Monday, September 23, 2013

4 Thoughts on the Emmy Awards

1. The host - Neil Patrick Harris is adorable and I will always be a fan, but this was one boring show.  The beginning was a struggle to get through.  Really, the big opening number is a montage of television shows, weirdly edited together, so that it seemed like he was interacting with the characters. That's it. It was simplistic, boring and not funny at all.  Then, he did a very short monologue that included a joke about Paula Deen (which was only funny because of his "not soon enough?" jab).  Then, he was accompanied by some previous Emmy hosts including Jane Lynch, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon. Again, none of it was funny.  I didn't really blame NPH on the catastrophe, until Tina Fey and Amy Poehler appeared and I realized that I would prefer if they stayed on stage instead.  They have the ability to make jokes that don't work, still funny.  It's a talent that not many people have, but it's a must for an awards show host.

2. The winners and losers - When the first two big winners were announced (Merritt Wever and Tony Hale), I was actually really, really excited about the rest of the show.  I am a HUGE Merritt Wever fan. She created the most memorable "wallflower" character in recent memory, as Zoey on Nurse Jackie, and she is the only reason that I have stuck with the show (Edie Falco is also awesome, as expected. The show, however, has its ups and downs).  Tony Hale is pretty fantastic, although I don't watch Veep (it's next on my list, after I catch up on Boardwalk Empire and Californication), I believe that he is deserving. I had a feeling Julia Louis-Dreyfus would win for Veep, as well, and people seem to love Jim Parsons (I don't get it).  It seemed like we were in for an upset on the comedy category with a Veep win, but alas, Modern Family won the big award. I'm not as upset as most seem to be - again, after 4 seasons it is still consistently funny.  I have major love for Louie, but I think it should have won in the writing category (it didn't), not the big award.  When the Drama announcements began, things were looking good with Anna Gunn winning for Breaking Bad. I have never been a huge fan of Skyler, but the way the show was written from the beginning, I would argue that you are not supposed to like her and that's what makes the role and Anna's acting so brilliant.  I wasn't too upset when Aaron Paul didn't win (of course, he is who I was rooting for), because I heard Bobby Cannavale is superb on Boardwalk Empire (I'm not there yet).  But after that, the show went to shit. Jeff Daniels. Come on. I don't watch The Newsroom, but I would love for someone to show me one article, review, anything that states that Jeff Daniels is better in his role than Bryan Cranston or Jon Hamm (It doesn't exist. I've already searched).  Also, Breaking Bad should have won the writing category (that was, like, a given). Then, Claire Danes won over Vera Farmiga.  I would have accepted Kerry Washington, just because I love her, but Farmiga is by far superior to anyone in that category for her portrayal of Norma Bates on Bates Motel.  Claire Danes relies on her "ugly cry face" for every scene in Homeland and everyone thinks she's amazing (I'm half kidding. She's very good on Homeland, but not Emmy good.). I was also rooting for Sarah Paulson to win because she was terrific on American Horror Story: Asylum, but when Ellen Burstyn is in a category, then Ellen Burstyn should win in that category (always and forever). I started to get really nervous towards the end that Breaking Bad wouldn't win but luckily, The Emmys came to their senses. Keep in mind, I am still terribly confused by the many snubs this year (like SouthLAnd and Michael Cudlitz, also Mae Whitman and Monica Potter from Parenthood, everyone and everything about The Americans).

3. The show - What a weird show. It can't all be blamed on the host. The set-up was weird, the "in memoriam" sequences were odd, and there were musical numbers that made no sense (Don Cheadle talking about The Beatles, then Carrie Underwood butchering "Yesterday").  And what about that choreography number? At first, I was like, Ok....that's kind of cool, but then I changed my mind quickly. It's not The Tony Awards.  Does anyone really believe that television enthusiasts care about the choreographers of reality shows? Because we don't. We care about writers, actors and directors. The biggest highlight of the show was in the beginning, with Merritt Wever's non-speech "Gotta go...bye" are the best words uttered on that stage in a long time.  How can you not love her? The lowest point is probably the constant reminder that everyone dies. It's very weird that the producers decided to highlight iconic people that have died this year - the "in memoriam" montage works...why fix it? Why give the audience something else to complain about ("this person should have been highlighted...not that person" bullshit)?  The biggest complaint seemed to be about Cory Monteith - obviously I will stick up for his inclusion, but I think Jane Lynch said it best, in that we are mourning "what could have been".  Yes, more "iconic" people have died this year, but Cory didn't even get the chance. Also, the fact that he was on a current show (an extremely popular show), proves that his death was under different circumstances.  The whole thing was just unnecessary, especially watching Edie Falco fighting back tears when talking about James Gandolfini.  As Steven Levitan said in his speech, it's "the saddest Emmy's of all time".

4. The fashion - For the second year in a row, Leslie Mann wore my favorite dress.  She is just so stunning.  I pray that my body looks like that in 10 years.  You can tell that she has an amazing body in that dress even though she is barely showing any skin.  I also loved Taylor Schilling's dress; I usually hate white dresses at awards show because they look like wedding dresses, but that ain't no wedding dress. She looked hot. I loved the top half of Robin Wright's dress - it's cool and futuristic, but I think it would have looked a lot better if it was a short dress; the solid black made it look too heavy for her. As for the worst, Lena Dunham's dress is hideous, but it's very "her", so I'll let it slide. Amy Poehler's dress was also really unflattering, but when asked what she was wearing, she said "a good attitude", so she is forgiven as well. So, I'm going to go with Melissa Leo, because that white embroidered shirt/skirt combo was inappropriate for a black tie event. Also, Jon Hamm needs to shave...like right now.

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