#4: Argo

The 2012 CORZIES return after an over-long hiatus with:

“ARGO: Fake Movie, True Story.” In one way I’m glad this review was delayed for months. Now I can tell my story. You know the one…

January 10th 2013. The Oscar nominees are announced. Argo is one of the eight films in the running for Best Picture. But Ben Affleck in snubbed in the Best Director race. No movie has won the Oscar without a director’s nomination since the Eighties. I had bet on Argo after its arresting premiere in Toronto. But it seems my money was wasted.

Three days later. The Hollywood Foreign Press shocks the film industry by handing Argo the Golden Globe for Best Drama. Affleck gets the nod for Best Director… But what other films won Best Drama in the past? The Descendants. The Social Network. Avatar, Atonement, Brokeback Mountain, The Aviator. A comprehensive list of Oscar also-rans for the last decade. I try not to get my hopes up.

But Argo keeps winning. Critic’s Choice Awards. Directors Guild, Producers Guild, Screen Actors Guild. By February 24th it’s in pole position for the Big One. It breezes past Lincoln, Life of Pi and Zero Dark Thirty to win Best Picture. And my 9/1 bet brings in… um, well, ten times my original stake.

But back to the movie. Argo is a rare beast. On one hand, it’s a taut thriller. From the moment our lead touches down in Tehran, the stakes are raised. The tension builds. The audience is never let off the hook. I for one was on the edge of my seat. My palms were sweating throughout – and not just because I was on a first date.

On the other hand, the Hollywood scenes add some much-needed levity. Screen veterans Alan Arkin and John Goodman inject their trademark humour. The comedic duo keep the atmosphere from becoming too grim and overbearing. People go to the movies to enjoy themselves, for heaven’s sake. (On a side-note, Goodman plays the real-life Oscar-winner John Chambers, who designed Spock’s pointy ears in Star Trek and make the simian prosthetics for Planet of the Apes. And he was my grandad’s second cousin – another true story!)

Like our hero, Argo is the master of two worlds. It flits effortlessly between California’s dazzling sun and Iran’s oppressive grey sky. It’s not a character study about overcoming adversity. It’s not an ensemble piece either. In short, It’s not your typical Oscar movie. But it beat the odds in its own way by winning its own Golden Fleece. As did I. Make no mistake, Argo is Oscar-worthy, Corzie-worthy and worthy of your time. So give it a go. Argofuckyourself.

Come back tomorrow for #3: winner of the customary “Not at all Enjoyable, Yet Engaging all the same…” award. Thanks for sticking with me and I promise there’ll never be another 11-month wait!