Oddly Insane About The Oscars

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m oddly insane about the Oscars. For my husband Thomas and I, movies are our happy place, a sacred responsibility-free zone in which to lounge (how much do we love the advent of the cinema recliner?), stare, occasionally sleep, be entertained and eat copious amounts of nutrition-less popcorn –all sans child.

Early in our relationship (and with little regard for sustainability), we committed to the idea that we needed to see every movie nominated in any “major” category i.e. Best Picture, Best Director, Lead Actress, Lead Actor, Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor. In a good year, we might achieve significant “coverage” in Best Documentary and/or Best Animated Feature as well. And, occasionally, we’ve imagined how smart and ahead of everyone we’d be if we could just throw in Short Films like a ball on a seal’s nose, while we juggle the rest. Alas, it’s rarely happened.

Our strategy during the year is to see every movie we think might possibly get nominated (makes for a strong commitment to date nights). Then during the month between the nominations’ announcement and Oscars night, we make a mad dash to fill in as needed, putting absurd amounts of pressure on ourselves to achieve the goal. Over the years, this has necessitated dashing through multi-cineplexes to make narrowly timed double features, booking hotel rooms where we’re assured of logging 2-3 features in a night via On Demand, tracking available-on-Amazon dates for at-home viewing opportunities and arranging babysitters for all of the above.

As for the BIG NIGHT (and, by the way, who the heck is hosting – does anybody know!?!!), when our son was younger, we would check into a hotel. This allowed for uninterrupted viewing pre-game through Best Pic (throwing to iPad for live-behind-the-scenes coverage on the Oscar app during commercial breaks). To make this rare, child-free all-nighter possible, we hired our nanny for a 15-hour shift, knowing it was worth every cent as we high-fived and jumped up and down on the bed.

In more recent years, we’ve preferred to DVR at home and avoid commercials. Also, our son, now 9, joins the festivities, mostly to weigh in on the pre-game, fashion critique, loudly and imaginatively proclaiming his disgust for this or that lavish frock. (We’ve occasionally experimented with individual whiteboards, privately logging our 1-10 rating for each outfit and then having a big reveal/discussion). Then, he pops off to bed and it’s on to the serious stuff. Of course, special food abounds, ranging from caviar & smoked salmon to pot stickers & lo mein, depending on the year.

Hopefully, I’ve convinced you that I’m serious about the Oscars.  Now, let me give you my 2019 picks…

*Full disclosure – I make these predictions having not yet seen The Wife (Glenn Close Best Actress nomination) or At Eternity’s Gate (Willem Dafoe Best Actor nomination). Fear not. Both are available on Amazon and scheduled for viewing before 2/24.

My predictions may or may not be right, but one thing is sure. Come the BIG NIGHT, I’ll be snuggled up with a Robot Bunnies blanket. In fact, I recently had the award-worthy idea of developing a Robot Bunnies “Movie Blanket” – a lap-sized warm-y in a chic, totable bag. After all, who amongst us has not been traumatized by an over-air-conditioned theater? Thoughts?

And now…with no further ado, the winner is YOU…take 20% off your Robot Bunnies purchase between now and Oscar night (2/24 at midnight CMT) with promocode: OSCARS20.

Happy watching!