscar household (considering that Nicole Kidman was also close for The Paperboy, it probably wasn’t a very happy morning at their house on Oscar nomination day).

Songs I Would Have Nominated: I feel like it was a huge miss, considering its haul in other categories, to ignore the fairly original song score that Quentin Tarantino pulled together for Django.  His films regularly feature a pitch perfect score, and this one happens to have both John Legend’s “Who Did That to You?” and Elayna Boynton’s “Freedom” as original contenders.  Additionally, Peter Jackson always seems to know how to capture the spirit of his Lord of the Rings movies with different musical stylings, and so Neil Finn’s “Song of the Lonely Mountain” probably deserved inclusion from The Hobbit.

Oscar’s Choice: Getting the nomination was the big hurdle for Adele (the music branch being stingy about nominations for sure things), but with the new voting system, she sailed through and easily won the trophy.  It’s hard to tell if the second place was “Suddenly” or if it was Oscar’s emcee himself.  My guess is that it would have been Les Miz.

My Choice: It’s gotta be Adele, doesn’t it?  She’d actually win this out of all original songs last year, though I think I might have put J. Ralph in second place, and it’s a pity that he couldn’t have entered this song in 2010 or 2011, when he would have easily bested the Oscar nominees.  Following Chasing Ice would be Ted, Les Miz, and Life of Pi.

But what are your thoughts?  Do you also agree that Adele was inevitable, or would you have picked one of the other songs?  Why do you think that Django couldn't muster at least one nomination in this category?  And are you still as mad as I that they didn't let Life of Pi or Chasing Ice get their musical performances at the ceremony but the other three songs did?

Also in 2012: Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume, Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Animated Short, Live Action Short, Previously in 2012

Past Best Cinematography Contests: 2010, 2011