OVP: Original Song (2002)

OVP: Best Original Song (2002)

The Nominees Were...

"Burn It Blue," Music & Lyric by Elliot Goldenthal & Julie Taymor, Frida

"Father and Daughter," Music & Lyric by Paul Simon, The Wild Thornberrys Movie

"The Hands That Built America," Music & Lyric by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, & Larry Mullen, Gangs of New York

"I Move On," Music & Lyric by John Kander & Fred Ebb, Chicago

"Lose Yourself," Music & Lyric by Eminem, Jeff Bass, & Luis Resto, 8 Mile

My Thoughts: As I said when we resumed this series (links to all past 2002 contests are at the bottom of the page), I will be writing these regularly for the rest of the month, and then we will be getting very dominant in terms of getting out OVP ballots into 2023, as it is part of my New Year's resolutions for us to get "caught up."  So hopefully you're feeling good about the Oscars, as we're going to be discussing it near daily throughout the winter (don't worry-we'll also discuss other things like politics & classic cinema like we always do, but these are coming back with a vengeance).  Today we're moving into the sound categories, and the unusual Best Original Song race for 2002, which features two movies getting their only Oscar nominations, and three Oscar favorites getting in for, let's just say it, less than impressive tunes.

One of the things that I sometimes have to get past with this category is there's a difference between a great piece of music and a song that fits the film well.  Ideally the winner should do both, but the music branch struggles so much with getting its nominations out that sometimes you have to pick or choose.  This is the case for "Burn it Blue," which is not a super original song, but it works very well in Frida, particularly the main chorus, which resounds throughout Frida and give it a well, fire (I know, I'm not proud of that pun either) that the film needs, as the actual story is lacking in heat.

The same can be true of "Father and Daughter," one of the only songs here I'm not taking a point off for being an end credits song (unless there's something very specifically connected to the film itself, I don't give full points for end credits songs as they aren't really "about" the movie-this isn't best song, it's best movie song, and so you should get credit if your song is a true component of the film).  This one plays throughout the film, frequently as a motif.  However, I don't feel like it plays particularly well for people who were coming in cold to the Wild Thornberrys (i.e. me), as the central relationship between Eliza & her father is not all that important in this movie, but I get the sense that it's a big part of the actual series itself (this is always an issue with a movie based on a TV show-I liked The Simpsons Movie and Bob's Burgers Movie far more than most would because I already loved those characters).  Overall, it's a sweet song that feels to me out-of-place in the actual movie itself.

Gangs of New York got U2 its first Oscar nomination (this doesn't sound unusual, but if you look at the band's Golden Globes history, you know that there's a lot of room there for them to have gotten included, especially for some bigger hits than this).  At this point U2 was entering the phase of its career that Coldplay has been in in for a few years-a clearly iconic band, but one whose place as a radio mainstay was coming to an end.  You kind of get that with this song, which functions as an end credits tune, and is pretty disposable.  It doesn't feel like it's particularly connected to the movie itself, and those who defend it read as U2 stans or prefer rock to other genres.  I was unimpressed by this, and didn't feel it matched the movie well.

This isn't the case for "Lose Yourself."  While U2 was entering the rarefied world of rock immortals around 2002, Eminem was basically at the peak of the zeitgeist-everyone had an opinion on him, and everything he did was considered to be cutting edge in 2002.  That he won an Oscar at this point still feels a bit odd, but not because "Lose Yourself" was a bad song-it's in fact one of his best songs.  It captures the spirit of 8 Mile perfectly, a growing crescendo...it's actually much, much better than the movie that precedes it, and if Oscar was going to give a trophy to rap (remember that they had Barbra Streisand present this, as no one thought Eminem would actually win), giving it to a seismic hit in the genre was the way to go.  I have to take points off for it being an end credit song (oh how I wish they'd have ended with this performed live).

The last song is also an end credits tune.  The problem with "I Move On," isn't that it isn't a good song-it is.  It's quite fun, and it's a duet between Catherine Zeta-Jones & Renee Zellweger (though, like much of Chicago, the former outshines the latter).  It's that the song doesn't compare with the original Broadway score, and feels out of its league.  This would become a trend in the years that followed with big-screen musicals like Phantom of the Opera, Dreamgirls, Les Miserables, & Cats trying for awards love by tossing in an extra tune, frequently over the end credits, that doesn't compare.  It's hard to judge here largely because you're going against one of the best scores in the history of Broadway, but while it's good-you don't hum it while you're going out of the theater, even though it's playing while you're leaving the theater.

Other Precursor Contenders: The Golden Globes gave their trophy to Bono, normally proving that they've always been a little more celebrity-friendly than the Oscars, though Eminem's shock win would show that AMPAS was hipper that year.  It beat the Academy-blessed tunes from 8 Mile and The Wild Thornberrys, as well as "Die Another Day" from Die Another Day (Madonna) and "Here I Am" from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (Bryan Adams & Hans Zimmer).  Grammy eligibility means that frequently movies can get nominations in the two years following their release, and that did happen here, with "Hero" from Spider-Man getting nominated in 2003 (losing to "If I Didn't Have You," from Monsters Inc) and the nominated songs from 8 Mile, Chicago, and Gangs of New York all getting bested by "A Mighty Wind" from A Mighty Wind (one of the weirder Grammy misses in a while, and proof that Eminem was not always a favorite with the Recording Academy).  In terms of sixth place, I'm assuming it was "Hero" which is the only one of these just misses that was a proper hit, though even in 2002 the idea that Nickelback would be nominated for an Oscar would've raised eyebrows (it wasn't always a punching bag, but it was never revered).  So maybe it was "Gollum's Song?"  The other two Lord of the Rings tunes got nominated...it could've gotten in.

Songs I Would Have Nominated: I'll own right now-this is both not a particularly strong Oscar lineup, and it's also a year where Oscar had to struggle to come up with a quality list so I'm not mad about what they gave me.  It gets harder the further back you go to know what is eligible or not for this category, but even with a lot of scrounging I struggled to come up with a lineup that felt like it lived up to "best of the year" standards.  I would've found room, though, for "Gollum's Song" which is a haunting ballad that hangs over The Two Towers and highlights the film's best character, and I probably would've cited "Die Another Day."  This isn't the best Bond theme, and it isn't the best Madonna song from a movie (you could make a sincere argument that no single person has deserved an Oscar nomination more & hasn't received one in the past 35 years than Madonna given her song output for films in the 1990's), but it kind of works with the silliness of Brosnan's least successful 007 outing.

Oscar’s Choice: U2 were the heavy favorites headed into Oscar night, but it was Eminem who ended up the surprise victor, even though he hadn't even shown up to accept the award.

My Choice: No contest-it's "Lose Yourself" even with the end credits stipulation.  The song is a brilliant tune, and it goes well with its movie.  The rest is a (middling) close race, I'll be honest, but I'd probably go Chicago, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, Frida, and Gangs of New York, in that order.

Those are my thoughts-how about yours?  Does everyone kind of just want to sign up for Eminem here (a surprise win that aged well), or are there other films that we are underestimating?  How do you handle end credits songs in your own personal rankings?  And is it possible Nickelback was truly one song away from an Oscar nomination?  Share your thoughts below!

Also in 2002: Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Makeup, Previously in 2002

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