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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth the wait, February 22, 2002
This review is from: Inside Oscar 2 (Paperback)
Finally, after seven years of silence, Damien Bona has released an update to the classic Inside Oscar. Much as he and late coauthor Mason Wiley did in the first book, Damien Bona covers the latest couple of years of deplorable nominations, outrageous omissions, and unbelievable star antics that make the Academy Awards such an irresistible farce. Picking up where the first volume left off, Inside Oscar 2 covers the Academy from 1995 through the year 2000. Along with giving detailed accounts of each year's "Big Night," (and fans of the first book should rest assured that the subtle yet savage humor that distinguished the first book returns just as strong for the update), Bona also gives us the details of each year's prenomination race -- the surefire winners that fizzled, the behind-the-scenes battles of some of recent history's most popular films, and as always, the amazingly bizarre statements made by the folks that make up Hollywood. (In many ways, reading the book was like revisiting a fever dream and discovering it wasn't a dream at all. When one reads of James Cameron jumping up and down while screaming "I'm King of the World!" on national television, one's initial instinct is to think that the writer is simply being cartoonish but then the long-block memories come flooding back and we realize that yes, we actually did sit there and watch as he did that.) Delayed, in part, by the death of Mason Wiley, Inside Oscar 2 is written entirely by Damien Bona, one of the most acerebic and opinionated of current film historians. Without the presumed tempering influence of his collaborator, Bona's sardonic wit stings whenever Bona gets onto the subject of films that he obviously felt didn't deserve their Academy accolades. As a result, Inside Oscar 2 actually carries a bit more bite to it than the previous volume. As opposed to the first book, no attempt is made to hide the author's cinematic opinions and he delivers them in sharp, double-edged prose that will the warm the heart of anyone who watched pop culture evolve over the past decade and thought to themselves, "I just don't get it." His critiques of such Oscar winners as Braveheart and Gladiator are often both devastatingly funny and insightful. While Bona's savage ridicule of Titanic will probably generate the most emotions, perhaps the most surprising object of his venom is American Beauty, an Oscar winner that would, at first, seem tailor made for one of Bona's outspoken views. However, Bona is instead unfailingly critical of the 1999 Best Picture winner which he faults for being basically a TV sitcom version of a satire, for being blatantly anti-female, for being blindly homophobic, for actually managing to miscast Kevin Spacey even while winning him an Oscar, and for basically being a great deal of fury signifying nothing. These are the same feelings that I and a lot of others felt when we first saw this film and they are feelings that grow with each subsequent viewing. However, to my knowledge, nobody has better explained those feelings and made a case against the most acclaimed film of the '90s with the skill and wit displayed by Damien Bona. If I did have any problem with this book, it was that Bona's witty barbs -- so powerful against overrated films -- are less strong when he directs them towards politics, which Bona does often. While his film commentary carries the ring of hidden truth, Bona's occasional comments about each year's political headlines often go beyond sarcasm and into the realm of truly nasty bitterness (though this could be my own politics speaking; if I were a liberal, I'd probably love Bona's attacks on Bob Dole, George W. Bush, and Orrin Hatch). It's a nastiness that, the few times its surfaces, is dreadfully out-of-place in what is otherwise an insightful, informative, and hilarious social history of American film in the 1990s. But that's a small quibble. This book is a must have for anyone who loved the first Inside Oscar, anyone who considers themselves to be a lover of Hollywood's vulgar rituals, and especially anyone who happens to have a sense of humor. And if you don't have a sense of humor -- well, buy the book anyway! Just skip over the parts about Titanic...
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Damien Bona Leaves No "Stone" Unturned....., May 28, 2003
This review is from: Inside Oscar 2 (Paperback)
This review refers to "Inside Oscar 2" by Damien Bona..... What did Sharon Stone wear to the Oscar Ceremony in 1995 that caused a big stir and increased sales at "The Gap"?...And what about Oliver Stone..nominated for and Original Screenplay for "Nixon" but a no show at the ceremonies...what's up with that? What about those wacky guys who brought you "South Park: Bigger..." and the controversial song "Blame Canada" in 1999, Matt Stone, Trey Parker and Mark Shaiman. What were THEY wearing and who would be lucky enough to sing their song on stage. Find out the answer to these very important and burning questions in Damien Bona's follow up to "Inside Oscar"..."Inside Oscar 2". For fans of "The Big Night", the annual Oscar awards, this a five star book full of every detail that goes on surrounding the Oscar hubbub.It's got all the elements a good movie would have. Action and Adventure (this mostly occurs when the stars run into Joan Rivers on the Red Carpet pre-show), Mystery and Action (remember the year the Oscars were stolen and where they were found?),Romance(the stars love that little guy), Lots and lots of comedy, and even some sci/fi...who could forget that thing that Bjork wore in 2000. What was that anyway? Damien Bona has once again done an excellent job of bringing the Oscar events to us. This "sequel" covers the more recent years of 1995-2000. As in the first book, Bona has formated each year, beginning with detailed events leading up to the nominations,all the excitement of the "Big Night", who presented, Billy Crystal's opening songs, great acceptance speeches, and finally the aftermath of what went on after the presentations(find out who sat with who at what party and what they ate). And also you will find a great refrence section in the back, naming every award, nominee and winner by year. I applaud Bona for changing with the times. As over the years more attention has been paid to what the stars were wearing, those ever multiplying pre shows, and even the growing notarity of the bleacher fans, so Mr. Bona has been sure to include all those details and much more in this book.He also includes many of the critics opinions, good and bad, and is pretty open with his own feelings on certain films himself. If your as crazy for "Oscar" as you are for the films themselves, you'll love this book. It will keep you laughing at the antics of the studios and the stars, and you won't be able to put it down. And if you haven't read the first one, it's a must. It has all the info on Oscar from the very beginning of Oscar history. One little teeny complaint....Mr Bona...I was ready for my close-ups!...what happened to all the wonderful pictures of the stars and their Oscars at the beginning of each chapter..I missed those this time...Please include some in "Inside Oscar 3". I'll be waiting and thanks for the memories......Laurie
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Too highly opinonated to deserve five stars, February 22, 2002
This review is from: Inside Oscar 2 (Paperback)
I have been waiting months for this book after I engulfed the first edition and wore out the pages from the countless amount of times I paged through it to find out things like who was up for Best Actress in 1944. The latest edition starts where the first left off, in 1995, and covers the Oscars up until last year's ceremony in 2000 with "Gladiator," taking home the Best Picture nod. Bona basically follows the same chapter agenda of the first by going over the top movies of the year, what critics across the country thought and the early Oscar buzz. He follows with the nominations, who was happy and who got snubbed, which leads into the section "The Big Night." That section is a run-down of Oscar night and includes all the corny jokes told by the MC, who was wearing what, and what awful dance pieces Debbie Allen made the audience suffer through. Bona follows by running down the reactions to the winners and all the juicy bits from the post-parties. And of course, he included my favorite part which is a list of all the winners and nominations in the back. He also includes the lists of pictures that didn't get nominated and foreign films that got snubbed year by year. But as eager as I was for this edition, it so far has left me a bit disappointed. Though this book is as funny at times as the first, Bona is a bit too opinionated for my liking. He lets the reader know right away what he thought of a film and takes cheap shots at people, like calling Ridley Scott "a hack." He is also more than happy to let us know how he felt on the 2000 election and brings it up numerous times. Wait...isn't this a film book? Obviously, with partner Mason Wiley not around for this edition, Bona was free to let his opinions fly and is not afraid to take pot shots at anyone. He also has a tendency to cheerlead at times in the book. It's quite obvious what film or actor he felt should have won.
Of course, the first book took it's fair share of shots at people but there were far fewer, they never went on for more than two sentences, and they were always filled with humor. Bona's slams in this edition are less for humor and more to state his opinion.
Of course, it's his book and he can write what he wants but it just doesn't flow as well as the first and if Wiley were still alive, I doubt it would be so politically opinionated. That being said, I'd still recommend this book to any Oscar fan as it has more info than you can find in any other publication and it's a nice update from the first edition which stopped at 1994. And as Milos Forman once said "The Academy awards are a wonderful game, but if you take them seriously, you're in trouble."
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