Just watched "Slumdog Millionaire" tonight. Yeah, I may be one of the last people in America to see it, but what can I say? Just never got around to it before.
The film's power was enhanced by my knowledge that the children who played the youngest versions of the main characters went right back to the slums they were living in when they were plucked for the film -- and that their homes in those slums were torn down not long after "Slumdog" won 8 Oscars.
I can't quibble with almost any of those Oscars. But one bugs me. "Jai Ho" won for Best Song....but it wasn't even in the movie. It was a dance routine to distract audiences from the final credits.
Colorful? Yes. Memorable tune? Absolutely. But music that was central to the movie's mood or woven into a pivotal scene? Unequivocably not. I'm suspecting the song got swept up in the momentum that "Slumdog" generated leading up to the nominations -- and rode that wave to Oscar victory.
I don't remember being terribly impressed with the other nominees, which may have had as much to do with "Jai Ho"'s win. But to me, there's still something tainted about this award of that shiny statue. Oscar should go to music that helps define a movie - not dresses up its credits.
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