OVP: Original Song (2000)

OVP: Best Original Song (2000)

The Nominees Were...

"A Fool in Love," Music & Lyric by Randy Newman (Meet the Parents)

"I've Seen It All," Music & Lyric by Bjork, Lars von Trier, & Sjon Sigurdsson (Dancer in the Dark)

"A Love Before Time," Music & Lyric by Jorge Calandrelli, Tan Dun, & James Schamus (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)

"My Funny Fried and Me," Music & Lyric by Sting & David Hartley (The Emperor's New Groove)

"Things Have Changed," Music & Lyric by Bob Dylan (Wonder Boys)

My Thoughts: 2000 stands out to me as a weird precipice year for Best Original Song, and I'm not entirely sure why.  I think part of it is that we have officially closed the Disney Renaissance (which would get five statues in this category in the preceding decade), and we aren't yet to the musical-dominated nominations that would overrun the 2000's.  This category does include, though, both a Disney film AND a nomination for a movie musical.  It's also a surprisingly good category, particularly given it doesn't feature any songs that have really lasted in the time since.

I sometimes feel a little bit like a pretender judging the Original Song category because I am not one of those people who knows a lot about music.  I certainly listen to music, but it's not part of my personality (I "stan" no pop stars, and the closest I'd come would be someone like Edith Piaf, which I'm aware puts me in a whole different class of homosexual).  So judging someone like Bjork, whose discography is celebrated continually by certain music fans, feels like something I should defer.  What I will say is that while I found the film good-but-depressing, the music is solid, and "I've Seen It All" is a strong scene in the picture.  In a film where it smartly leans into its musical roots by casting icons of the genre like Catherine Deneuve & Joel Grey, this one doesn't need anyone but Bjork to make it work, and set up the rest of the film.

The Emperor's New Groove is a movie that has grown on me a lot in the years that followed.  Probably my favorite of the post-Renaissance Disney pictures until...Frozen?  The music is good, and this Sting ballad is a lovely piece of music, but there are two problems with it.  First, it doesn't go with the film.  Just because it's a good song, there is too much romance & sentimentality in it for a film that has been pretty silly & filled with sarcasm (David Spade as your lead...you aren't going to get a Luca-style ending).  But the bigger problem is this isn't the best song in the movie; that would be the cheeky Tom Jones number "Perfect World," which opens the film, and is much more in the mood of the picture.  This is a common issue for Disney (Encanto had the same problem, where going for the Academy's tastes led to missing the best song in the picture), but it's hard not to feel like a missed opportunity looking at "Perfect World" compared to the actual nominee.

"Things Have Changed" is the best song in Wonder Boys, and was something of a moment for Bob Dylan at the Oscars, getting us the great trivia question of Dylan being one of only two people to have both an Oscar & a Nobel Prize (the other being George Bernard Shaw).  The film is an end credits song, so it loses a point for that, but otherwise this is great.  I love Dylan, and think even in some of his later years he's capable of pulling off great music (even if it doesn't break the barriers the way it did in the 1960's & 70's).  "Things Have Changed" is one of those songs, totally rocking hard and making you think Wonder Boys is a better movie than it is.

"Love Before Time" was also part of a trend in Chinese films that followed (like House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower) where the love theme of the movie was translated into a lush end credits song.  This feels like something I shouldn't take points off for, because it's sampled throughout the movie (the Lord of the Rings songs do this as well), and because it really ties well into the film's central romance.  It's melodic, and has a touch of the bitterness that the melancholy ending to the movie will give you.  It's also, it has to be said, just a fine piece of music overall, standing apart from the film as well as it incorporates into the picture.

Our final nomination is one of the many throwaway songs that Randy Newman has been nominated for through the years, especially leading up to his win the next year (he & his cousin Thomas have gotten tons of disposable nominations through the years with the Music Branch begging the larger Academy to give them a statue, the latter still being on that quest).  This isn't a good piece of music (maybe Newman's worst nomination, which is saying something?), but perhaps more damning-it's a really forgettable one.  I doubt anyone, even Newman, could sing this song from start-to-finish, and it doesn't feel all that crucial to Meet the Parents.  In a field that has a lot of strong attributes, this is the one true miss.

Other Precursor Contenders: The Golden Globes went with "Things Have Changed" over "I've Seen It All," "My Funny Friend and Me," "One in a Million" (Miss Congeniality), and "When You Come Back to Me Again" (Frequency...and yes, given you've never heard of this song or movie, this is a case of the Globes needing to invite stars to their ceremony, in this case Garth Brooks).  The Grammys have different eligibility windows, so they had the opportunity to nominate 2000 movies in two different years.  The first year, they went with nominations for "Things Have Changed" and "Independent Women Part 1" (Charlie's Angels), but neither won (Toy Story 2 took it), while the second eligibility year got "My Funny Friend and Me," "A Love Before Time," and "Win" (Men of Honor) included, but they lost to the theme song to Malcolm in the Middle.  So 2000 becomes the extremely rare year to have five nominations at the Grammys, and not get a single win.  In terms of sixth place...I'm going to assume it was none of these films, and in fact "Where Are You Christmas" from The Grinch.  The song was written by Oscar favorites James Horner & Will Jennings, as well as pop superstar Mariah Carey, and it makes its lack of nominations for any major award that much more perplexing (especially the Globes), but I think the film's strength with Oscar probably has it beating the ignored Charlie's Angels and Miss Congeniality.  Other than Destiny's Child's empowerment ballad, Faith Hill's song (played constantly on Christmas radio stations) had the longest staying power of all of these songs, at least.

Songs I Would Have Nominated: Beyonce Knowles finally received an Oscar nomination for 2021's King Richard after 15 years of desperately wanting one, but the Academy could've stopped that quest before it started had they cited her correctly for "Independent Women Part 1" from Charlie's Angels, a total smash hit that Oscar should've noticed even from a silly film.

Oscar’s Choice: Bob Dylan, almost thirty years after he was snubbed for "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," found redemption at the Oscars and won in a likely landslide for Wonder Boys.

My Choice: With one exception, a decent list, but I'm going to go with "Love Before Time" atop "Things Have Changed," the former gaining points for feeling better connected to the movie (proving the absurdity of awards shows, these songs could not be more different).  Behind them would be "I've Seen It All," "My Funny Friend and Me," and then "A Fool in Love,"

Those are my thoughts-how about yours?  Do you want to side with the comeback that Bob Dylan staged in 2000, or do you want to join me in the rapturous romance of Crouching Tiger?  How many nominations did Randy Newman actually deserve?  And do you think if it'd been Mariah Carey singing (as originally intended) and not Faith Hill that the Grinch might've made it here?  Share your thoughts below!

Also in 2000: Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Previously in 2000

Past Best Original Song Contests: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022