One of the things happily married couples learn is the art of compromise. We agreed Sunday evening that after there was no doubt about the outcome of the Pittsburgh/San Diego game, we'd switch over to the Golden Globes. My wife had no interest in the football game and I had no interest in watching still another of the monthly self-congratulatory banquets Hollywood holds to reassure themselves that they are loved and live worthwhile lives.
Generally when these thoughtful marital compromises are reached about the activities of daily living, my wife will put half an ear on the TV and spend her time making jewelry. I'll generally fire up the laptop and catch the latest news or just surf the web. This allows us both to "do what we want" and still be able to catch the thread of what's going on, on the TV.
The first award they passed out on this show last night was for best supporting actress, and the woman who won, Kate Winslett, did not disappoint. She was a complete, unmitigated disaster. Couldn't talk. Couldn't compose herself. Kept saying "I'm sorry". And her profession is.....acting? So I guess either this was supposed to be a great acting performance...or further evidence that unless somebody writes something for them and they memorize it and the director tells them exactly what to do, they're not "acting". If you brought in the folks from those Burger King virgin ads, and showed them a clip of such a performance and asked them what they thought was the occupation of the person clutching the statue and stammering, the last thing they'd likely say would be "actress".
Later, another young woman interrupted my web-surfing with a similar performance. I don't recall who she is or which category she won, but she got up there and stammered and blubbered incoherently for about two and a half minutes. My wife knew what was going through my mind as I peered over the laptop, and said "she's just very high-strung". Whatever.
To me, performances like the ones so frequently seen on these awards shows just add to the common speculation that actors, like TV news anchors, are completely dependent on their writers.
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