OVP: Best Original Song (2019)
The Nominees Were...
"(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" Music & Lyric by Elton John & Bernie Taupin, Rocketman
"I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away," Music & Lyric by Randy Newman, Toy Story 4
"I'm Standing With You," Music & Lyric by Diane Warren, Breakthrough
"Into the Unknown," Music & Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, Frozen II
"Stand Up," Music & Lyric by Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
My Thoughts: Unlike virtually every other field in 2019, the Best Original Song category struck out on its own. I believe this is the only OVP category we'll profile that has no Best Picture nominees, and three of these films this is their only nomination. This is also an eclectic group of films. We have movies ranging from blockbuster animated features to little-seen faith-based pictures, and so we have a lot of places to start. I'm going to begin with the movie that won, Rocketman.
Rocketman is in my least favorite cinematic genre (the musical biopic), since it's always the same plot, and that was true of Rocketman even if it better captured the spirit of its subject (the fact that it's less a biopic and more a jukebox musical) than most. The original song is certainly not bad-it's a rocking Elton John ballad with a lot of pep, and it works within the confines of the film, particularly in capturing the elevated spirit that Egerton's Elton brings to the movie's final moments. It's just...kind of pale when you compare it to some of the other songs in this movie. Egerton does such a game job of singing & impersonating John's vocals, that this song becomes something of a B-Track when you compare it to "Pinball Wizard" or "Your Song." As a result, it feels more like a way to honor classic hits than the actual song that's being cited.
Breakthrough is one of the worst movies I've seen in a very long time. Its casting decisions are racist & ageist, and it wants to be complicated when it really is trying to have it both ways in conversations about faith. With apologies to Diane Warren (I respect the Oscar thirst, and hope she gets there someday), this is a big strikeout for the celebrated lyricist. The song is played over the end credits, is disposable in the way most of the film is (save for the profanity-free "Uptown Funk," which I'm still laughing about), and is a schlock-filled throwaway power ballad that you wouldn't remember five minutes after you heard it. A total failure of a nomination.
"Stand Up," well, stands up, a little bit better. With all due respect to Chrissy Metz, she can't sing like Cynthia Erivo can, and "Stand Up" is a big testament to Erivo's powerful vocal range. It also has a great beat to it, and tries to capture the mood of the movie. It hurts the nomination both because it's another (basically) end credits song, and has less to do with the film, and honestly, the song is slightly better than it should be. It feels like it's an anthem, but the movie in front of it hasn't really made a convincing argument, essentially creating a two-dimensional biopic about an extraordinary woman. This results in a giant ballad that feels out-of-place with the movie that preceded it.
Toy Story 4 continues the long stretch of Best Original Song nominations for this series (every one of the films has been Oscar-blessed in this category), but...why? The song they chose is a bouncy, forgettable ballad; I remember being mildly embarrassed for Randy Newman at this year's ceremony that he had to trot out & sing what is essentially a commercial jingle to a worldwide audience and fail miserably in convincing us that it's an Oscar-worthy ballad. The really sad part is that there was a strong song in Toy Story 4 that could've been nominated, but wasn't if Oscar was feeling the movie for this category.
This is what a lot of people have claimed about Frozen II. There were a number of critics making the argument that "Show Yourself" or "Lost in the Woods" were better songs, and I get that. The former is a better 11:00 number than we normally get in a Disney film, when it's usually just a reprise (it doesn't hurt that they've got an "11:00 Number Queen" singing the song in Idina Menzel), and the latter is a cute change-of-pace from Jonathan Groff. But here's the deal-I totally bought the soaring nature of "Into the Unknown" and it was my favorite of the Frozen II numbers, none of which approach the magic of the first film, but this comes the closest. I think it plays well in the film, and helps tee up the best part of Frozen II (the animation, which is gloriously layered, and a beautiful improvement on the original).
Other Precursor Contenders: The Golden Globes are always going to go celeberity, so while they kept Erivo, John, & Idina, they also had room to include "Beautiful Ghosts" from Cats (Taylor Swift & Andrew Lloyd Webber) and "Spirit" from The Lion King (Beyonce). This year saw a shortlist for the Oscars in Best Original Song (that's new), so we know that ten other songs were in contention here: "Speechless" (Aladdin), "Letter to My Godfather" (The Black Godfather), "Da Bronx" (The Bronx USA), "Catchy Song," (The Lego Movie 2), "Never Too Late," (The Lion King), "Spirit" (The Lion King), "Daily Battles," (Motherless Brooklyn), "A Glass of Soju" (Parasite), "High Above the Water," (Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am), and "Glasgow," (Wild Rose). I have to assume that Beyonce, who was a favorite for the win before she missed at the nominations, was just a hair away from winning the whole thing here, and was our sixth place.
Songs I Would Have Nominated: This is a weak field, and while 2019 wasn't a great year for cinematic songs, it could've been a considerably better lineup. I would have thrown in a different song from Toy Story 4 (Chris Stapleton's "The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy" is way better), and I like Regina Spektor's revenge ballad "One Little Soldier" in Bombshell. "Catchy Song" from The Lego Movie 2 is mega addictive, and better than "Everything is Awesome" which Oscar cited a few years ago. But the true travesty is that "Glasgow" didn't make it. It was written by an Oscar-winner (Mary Steenburgen), and is breathtaking both as a stand-alone piece of music and as a pivotal moment within the film. I'd believe that Oscar didn't see this movie...but shouldn't that have also hurt Breakthrough? Honestly-there's no forgivable explanation on this one-the Academy screwed up.
Oscar’s Choice: Elton John's comeback was enough to get a win, probably over the Frozen team, who are definitely some of Oscar's favorites these days (this was their first loss).
My Choice: "Glasgow" missing here is such a crime I almost don't want to make a pick, but if I'm forced to I'll go with "Into the Unknown" in a slight nod over "Stand Up," the only music that feels somewhat worthy of an Oscar. Follow that with Rocketman, Toy Story 4, and Breakthrough.
Those are my thoughts-how about yours? Are you with Oscar & Elton, or are you over in my corner with Idina? Are we all in agreement that the actual winner should have been "Glasgow?" And what's it going to take to get Beyonce an Oscar? Share your thoughts below!
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