Will Smith's Oscar Winning Performance

 

Gillipedia Official Rating: We Will, we Will Rock you, sock you, polka dot you

          I feel like I owe my audience an introduction to this review. If you are active on social media, you’re more than aware of all the memes going around. I want to assure you that this review is purely academic. I have done the research. I have verified the sources. I have spoken to Will—we bonded 2 years back when he noticed that we shared a birthday. And that is why I dedicate this review to Sir Smith. After an Oscar nomination for the great The Pursuit of Happyness and then previously being snubbed of a win for Ali, Will won his Oscar. I am referring, of course, to After Earth.

          If you don’t remember, this was directed by Manoj N. Shyamalan back in 2013 and was his best film since directing that nature doc on Blue Man Group. People praised his restraint in not inserting himself into a pointless role, but that’s actually the one blemish I have for the film.

          After the riveting success of the previously mentioned The Pursuit of Happyness, Will begged Jada to let son Jaden star in another movie with him. She deferred judgement to Willow, and after a long negotiating battle among agents, lawyers, and aspiring DJs, After Earth was given the father/son greenlight.

          Story? Best Eva.

          CGI? Not as good as what I can personally do, but bearable.

          And the way the studio lights gleam off the green screens really create this organic look that simply can’t be replicated out in the wild. The way the camera goes one way, and then boom, zooms in—so cool. And trust me, I’m like a movie expert. Not by my own accord. Just ask around the community, y’know?

          But the real juicy substitute meat of this review is all in the performances. Will Smith was good. He was very good. But it wasn’t enough to put the Academy over the edge. For that, he had to rely on alleged son Jaden for help. Some people weren’t sure afterward if Jaden gave his character a lisp or was going for a British accent. I say it doesn’t matter because no matter which one you pick, he pulled it off perfectly.

          So the stage was set for a Jaden Oscar that we were all clamoring for. Only, he was ineligible. An anonymous source from The Academy let me know, and I quote, “Yeah, we don’t like Jaden.”

          You can interpret that however you want, but I like to look below, behind, and around the surface. The Smith family worked a deal out with the Academy to have Jaden’s performance nominated, but since he was ineligible, by the transferrable property, Will Smith ended up nominated for Best Actor for Jaden’s performance. And we all know what happened next.

          Penelope Cruz was the presenter of the Best Actor award having been recognized for her role last year playing Roger Federer’s mom. She made a joke about how she hoped this wouldn’t be another Moonlight situation—a joke 5 years too early for the audience—and held back tears as she announced Will Smith’s name.

          Absolute goosebumps.

          After thanking his local city council and his Jimmy John’s delivery guy for keeping it real, Smith accepted the award, nothing newsworthy happened, and this story was forgotten for 9 years. But I want to give it the recognition it deserves. It’s not much, but it sure feels good to do some honest work.