The 2008 Brians

The glamorous people will gather in Hollywood tonight to pat themselves on the back.

We’ll have a more low-key ceremony here for the sixth edition of The Brians.

Each year’s edition of The Brians brings something special. This year, we have taken the “Best Animated Movie” category from last year and re-named it “The Bridget” because I only get to see certain movies because someone would alert the authorities if I just let my daughter go by herself.

The three movies in that category – “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” “Enchanted,” and “Bee Movie” – will join the more grownup fare of “Superbad,” “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “Dreamgirls,” “Knocked Up,” “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,” and “The Simpsons Movie.”

Remember, only movies I saw in the theater are eligible in The Brians, which have been Joan Rivers-free since 2003. The envelopes, please:

Best Supporting Actor: Paul Rudd, Knocked Up. Rudd showed why he is the king of romantic comedy sidekicks and the first two-time winner in this category. Whether sneaking off to his fantasy baseball draft or taking in a Cirque de Soleil show under the influence, he helped push the film to what could have been an amusing stoner comedy to a classic.

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls. You won’t see too many Brians go to the same person who wins the Oscar. She made the role of Effie look tailor made for her talents and proved that not winning American Idol can be the best thing to happen to you.

Best Actor: Matt Damon, The Bourne Ultimatum. I can hardly think of anything I have seen Matt Damon in where he hasn’t thoroughly entertained me. Rarely do you see sequels gain more momentum than the original, but that happened with the Bourne series, largely because of Damon’s ability to meld the action, seriousness and humanity of the lead character.

Best Actress: Amy Adams, Enchanted. Adams fulfills the main requirement for this category – she’s cute. But she also played Giselle with the perfect balance of optimism and insanity to make the adults enjoy the movie just as much as the kids.

The Bridget: Enchanted. I had a tough time picking between this and Bee Movie, mainly because I had such low expectations of Jerry Seinfeld’s animated comedy. But the actors in Enchanted gave the film the extra spark it needed to win.

Best Movie: Knocked Up. Judd Apatow came up short two years ago when Wedding Crashers beat out 40-Year-Old Virgin, but he now has two Brians in a row as this hit follows up the win last year by Talledega Nights. I couldn’t find much wrong with this. A nice story, some great comedy, two perfect leads and a strong supporting cast.

And now, the minor awards:

Funniest Gratuitous Nude Shot: As a naked Bart Simpson rode his skateboard through the streets of Springfield in The Simpsons movie, you knew the shot would come. Just like the Austin Powers movies, a variety of objects covered up the naughty bits. For a while, you thought it was all a tease, until the very end when Bart’s yellow you know what made an appearance. The humor of the scene set the stage for a very funny movie.

Most Memorable Character: McLovin. The geekiest of the geeky trio in Superbad will stand up there along with greats like Jeff Spicoli and Carl Sackler in my mind. I usually give away and award for best line, which Superbad would certainly win, but I could never put the best lines from the movie in a newspaper. Well, except for one – “I am McLovin.”

Biggest Mouth: Katherine Heigle could go down as the poster child for entertainers who take themselves too seriously. Her rant about how Knocked Up was sexist took her out of the running for Best Actress. Sometimes, a movie is just meant to make us laugh, Katherine. Judd Apatow’s comedy did that and raised your profile in Hollywood. You should have left well enough alone.

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Comments (2)

  1. dadman
    February 25, 2008

    Better than the REAL awards show, and that’s taking into account that I like John Stewart. Tailored for real people’s viewing habits AND over well before midnight. 😉

  2. Bill-DC
    February 26, 2008

    Pretty sad that I only saw one movie in the theaters last year (Spider-Man III). We rented a bunch and I agree with you about Matt Damon. I still need to see The Simpson’s Movie.

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