I’m not usually inclined towards hovering around bars full of rugby fans, but sometimes it can’t be helped. Saturday was one of those days that I didn’t mind though.
For all the fuss beforehand, it’s nice that the biggest story the morning after was the crucial fact that we didn’t beat in England.
We hockeyed them.
It was fantastic.
To be honest though, two of my favourite moment’s of the day arose from the lull between the controverial anthem and the match itself (did I mention we hockeyed them?). As the cameras followed Mary McAleese to her seat in the stands, Bertie the B*****d grappled towards her and did his best to look like her best friend. Either she wasn’t quite ready for his advances, or she’s beginning to realise he’s not necessarily the best person to be seen embracing in public. Especially when he decided to spend match day with one of his ‘good friends’ who ‘helped him out’ in his ‘hour of need’ [that's subtle code for "one of those scheisters(sp?) that bought off the taoiseach that time he got away with blue murder. again."]. Her reaction wasn’t the best bit though. It was the almighty, foundation-shaking roaring BOOOOOOO!! that arose from the presumed-to-be-apathetic crowd of young, gleeful rugby fans…
Now if only they’d vote the way they shout!
Sunday was a day of relaxation and preparation. Sunday was Oscar Night. God they do go overboard! But the four solid hours of wardrobe analysis was worth it for what should have been the intro - Ellen did her best but she was quite blatantly upstaged five minutes into the show.
Helen Mirren is an incredible actress, and a credit to womankind if only for looking twice as good as every woman half her age who appeared on the red carpet last night. The lady’s got class, and there’s maybe not enough of that going around these days. I can only assume that’s why she was given the scar for her performance in the Queen - an award she may as well have had couriered to her office months ago. As I said, she is an extraordinary actress, but it is simply not the extraordinary film it has been hailed as on both sides of this island for many months now.
The great news for the night was the recognition, at long last, of Martin Scorsese’s contribution to the Academy and to film-making in general. His latest cinematic masterpiece, The Departed, got both Best Director and Best Picture - I can’t argue with either, nor do I want to. Maybe this was the greatest expression of the simple fact that the Academy does reward eventually, just not always the right year! At the same time, in this case at least, I think the rewards really are deserved for the specific work in question as well as the extended career Scorsese has enjoyed in the industry.
Finally, I have to mention Little Miss Sunshine, easily one of my favourite films of the year and one I would recommend to anyone with a soul… the good news is Alan Arkin was, as they like to put it, ‘recognized’ for his work in the film, and while Abigail Breslin may have lost out this time I don’t think she’ll have to wait for her 19th nomination before she too picks up a statuette or two…
