Backlash

Out here in Hollywood, Academy members will soon be voting for Oscar nominees. The most critically acclaimed film is Sideways. That might explain recent attacks in The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

Critic A. O. Scott claims the film is overpraised because the main character, a middle-aged, paunchy, balding, insecure writer (who still gets the girl) reminds the critics of themselves. TV writer Burt Prelutsky makes a true TV writer's complaint--the lead is unsympathetic.

I can't say I agree with either, and hope to make my reasons clearer in my Films of 2004 review, coming up soon. The question is will these pieces effect the Academy voters. My guess is, as unusual as Sideways is for an Oscar film (low-budget, no names, not a huge hit), the bandwagon is too strong and the competition is too weak to deny it a passel of nominations.