Did "Remember Me" deserve the Oscar?- Page 2
Did "Remember Me" deserve the Oscar?
theaterdarling
Stand-by Joined: 9/4/17
#26Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 10:57am
LYLS3637 said: "It should have been Mystery of Love. Absolutely gorgeous song used PERFECTLY in the film."
Yes. Yes and Yes. And, unfortunately, the extraordinary intimacy and power and perfection of the song in the movie could never be conveyed in such a cavernous and glitzy setting. Yeah, I know there are always epic fails in the staging of the best song nominees, but this song was so much part of the fabric of such a beautiful movie (almost like another character) that to take it out of its context in this manner seemed especially tragic.
#27Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 11:07am
haterobics said: "IdinaBellFoster said: "The real winner wasn't even nominated - "Visions of Gideon" from CALL ME BY YOUR NAME."
I did prefer that tune to the nominated one. Unless I was swayed by Timothee emoting."
I think that's what pushed it over the edge for me. The perfect use of an original song in a movie.
"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards
Gpvegas
Featured Actor Joined: 9/17/04
#28Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 11:10am
I love This is Me and I might get flamed for this but I thought the performance last night was over sung. I loved this song but last night it seemed too forced to the point of perhaps yelling. It was good but not as good as other performances of this song I have seen.
Scott Rosson
Stand-by Joined: 3/21/15
bwaylyric
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/22/03
perfectliar
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/1/04
#31Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 11:27am
So many of you talking about context are missing the context of the award, itself. It's Best Original Song in a motion picture... not Best Use of a Song in a motion picture. Just because any song works well within the context of a film doesn't mean it should win the award. If context were what every song were judged on, explain any nomination or win for a James Bond theme.
I'm sure context plays into votes, since while nominees are decided only by the Academy's songwriters and composers, the winners are voted upon by the entire Academy membership. But the award is and should be for the song, not the context.
rattleNwoolypenguin
Broadway Star Joined: 10/11/11
#32Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 11:30am
Remember Me is an Oscar winning song to me not just cause the melody is lovely but because of its pivotal role and as an evolving motif in Coco. I wanted "Mystery of Love" to win for Call Me By Your Name cause it's gorgeous, but I am thrilled for "Remember Me" cause of how brilliantly it's utilized. You walk away from that movie which is not even technically a musical, with that song on your mind. So yes, it absolutely deserves to win and is forever immortalized with Coco which is absolutely a new classic.
This is Me is a derivative hit the nail on the head pop anthem gunning for Billboard chart topping. If you really think hard, you've heard this song before. Halfway between Imagine Dragons and Katy Perry. Pasek and Paul can do so much better, as we've seen in Dogfight.
jo
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#34Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 11:34amThe context and the song are inextricable for pretty much any song that isn't just a credits jam. Most of these songs are written to serve a particular function. Of course how well they succeed is part of their value. "Remember Me" wasn't just written to be a pleasant song, it was written to serve an extremely specific purpose. And it succeeded beautifully.
JennH
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/14/13
#35Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 11:35am
perfectliar said: "So many of you talking about context are missing the context of the award, itself. It's Best Original Song in a motion picture... not Best Use of a Song in a motion picture. Just because any song works well within the context of a film doesn't mean it should win the award. If context were what every song were judged on, explain any nomination or win for a James Bond theme.
I'm sure context plays into votes, since while nominees are decided only by the Academy's songwriters and composers, the winners are voted upon by the entire Academy membership. But the award is and should be for the song, not the context."
That's just one of many things that go into making a "Best Song" contender. Full context, the writing itself, does it do something new that other songs don't, etc. It's each individual detail and how it they all fit together in the bigger picture.
#36Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 11:40am
KathyNYC2 said: "I believe the correct song won...for many reasons already listed in this thread. It's the song I remembered most after seeing the film.
After seeing The Greatest Showman, I like a lot of the music. This is Me as a powerful anthem but I can't honestly say I went home singing the tune. It's spirit and enthusiasm and the amazing Kaela Settle were memorable. The song itself was pretty ordinary to me.
"
I feel like this too. I like 'This is Me,' I like Keala, I love the cast's energy and passion, but frankly I like The Greatest Show and A Million Dreams better than This is Me.
#37Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 11:58am
If the award went to the performers, I would think This is Me deserved it - Keala elevated that song SO FAR BEYOND what the trite, saccharine lyrics are.
But Remember Me is so beautiful, so poignant, so simplistic, so on-point for the movie, and so different from almost anything else you hear in theaters.
(I am also firmly in camp "How Far I'll Go" was robbed last year and I'm still bitter.)
schubox
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/16
#38Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 12:02pm
Call_me_jorge said: "schubox said: "Call_me_jorge said: "I really wanted Mystery of Love to win"
Yes, very much this. I’m also a giant Sufjan fanboy though"
CMBYN turned me into a sufjan fanboy. Absolutely obsessed now."
Welcome. I’ve been obsessed with him since Michigan. Absolutely see him in concert if you can. I’ve seen him 3 or 4 times and 2 of them are top 5 greatest shows I’ve ever seen
#39Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 12:39pm
The Academy re-wrote the rules for the campaigning of Best Song in 2008 such that the only way the song can be seen/heard by viewers is through the portions of the movie where the song is actually used. Film companies could no longer send out MP3, Cds, vinyl, sheet music or even lyric sheets as part of their For Your Consideration Campaigns for Best Song. Voters can only be sent a screener that has the film and a clip from the film that used the nominated song.
Therefore a song like Remember Me, which is used throughout the film will be more likely to win over a one and done anthem in a musical of several anthems like This is Me.
This is also why one can argue that Sam Smith's Spectre Bond theme won over Lady Gaga's much more lauded Til It Happens to You from The Hunting Ground, documentary.
John Adams
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/1/13
#40Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 12:44pm
linus84 said: "I agree with the win- for me Remember Me was like a character in the movie and played a pivotal role in the plot."
I was logging in to write the exact same thought. Glad I saw your post first.
I felt sure that This is Me was going to win, but I'm very glad it didn't. The song has a much bigger life outside the movie than it does within the film. That factor, plus Pasek and Paul's penchant for targeting tween emotions and trite memes turns me off to their music and This is Me.
ScottyDoesn'tKnow2
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/22/14
#41Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 12:44pm
I was rooting for "Mystery of Love" and Sufjan Stevens as well, but I think "Remember Me" worked seriously well in context of the film and this is supposed to be a film award where all the categories last night were rewarding the work that served the film. Of course some times, some songs are just way too popular and become a part of pop culture that they become undeniable like the James Bond songs (though many of them set the mood for the rest of the film and some times the competition just isn't there).
I'm sure "This is Me" works well in The Greatest Showman as well and was more than just a end credit song. I think when we have multiple contenders that aren't just throw-away songs it simply becomes which song you prefer and which song you think served the film the best (meaning what hit a person emotionally). The issue I have with "This is Me" is that it sounds like a Glee reject song and is very on-the-nose. I'm sure the singer would have done better if she actually got to perform the full song (same goes for everyone else last night) but she really over did it in that performance with that fake gasping and crying and choking up.
#42Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 12:53pm
The more I listen to "This Is Me" the less I am in impressed. Bombastic and bland is definitely a good description. Actually most of the songs in the Greatest Showman are vague enough to fit anywhere in any film. "This Is Me" will always have legs because it will touch the hearts of disenfranchised theatre nerds around the world. Keala oversang it last night and tried to replicates the passion of the workshop video. It didn't work for me. By the end I had a migraine.
"Remember Me" is a beautifully crafted song that supports the narrative and the theme of the film Coco. The Lopezes do craft music based on the project and that is a true skill. I also loved Sufjan and hoped he'd win but I knew it was a long shot.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
ellbellthomps
Leading Actor Joined: 11/15/17
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
Jmuep2
Understudy Joined: 9/7/14
#47Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 1:15pm
"This Is Me" was the best song of the evening. I feel that it was passionately performed by Keala Settle and the others. It was appropriate considering the theme of the evening. I do not remember a more enthusiastic response to a performance in my memory, seeing everyone jump from their seats at the end of the song. Once again, the Oscars got something wrong. It's not the first time, and certainly will not be the last...
#48Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 1:21pm
RippedMan said: "This is Me is a fine song, but it's not specific to the film. The lyrics are generic, and the production made it feel like a Kesha song. I don't think it should have won. I loved the Call Me By Your Name song. So haunting and beautiful."
Just because a song can stand alone outside of the film doesn't mean it also doesn't play within the film perfectly, too.
I mean, a bearded lady in a freak show singing:
"I am not a stranger to the dark
Hide away, they say
'Cause we don't want your broken parts
I've learned to be ashamed of all my scars
Run away, they say
No one'll love you as you are"
Seems pretty specific to the movie.
As for it seeming like a Kesha song, well...
broadwayboy223
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/2/14
#49Did
Posted: 3/5/18 at 1:37pmKeala is amazing and whoever said she elevated a bland song is true. Yes the soundtrack may be #1 in the world, but all the songs are in fact derivative pop anthems. There’s no story telling, no character insight, no plot advancement. In this case Remmeber Me hit all those points and did it beautifully.
