By Curt Schleier
Every year the American Film Institute honors 10 motion pictures and 10 television shows as best of the year. It is an extremely prestigious honor and while it doesn’t mean much in terms of box office or ratings, it does come with bragging rights – not an unimportant honor in La-La-Land.
Separate juries sit in judgment, both made up of industry leaders, critics, writers and academics, all presumably with no ax to grind. That’s why I was surprised that they got so much so wrong.
Here are the winners in film: BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, INTO THE WILD, JUNO, KNOCKED UP, MICHAEL CLAYTON, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, RATATOUILLE, THE SAVAGES, and THERE WILL BE BLOOD.
The TV winners are: DEXTER, EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, LONGFORD, MAD MEN, PUSHING DAISIES, THE SOPRANOS, TELL ME YOU LOVE ME, 30 ROCK, and UGLY BETTY.
Any time you hand out awards, someone is going to complain. But, folks, this isn’t the Golden Globes or the People’s Choice. AFI works on the assumption that the moving image is an art form – not just entertainment. And for my money some of the selections are slight. Michael Clayton was a good picture, perhaps even very good. It was suspenseful, but in most ways it was conventional. It did not advance the process of filmmaking.
On the other hand, I think AMERICAN GANGSTER was a subtle and occasionally not so subtle morality tale that showed how good, exciting filmmaking can also make viewers think about greater issues.
LIONS FOR LAMBS is a film that no where in part because many reviewers categorized it as preachy. There’s a difference between preachy and intelligent, and this movie definitely was the latter. If you watched LIONS FOR LAMBS and walked out of the theater without something important to think and talk about, then you are part of the problem, not the solution.
The TV choices are even more screwed up. This was the worst season of all for THE SOPRANOS, and it isn’t AFI’s job to give David Chase a good-bye gift. The only reason TELL ME YOU LOVE ME wasn’t the worst show ever on HBO is that it came on the same year as JOHN FROM CINCINNATI. It is an egregious crime that SAVING GRACE is not included on the list. It is not only an exciting cop show, but a significant and positive step forward in the way faith is displayed on television.
The awards will be presented at an invitation-only luncheon at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.
What do you think of the list? Who would you add? Rant back and let us know.