The Rushmore Academy Awards

It has been noted that, despite a 20+ year career as auteur, Wes Anderson has never won an Academy Award.  This says more about the Academy than Anderson, whose place in film history is already assured.  Perhaps their best strategy now would be to lie low and wait for a suitable opportunity for a Lifetime Achievement / mea culpa.

But we will not wait.  After watching every Wes Anderson feature-length film this week (except for The Fantastic Mr. Fox), we felt compelled to do what the Academy could not, and make some awards of our own.


Best Soundtrack
Nominees:  Life Aquatic, Darjeeling Limited, Isle of Dogs, Moonrise Kingdom

The Envelope Please:  Darjeeling Limited

TheOtherFront Comment
We were swayed by the bookending of "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" in the prequel Hotel Chevalier and "Aux Champs Elysées" at the end.  I was also impressed by the fine use of The Kinks here:



LatoucheJr Comment
I have two words for you: "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" by Peter Sarstedt.

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Special Musical Award

Possibly the finest musical moment of the entire oeuvre, the homage to The Graduate pool scene in Rushmore:

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Best Goldblum
Nominees:  Isle of Dogs, The Life Aquatic, Grand Budapest Hotel

The Envelope Please:  The Life Aquatic

TheOtherFront Comment
Very tough call, as Goldblum has crushed all three of his Anderson roles.  Perhaps we are acknowledging here what Marvel also seems to understand - good Goldblum is good, but evil Goldblum is better.

LatoucheJr Comment
Goldblum’s character, Alastair Hennessy, is truly a “slick faggot”, to quote Steve Zissou.

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Best Child Actor
Nominees:  Gilman AND Hayward in Moonrise Kingdom, Tony Revolori in Grand Budapest, Koyu Rankin in Isle of Dogs

The Envelope Please:  Tony Revolori

TheOtherFront Comment
One of the toughest calls, I think.  Anderson gets wonderful performances out of kids, but asks even more of Revolori, and the lad ends up helping to carry the movie. Schwartzman's Max Fisher was not considered, we have kicked him into the adult pool.

LatoucheJr Comment
Revolori was 17 at the time of this movie’s production, but seemed older, both due to his impeccable acting skills as well as his draw-on porn-stache.

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Best Supporting Actress
Nominees:  Lumi Cavazos - Bottle Rocket, Anjelica Huston - The Royal Tenenbaums, Gwyneth Paltrow - The Royal Tenenbaums, Scarlett Johansen - Isle of Dogs

The Envelope Please:  Gwyneth Paltrow

TheOtherFront Comment
Identifiably human, Paltrow plays someone coming out of a frozen emotional state (and out of St. Claire's exhibit case) with care, style, and courage.

LatoucheJr Comment
Cigarettes, fur coats and attitude: what’s not to love?

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Best On-Screen Chemistry
Nominees:  The Darjeeling Three, Fiennes and Revolori in Grand Budapest, Murray and Owen Wilson in The Life Aquatic, and Gilman and Hayward in Moonrise Kingdom.

The Envelope Please:  Murray and Wilson in The Life Aquatic.

TheOtherFront Comment
The Life Aquatic is a tough movie in many ways.  One thing it did was push Murray and Wilson (and their characters) out of their comfort zones, and into a relationship.  They are so good together, when it's over you wish there could be more.

LatoucheJr Comment
Bill Murray and Owen Wilson receive the Best Chemistry award because of Bill Murray. Sorry, Owen.

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Best Supporting Actor
Nominees:  Murray in Rushmore, Luke Wilson in The Royal Tenenbaums, Adrian Brody in Darjeeling, Owen Wilson in The Life Aquatic.

The Envelope Please:  Luke Wilson




TheOtherFront Comment
This has to be the toughest category (James Caan couldn't even get nominated).  And we have to screw over Murray, who made Rushmore, and also set Wes Anderson's career on track.  But Wilson is the glue of Royal Tenenbaums.  And the single toughest Anderson scene ever filmed is all Luke Wilson.

LatoucheJr Comment
Luke Wilson stands accused of making me cry the hardest I’ve ever cried in a movie.

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Best Script
Nominees:  The Life Aquatic, Grand Budapest Hotel, The Darjeeling Limited, The Royal Tenenbaums.

The Envelope Please:  The Darjeeling Limited

TheOtherFront Comment
A bit of an upset here, but we felt Darjeeling had the most coherent plot and character motivation from beginning to end.  The movie knows exactly what it is, and gets there almost as if it's (raises pinky) on rails.

LatoucheJr Comment
You’ll never guess it, but this Wes Anderson script was quirky and whimsical! It’s almost as if he’s made several movies with the same type of script and tone!

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Special Award - Willem Dafoe

TheOtherFront Comment 
Turns two relatively minor characters - Klaus in The Life Aquatic and Jopling in Grand Budapest Hotel into indispensable elements.

LatoucheJr Comment
When I watched Grand Budapest, I thought to myself: this isn’t going to work. I can only see Willem Dafoe as Klaus from Life Aquatic. After watching Grand Budapest, I thought to myself: I’ll never be able to watch The Life Aquatic again without thinking of Willem Dafoe as Jopling from Grand Budapest.  Also, you can get that coat!

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Best Lead Actor
Nominees:  Jason Schwartzman in Rushmore, Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic, Gene Hackman in The Royal Tenenbaums, Ralph Fiennes in Grand Budapest Hotel.

The Envelope Please:  Ralph Fiennes, Grand Budapest Hotel

TheOtherFront Comment
Really between Hackman and Fiennes once we thought about it.  Two epic performances.  How can you not give it to Gene Hackman?  Because Fiennes was just a little bit better, brought the character to life just a little bit more.  Right in the middle of all that mad comedy and brilliant, a real guy, brilliant and flawed, living and breathing.

LatoucheJr Comment
To quote the man himself: “I go to bed with all of my friends.” The quote may be irrelevant, but it did sway our award committee to the point that it was agreed that the movie would have been a shambles without him.

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Best Wes Anderson Film
Nominees:  Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, Grand Budapest Hotel

The Envelope Please:  Grand Budapest Hotel

TheOtherFront Comment 
Very often reviews of Wes Anderson movies will use diminutives: "a minor masterpiece", "a triumph in its genre", "another quirky entry in the Wes Anderson canon" etc.  If Grand Budapest Hotel isn't a masterpiece - flawless in conception and execution - what is?  It's an immaculate film, and as big a fuck you to fascism as anything the Marx Brothers or P.G. Wodehouse ever did.

LatoucheJr Comment
Upon first viewing, the film fell a little flat of my Titanic-sized expectations. But then again, this is coming from the guy who thought Batman V Superman would be good, so you’re better off ignoring me.

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Best Director
Nominees:  Wes Anderson

The Envelope Please:  Wes Anderson

TheOtherFront Comment 

Last week I knew I'd seen a couple of his movies and liked them.  Having seen almost everything now, who in the modern era is a better filmmaker?  His films are treasures.  Dylan Thomas once said of Thomas Hardy's poems that the worst thing to do would be to select from them enthusiastically. You should read them all, he said, the whole damn lot.  So it is with Anderson.  His works may all be the same in some ways, but you could say the same of Hitchcock and Shakespeare.  There is little enough care, love, and laughter in this world - Anderson's films are full of them, and we are the richer for it.

LatoucheJr Comment

After hours of deliberation, we finally settled on the best director: Wes Anderson. To be fair, the competition was stiff. I started my viewing experience with The Life Aquatic, then Moonrise Kingdom, then Isle of Dogs, because fuck orderly society. After watching and thoroughly enjoying his entire repertoire, I can only say that it is a Crime against Humanity that Wes Anderson has not yet received an Academy Award, and one that will hopefully be rectified in the years to come.