OVP: Best Original Song (2004)
The Nominees Were...
"Accidentally in Love," Music & Lyric by Adam Duritz, Charles Gillingham, Jim Bogios, David Immergluck, Matthew Malley, & Daniel Vickrey, Shrek 2
"Al Otro Lado Del Rio," Music & Lyric by Jorge Drexler, The Motorcycle Diaries
"Believe," Music & Lyric by Glen Ballard & Alan Silvestri, The Polar Express
"Learn to Be Lonely," Music & Lyric by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Charles Hart, The Phantom of the Opera
"Look to Your Path," Music & Lyric by Bruno Coulais & Christophe Barratier, The Chorus
My Thoughts: Last week we had two really strong sets of nominees for Best Cinematography & Art Direction (see links below), Oscar making some sweet lemonade out of a rather lackluster year for those categories. This week, though, Oscar couldn't do the same with Original Song. This is, and I cannot stress this enough, one of the worst collective lineups in Oscar history. Not in terms of the film quality (though it's not making a great argument there), but also in terms of actual quality of the songs. The unfortunate thing for Oscar is, especially after a few years where major music figures like Bob Dylan, Eminem, & Annie Lennox had picked up trophies, is that there really weren't many quality options for them to choose from-this was just a bad year for music. But we give out Oscars no matter what year it is, so let's see if we can find at least a few diamonds in the rough.
We're going to start with the song that hilariously has six writers listed (this would not be legal a few years later, which would let no less a luminary than Beyonce get skipped for an Oscar nomination for Dreamgirls). Shrek 2 is a gaudy mess. The film didn't demand a sequel, and while it expands the story without too much issue, the song choices always feel too generic & pop ballad-y, like the kind you'd hear at a karaoke bar rather than on a major Hollywood blockbuster. If you lived through 2004 you know "Accidentally in Love" by Counting Crows, but it has almost nothing to do with the movie, and feels interchangeable with the rest of the Kidz Bop-style covers. Proof that just because you know it by heart doesn't mean it's any good.
"Learn to Be Lonely" from The Phantom of the Opera was considered by most to be the frontrunner in this category at the time, and unlike "Accidentally in Love" it's not necessarily a bad song. But a part of what I judge this category on is both if it's a good song and how the song fits into the movie, and this song doesn't stick out at all. Amidst a bevy of classics, you need something that truly stands out to even be noticed (think of "You Must Love Me" from Evita), and this is an end credits song that would easily be dead last in the list of the best songs from the album. After you've had so many great numbers, this is the kind of song you walk out of the theater during the credits to rush to your car rather than start humming along with it, glued to your seat.
It is at least an improvement over "Believe." I know this is going to elicit judgment (perhaps correctly) but I have generally liked Josh Groban's music, at least when it was popular (I also thought he was super cute...again, more judgment). But "Believe" is a schmaltzy number, one that doesn't really relate musically to the rest of the film & is yet another end credits song that doesn't do much to add to the picture. I don't always judge end credits songs being cited (particularly when they lend more to the film itself or are truly good), but The Polar Express is a movie that already lacks some narrative structure, and a song like this throughout might have helped the cause.
"Look to Your Path" is not an end credits song, and it gains points for that. The Chorus is a pretty staid affair, one about a teacher who inspires a group of troubled young boys through music, but I will admit I liked it better than other people did (I don't usually go for uplifting teacher films). The song itself is pretty good, if again deeply sentimental, and it provides a better theme for the film, one that we can go back to to connect the growth of the characters. It's not a great song (this isn't going to compete with "Moon River" or "I'm Easy"), but in a year where Oscar was batting injured, it's at least a song that feels respectable.
The final nominee was a surprise winner at the Oscars in 2004, but retrospectively virtually everyone discussing the song makes it feel like it was an inevitable winner. The Motorcycle Diaries is the kind of movie that I love (picturesque, Malick-like epic that features a handsome, troubled leading man), but I was left colder by this film than most. That being said, the song itself is a recurring, constant theme in the movie, and while generic outside of the movie (this isn't a standout song either), like The Chorus it works well within the confines of the film with establishing the mood of the picture itself. On a curve, this is one of the better choices.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Golden Globes were closer to Oscars' lineup than I would've guessed, keeping Polar Express, Shrek 2, and Phantom of the Opera in the list, but being the Globes they had to make room for some bigger names, so we have both "Million Voices" from Hotel Rwanda (written by Wyclef Jean) and the winning "Old Habits Die Hard" from Alfie (written by Mick Jagger). The Grammys, perhaps realizing that both 2003 & 2005 had better song lineups (and having a looser eligibility) did give "Believe" the Oscar, but other than that only managed nominations for "Million Voices" and "Accidentally in Love" otherwise. I have to assume that Jagger, rock legend, was in sixth place here, though this was during a bizarre stretch from 2004-08 where the Globes gave trophies to some true music legends (not just Jagger, but also Prince, Eddie Vedder, & Bruce Springsteen), and all of them were left cold with Oscar, so who honestly can tell.
Songs I Would Have Nominated: As I mentioned above, this is not a great year for this category, period, and I haven't seen Alfie though I really like that song (I have a copy of the disc home from Netflix right now, so I will have seen it before we get to our My Ballot, as I don't believe in nominating films I haven't seen as we stated above, this is more than just good music). I do find it bizarre that they skipped a song like "Lovers" from House of Flying Daggers, particularly considering A) they were able to nominate "A Love Before Time" a few years earlier from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, proving that they were open to nominating songs in Mandarin and B) the film itself was nominated in other categories, so it was clearly on their radar.
Oscar’s Choice: In a surprise twist (and bit of good taste), they snubbed Phantom in favor of The Motorcycle Diaries, giving us a great comeuppance for the Academy who refused to let the original singer-writer of the song perform at the Oscars because he wasn't famous enough.
My Choice: Not by much, but I would also pick Motorcycle Diaries over The Chorus, though this is the weakest choice I've had to make so far in this category. Phantom, Polar, and Shrek follow behind.
Those are my thoughts-how about yours? Are you with Oscar & I, that Motorcycle Diaries was the best option in a bad field, or do you want to make the case for someone else? Does anyone remember how ubiquitous that Counting Crows song was, or was that just my radio station? And why do you think Oscar skipped the chance for a likely legendary speech from Mick Jagger? Share your thoughts below!
Also in 2004: Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Previously in 2004
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