The Honest Trailer for 2019’s Oscars has officially arrived. Screen Junkies’ flagship series thrives on controversial casting decisions, negative fan backlash and movie PR disasters, so when it came time to put together this year’s Oscar special, the Honest Trailer team probably weren’t struggling for material. The Academy themselves have experienced a turbulent build up to the 2019 ceremony, beginning with the Best Popular Film fiasco, a transparent attempt to placate those calling for Black Panther to get a Best Film nod without actually giving it a Best Film nod. Then there was the exit, and failed attempt at re-hiring, Kevin Hart as host before, most recently, the ceremony had to back down on a decision to hand out a number of big awards during commercial breaks.
Some of the nominations haven’t had an easy ride either. Despite its success, Bohemian Rhapsody has been dogged by the past and recent allegations surrounding director Bryan Singer. Additionally, Green Book’s representation of Dr. Don Shirley has been criticized by the man’s living relatives, and the film’s overall approach to tackling the sensitive subject of racism has also been questioned.
Predictably, Screen Junkies’ 2019 Oscars Honest Trailer takes aim at all of these issues, and many more, in a brief tour through this year’s Best Picture nominations. After a rundown of the ceremony’s recent controversies, the video turns to the movies themselves and some highlights include the uncanny comparison between Bohemian Rhapsody and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, comic book fans still not being happy after a superhero movie finally got nominated and a sudden realization that hardly anyone has seen a Spike Lee movie.
After a relentless series of satirical barbs, the soothing tones of “Mr. Rogers” take over proceedings and point out this year’s list of notable Oscar snubs. The selection of omitted releases includes You Were Never Really Here, Leave No Trace and the inclusion of Best Stunts category after Tom Cruise threw himself off a building for everyone’s entertainment.
With so much negativity and skepticism surrounding 2019’s Oscars, this hilarious Honest Trailer is the perfect antidote to a ceremony that is probably going to have to work hard to avoid riling up movie fans more than they already have been. But whether intentionally or otherwise, this video does also serve to highlight a number of positives from the last 12 months of cinema. From Mike Myers’ brilliant Bohemian Rhapsody appearance and the Oscars finally giving recognition to a comic book movie, to brilliant performances from Olivia Colman, Rami Malek and Mahershala Ali, there has perhaps been more to celebrate this year than first comes to mind.
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Source: Screen Junkies
