Damaged goods: Sandra Bullock needs a heavy dose of humility

Sandra Bullock had an incredible 2009. She starred in "All About Steve," "The Proposal" and "The Blind Side," taking home around $450 million in the U.S. alone.

Oh yeah — she also won an Oscar on Sunday.

Does this not surprise anyone else? Seriously, our best actress was the woman who starred in "Speed" and "Speed 2: Cruise Control?" This woman's claim to fame is breaking a bone in that racist garbage flick "Crash."

Her garnering acclaim is like Adam Sandler getting an Oscar for "The Longest Yard." Hell, if the Academy is going to nominate Bullock for "The Racist Side," I mean, "The Blind Side," why not nominate Kevin James for "Paul Blart: Mall Cop." Nominate Kevin Smith for his stellar directing of "Cop Out."

I could go on and on.

Granted, 2009 just wasn't a stellar year for movies. Somebody's got to win — why not Bullock?

I'm still not ready to put Bullock in this canon of greats. I'm not ready to say her performances in "The Blind Side" and "The Proposal" are as good as Meryl Streep's in "Doubt" or Kate Winslet's in "Revolutionary Road."

I will never be ready for that day.

Such is the case with awards shows. Trying to figure out the reasons everyone was or wasn't nominated will make you feel like a dog that chases its tail out of boredom.

The reason I focus on Bullock is her acceptance speech at this year's Razzies.

She won worst actress and worst screen couple with Bradley Cooper this year for the stunningly stupid "All About Steve." At the award "ceremony,"  she said the voters were uninformed.

According to a CNN report from Alan Duke, Bullock gave copies of the film to everyone, saying: "Something tells me you all didn't really watch the film, because I wouldn't be here if you really, really watched it and understood what I was trying to say."

She can't be serious.

Granted, I didn't see "All About Steve." The only reason to see this movie is payback from your girlfriend for making her watch good movies.

This film is a remake of an equally bad movie from 2007, "The Heartbreak Kid." Imagine the movie execs' meeting.

"We got this script for ‘The Heartbreak Kid 2,'" says the exec. "Let's make it more original and get Sandra and that guy from ‘The Hangover.' Let's make it PG-13 so all the kids can see it. It can't fail!"

There is no implied meaning behind this film. There is no "what I was trying to say." This is what people watch to "be entertained."

So, movie-wise, we've reached a bit of a low. "Entertainment" means watching something with a Sarah Palin approval stamp ("The Blind Side") or something with mixed messages about the environment ("Avatar").

If James Cameron really wanted to make a "green" movie, why is Sigourney Weaver smoking Marlboro Reds throughout the entire film?

Little things like this and Bullock's bloated Razzie acceptance speech don't make me irritated at the Oscars. I've long since given up faith in that process. But it does make me irritated that people aren't paying attention to what's been released.

You want to be entertained? Check out "Black Dynamite." Go rent "The Informant!" You want a visceral movie experience? Watch "The Road," and let me know how you're feeling.
At this point, anything's better than what Sandra Bullock released last year.

I'd rather watch "Speed 2: Cruise Control."

Bullock needs a heavy dose of humility if she's serious with this Razzie speech. She isn't an actress — she's a blockbuster cardboard cutout.

Matthew Sigur is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from West Monroe. Follow him on Twitter @ TDR_msigur.



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Contact Matthew Sigur at msigur@lsureveille.com