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As Tommy mentioned, Sean Penn gave a rather interesting speech last night.It's not exactly news that there was at least one infuriatingly politicized acceptance speech at last night's Oscars, nor is it at all surprising that it came from Mr. Penn.
That said, I just can't resist teeing off on this one. First off, not to sound bitter, but Sean Penn has to be the greatest scourge in the history of the Oscars when it comes to robbing rightful Best Actor winners of their little golden bald guys.
Seriously, his first win (for Mystic River) was at least partially due to the Academy's guilt over not having given him the award before, and everybody knew that it should have gone to Bill Murray for Lost In Translation (who, as a comic actor, did not have have as good a chance of ever being nominated again).
That said, I just can't resist teeing off on this one. First off, not to sound bitter, but Sean Penn has to be the greatest scourge in the history of the Oscars when it comes to robbing rightful Best Actor winners of their little golden bald guys.
Seriously, his first win (for Mystic River) was at least partially due to the Academy's guilt over not having given him the award before, and everybody knew that it should have gone to Bill Murray for Lost In Translation (who, as a comic actor, did not have have as good a chance of ever being nominated again).
PD toolbar!
Then, this year, he denied Mickey Rourke the Oscar he deserved for The Wrestler - and I have a hard time believing that his win was not at least partly due not to Penn's performance, but to the Academy's partiality toward Milk's subject matter.
Then he decided to use his acceptance speech to not only trash Prop 8, but personally insult everyone who voted for it. I don't care which side of any issue you are on - the Oscars are simply NOT the forum to lecture the American public on politics.
Imagine what it would be like if, while hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to use his time at the microphone to trash a political cause. I get the feeling that the NFL would have frowned on that.
Imagine what it would be like if, while hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to use his time at the microphone to trash a political cause. I get the feeling that the NFL would have frowned on that.
And while we're on the subject, the best word he could think of to describe Barack Obama was "elegant"? Never mind "principled" or "compassionate" or "peace-loving" - he's "elegant"! What the heck does that even mean? I'm not the world's best interpreter, but after consulting my Elitist-
Listen, I'm sure that Sean Penn did a fantastic job in Milk (and Mystic River for that matter) - he's a fine actor and deserves the praise he gets for his work. As politicized as the Academy can be, they still know better than to nominate sub-par performances. To be honest, I even liked the self-deprecating "commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns" joke. Still, was it really necessary for him to make such a thorough fool of himself?
And one last thing. I find it ridiculously ironic that, despite getting two Best Actor Oscars that were arguably not awarded on merit, Penn got shafted the one time in the last decade he actually deserved the award. Sorry, but I have no clue how Denzel Washington won in 2001 (for Training Day) when Penn gave such a spectacular performance as a man with Downs Syndrome in I Am Sam.
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Matt Lewis
Matt Lewis is a writer and commentator based in Alexandria, VA ... moreRelated Articles
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Comments (27)
brntrewesl
2:40PM Feb 23rd 2009
If the shoe fits......
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David S.
2:45PM Feb 23rd 2009
Well, I will agree with you about political speeches at Academy Award time - a simple "Thank you" would be sufficient. That said, Sean Penn is a fine actor. If you cannot separate the actor from his politics, you are not being objective. He was good as Harvey Milk, although I was hoping Mickey Rourke would win. Penn should have won for "Dead Man Walking" but did not. As to your alluding to the Academy being so gay loving, keep in mind last year's "Brokeback Mountain" was almost completely shut out of any wins (except Best Director).
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(0) Change, My as#
3:00PM Feb 23rd 2009
Penn forgets that his hero,the elegant Barack Obama, is against gay marriage. Like many other Americans he is for equal rights, but doesn't want to change the definition. I wonder if he thinks Obama should be ashamed of himself too or is that just reserved for the GOP and the religious right.
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(0) Michelle
3:34PM Feb 23rd 2009
Obama is for civil unions, and a means to allow gay people to share a life, the ability to purchase property together, the ability to visit a loved on who is ill in the hospital,(when its family only, the gay partner is left out of the room), insurance benefits for the surviving partner, etc...
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(0) PCL
3:38PM Feb 23rd 2009
Like I said before, the best thing about last night's Oscars--Aussie Hugh Jackman!
That aside, I can't agree more with David S.--Penn is a brilliant actor, one of our best, but to expect actors not to be political simply because they are actors is just not gonna happen. They have as much right to their views as any of us--but I too wish they would pick a different genre in which to voice them. Award shows are bad enough with winners thanking everyone and anyone for their win, borrrinng!
That aside, I can't agree more with David S.--Penn is a brilliant actor, one of our best, but to expect actors not to be political simply because they are actors is just not gonna happen. They have as much right to their views as any of us--but I too wish they would pick a different genre in which to voice them. Award shows are bad enough with winners thanking everyone and anyone for their win, borrrinng!
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(0) BlackSambo
3:40PM Feb 23rd 2009
Michelle - so is everyone else and his brother, including the hated "right wing conspiracy" and the evil Republicans.
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(0) Linda
3:42PM Feb 23rd 2009
Did he actually say that President Obama was elegant, or did he say eloquent? I heard it as eloquent, which would give his comment an entirely differnt meaning.
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(0) moderate
4:00PM Feb 23rd 2009
Elegant; termthat overall i attributed to intelligent, charming, poised, overall a nice compliment.
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(0) moderate
4:02PM Feb 23rd 2009
corrections, typing was horrendous,Elegant a term that overall is attributed to ...
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(0) FOXYLYNX
4:08PM Feb 23rd 2009
HE IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF A "RABID" LIB - THEY LOVE TO CALL YOU NAMES. I WILL NEVER GO TO ONE OF HIS PICTURES - HE IS IMATURE AND VIEL. HE DID NOT DESERVE THE OSCAR.
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(0) Peter Francisco
4:09PM Feb 23rd 2009
BREAKINGS NEWS: Obama is really "BLOWING IT" LOL ...............
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_P2ak2vb2Zv0/SaC_3qAhxQI/AAAAAAAAB- s/pRboDWjDdzg/s1600-h/Obaminator.jpg
.................................
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_P2ak2vb2Zv0/SaC_3qAhxQI/AAAAAAAAB- s/pRboDWjDdzg/s1600-h/Obaminator.jpg
.................................
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(0) Peter Francisco
7:34PM Feb 23rd 2009
BREAKINGS NEWS: Obama is really "BLOWING IT" LOL ...............
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_P2ak2vb2Zv0/SaC_3qAhxQI/AAAAAAAAB-s/pRboDWjDdzg/s1600-h/Obaminator.jpg
.................................
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_P2ak2vb2Zv0/SaC_3qAhxQI/AAAAAAAAB-s/pRboDWjDdzg/s1600-h/Obaminator.jpg
.................................
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(0) Peter Francisco
4:12PM Feb 23rd 2009
EROSIONISTS ARE IN CHARGE get ready for the Final Erosion of our country as we know it.
EROSIONISTS (liberals, progressives, democrats, moderates, socialists, communists, marxists, rinos, etc.) are destroying our Culture, Traditions, Celebrations and Way of Life.
Make sure you are ready to VOTE all of them out in 2010 and get the people that made this country Great into office Conservatives & Traditionalists...people that care about the Constitution and the workers, want minor gov't, LOW TAXES, personal responsibility and get gov't out of our lives.
Put an end to this ERROR, vote the EROSIONISTS OUT..........
OBANOMICS = Gush Up Poverty. .... America Voted for Change they got a DOPE.
www.DefendOurFreedoms.us
EROSIONISTS (liberals, progressives, democrats, moderates, socialists, communists, marxists, rinos, etc.) are destroying our Culture, Traditions, Celebrations and Way of Life.
Make sure you are ready to VOTE all of them out in 2010 and get the people that made this country Great into office Conservatives & Traditionalists...people that care about the Constitution and the workers, want minor gov't, LOW TAXES, personal responsibility and get gov't out of our lives.
Put an end to this ERROR, vote the EROSIONISTS OUT..........
OBANOMICS = Gush Up Poverty. .... America Voted for Change they got a DOPE.
www.DefendOurFreedoms.us
RATE THIS COMMENT: (0)
(0) Peter Francisco
7:13PM Feb 23rd 2009
EROSIONISTS ARE IN CHARGE get ready for the Final Erosion of our country as we know it.
EROSIONISTS (liberals, progressives, democrats, moderates, socialists, communists, marxists, rinos, etc.) are destroying our Culture, Traditions, Celebrations and Way of Life.
Make sure you are ready to VOTE all of them out in 2010 and get the people that made this country Great into office Conservatives & Traditionalists...people that care about the Constitution and the workers, want minor gov't, LOW TAXES, personal responsibility and get gov't out of our lives.
Put an end to this ERROR, vote the EROSIONISTS OUT..........
OBANOMICS = Stimulating Gush Up Poverty. .... America Voted for Change they got a DOPE.
www.DefendOurFreedoms.us
EROSIONISTS (liberals, progressives, democrats, moderates, socialists, communists, marxists, rinos, etc.) are destroying our Culture, Traditions, Celebrations and Way of Life.
Make sure you are ready to VOTE all of them out in 2010 and get the people that made this country Great into office Conservatives & Traditionalists...people that care about the Constitution and the workers, want minor gov't, LOW TAXES, personal responsibility and get gov't out of our lives.
Put an end to this ERROR, vote the EROSIONISTS OUT..........
OBANOMICS = Stimulating Gush Up Poverty. .... America Voted for Change they got a DOPE.
www.DefendOurFreedoms.us
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(0) Clif Kuplen
4:29PM Feb 23rd 2009
or DOuF.us for short.
Most of your erosion is intra cranial.
Most of your erosion is intra cranial.
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(0) Kate smith
5:57PM Feb 23rd 2009
... erm, why not? Especially when you've won the Oscar for a film with an overtly stated political agenda - and a hate mob is hanging about outside the venue saying despicable things about a minority group. I also thought 'elegant' for Obama was quite nicely judged - it's graceful, and far less earnest sounding in the context than the expected 'African-American'. I liked it that his speech was touchingly off the cuff - despite the scribbled names on that scrap of paper - he clearly hadn't expected to win.
'Thorough fool of himself'? - wishful thinking Mr Lewis. It's you who sound a bit inept.
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(0) Clif Kuplen
5:03PM Feb 23rd 2009
Clif Kuplen4:29PMFeb 23rd 2009
or DOuF.us for short.
Most of your erosion is intra cranial.
or DOuF.us for short.
Most of your erosion is intra cranial.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (0)
(0) BlackSambo
5:03PM Feb 23rd 2009
I think the word that Penn meant was "eloquent", not elegant. He was referring to Obama's supposed mastery of the English language as compared with the previous President's constant garbling of his words when speaking in public. Although I am not a fan of Obamas, I will concede that he does a little better at public speaking than Bush (the bar was pretty low there). He is not very good when he has to think on his feet, with a lot of hemming and hawing, but at least he can deliver a written speech off a teleprompter reasonably well. He is no Kennedy or Reagan, but at least he gets the job done.
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(0) WOW
5:20PM Feb 23rd 2009
It was less irritating to hear Bush Re-invent the language (hell, it was funny), than to listen to Obama repeat his now classic phrase ..... "uh, [silence] uh uh, [looking into the distance] well, uh"
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(0) Lil\\\' Black Sambo
6:00PM Feb 23rd 2009
I agree with you WOW. With Bush, as bad as he fumbled with his words, at least you knew his heart was in the right place and he was looking out for the people of this country. With Obama, you can just sense that he is a total phony, and doesn't give a damn about this country other than to keep control over it.
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