The Artist

I don't know what it is about Oscar Best Picture front runners lately. Last year, everyone under the sun loved The King's Speech... except me. I found it too long and too boring. And pointless, too. Ooooh, let's make a boring two hour movie about a guy who had to overcome something in order to make a speech. Well, guess what? I have anxiety attacks anytime I have to talk in front of more than 3 people at a time. No one has made a movie about me. A few years before that, it was the over hyped, underwhelming Slumdog Millionaire. I was, seemingly, the only person alive who didn't like. Not only that, but I hated it with a passion. This year it's The Artist. Maybe it's because there is always a better film in the running that loses to these boring, trite, baity movies (The King's Speech beat the far superior The Social Network (and even Inception and Black Swan), Slumdog Millionaire beat out the political masterpiece Milk, The Artist will most likely win over a slew of better films including, but not limited to, Hugo, Moneyball and The Tree of Life). Maybe, since these are BEST PICTURE WINNERS / CONTENDERS, my expectations are just too high and I'm always let down. I don't know what it is, but there's always something.

That being said, The Artist is not a BAD movie. It's even, by most standards, a good movie. I even will go so far as to say that I liked it. Of course, I did like it better when it was called A Star is Born, because basically that's the plot of The Artist except without words and with a dog. The Artist is a mostly silent film about the biggest silent film star in Hollywood in the late 1920s, George Valentin (Jean DuJardin). Everyone in the world loves him. He's on the top of his game. However, silent films are on their way out and talkies are on their way in and a young ingenue, Peppy Miller, who he helped discover is poised to become the biggest star in Hollywood as he fades slowly away. And that is A Star is Born... I mean, The Artist. So, cliched plot - check!

But there is something about The Artist that is worth going to see. It's a wonderful throw back to old Hollywood and a celebration of the golden age of Hollywood (which is why it will probably win Best Picture). They recreate Hollywood in the late 1920s and early 1930s effortlessly. DuJardin is amazing as George Valetin. His performance is epic. He is larger than life, effortlessly charming, so vibrant and alive... all without saying a word. After seeing this film, I do think he should beat out George and Brad for Best Actor. However, I was less than impressed with Berenice Bejo's performance as Peppy. She was too hammy and over the top to be taken seriously, in my opinion.

The last twenty minutes of The Artist are pretty flawless and perfect, but over all, it's really not anything all that special. I mean, yes, The Artist is a good movie. But is it a great movie? No. Is it a movie that will stay in my mind for more than a year or two? No. Great Best Picture Oscar winners should stand the test of time. We should still want to watch them in twenty or thirty or fifty years. And, I'm sorry, but The Artist is not that movie.

Grade: B