Flock of Seagulls Awards: Best Achievements in Hair and Grooming

After two years of doing the Beardys, I'm officially over beards.  I'm sick of talking about them.  I'm sick of seeing them.  I'm even over Ryan Gosling having one (scorpion jacket? okay, beard? no!).  So instead of awarding the bewhiskered this year, we will celebrate the weird and the wonderful world of hair in pop culture this year. 

I will, however, award a solo Beardy to Jason Segel for most disgusting facial hair in honor of his wispy mutton chops in the Five-Year Engagement...ew.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find a picture on the interwebs of Segel's chops, so here's my mock-up.  The real version is much more terrifying:

Now on to the Flock of Seagull's Hair Awards:

Best Hair Performance by a Group: The cast of Parks and Recreation.
Okay, I'm slightly biased.  Donna (played by Retta)  has more or less my exact haircut.  However, the rest of the Parks department has enviable hair too.  Pawnee must have some pretty good stylists!

Best Hair Performance by an actor:  Kit Harrington as Jon Snow from Game of Thrones.
So pretty, I'm jealous of his curls!

Best hair performance by an actress:  Connie Britton as Tami Taylor from Friday Night Lights.  Pretty much every woman in Hollywood has a good head of hair, but if I could only pick one to emulate, it would have to Mrs. Taylor's big, wavy blond coiffure. 

Best Bangs:  Hannah Simone as Cece on New Girl. 

Best Masterpiece Theatre hair performance by an actor:   Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes on Sherlock.
Besides solving crimes, playing violin and generally being a pain in the neck, Sherlock knows his way with a curling iron!

Best Masterpiece Theatre hair performance by an actress:  Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith Crawley on Downton Abbey. 
Sure, she might be the last Crawley sister to marry, but she has the coolest hair.  Spinster power!

Best Red Head: Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway/ Harris on Mad Men.
Sorry Conan!

Most Red Heads in a single film:  The Help
Including Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sissy Spacek, and Allison Janney.

The 2012 Dundees: Our Alternative Oscars

 

Minus the divisive Tree of Life and the critically panned Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, this year's Oscar's Best Picture nominations seem even more safe and boring than last year's, when we at least had The Social Network to root for.  Worst of all, they totally snubbed my beloved Michael Fassbender.  And what's up with not nominating Drive for anything besides sound editing?  Does the Academy want to deny us Ryan Gosling dressed up in suit?  Albert Brooks and Cliff Martinez deserved nominations at least.  Oh well, at least Michelle Williams got a nomination for My Week with Marilyn (though it would have been cooler if it was for Meek's Cutoff). 

Anyway, below are my highlights of the year in Film and TV.  Think of it like the Oscars with 100 % more dreaminess (and 600% more Gosling)! 

Best Funny Movie of the Year:  The Trip.  Bridesmaids is probably the most laugh-out loud funny movie, but The Trip is more profound.  The movie follows British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on a culinary tour of England, while both men deal with disappointments in their lives and career.  It's an interesting exploration of male friendship, but lest you think it's too serious it features some pretty funny sequences like Coogan and Brydon's dueling Michael Caine impressions.

Best Romantic Comedy:  Friends With Benefits.  I really liked the first part of this movie, which seemed like romantic comedy satire.  But it eventually turns into a regular rom-com at the end.  Sort of like a friend who is all cynical about love until they get a girlfriend or boyfriend and then you have tolerate their lovey-doveyness with a straight face.  However, I enjoyed the performances by Mila Kunis, Patricia Clarkson as Kunis's hippy mom, and Woody Harrelson as Justin Timberlake's coworker (who puts a whole new spin on the "gay best friend" role) enough to recommend it.

Runner-Up:  Crazy Stupid Love.  If this movie had just been about Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone's character, it probably would have been my favorite.  Their romance seemed sweet and naturally evolving and Emma Stone is super funny.  However, the Steve Carrell and Julianne Moore storyline, which is the bulk of the movie, seemed a little bit too contrived and treacly. 

Most Enviable Wardrobe, Male Performance:  Ryan Gosling in Crazy Stupid Love.  Speaking of Crazy Stupid Love, Gosling's Lothario character Jacob Palmer has a pretty sweet wardrobe.  Not quite as sweet as his abs though!

Most Enviable Wardrobe, Female Performance:  Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) from Parks and Recreation.  This was a close call category.  I was tempted to go with Zooey Deschanel's Jess from New Girl, because I love Zooey's quirky vintage style.  But let's face it, she's dressed that way forever.  On the more-realistic end, I pretty much wished I owned everything Erin Hannon (Ellie Kemper) wears on The Office.  She has a cute and modest business wardrobe that doesn't looked picked out by a stylist.  However, I had to give it to Leslie, who went from a boxy, Hilary Clinton-esque wardrobe to more a more structured and feminine look. Several times this season, I have thought to myself "I want that shirt," so well played Leslie! 

Best Supporting Canine:  Cosmo as Arthur in Beginners.  Sorry Uggie, but I haven't seen The Artist yet.  It's hard not to fall for shaggy Arthur, especially when he's proposing marriage to Ewan MacGregor in subtitles.

Favorite TV couples

Cute, happy couples can be annoying to be around. They constantly call each other pet names, hang on each other, patter on with inane conversation ("I love you, babe."  "I love you more, babe."), and do other adorably gross couple things.  I might be bitter or cynical, but I'm pretty sure any one who had to spend twenty minutes alone in a room with a "cute" couple would probably want to poke out their eardrums.

When it comes to TV couples, there can definitely be too much of a good thing.  Once a couple gets together, if there aren't enough obstacles or tension in the relationship, it can be about as enjoyable as hanging out with a "cute" couple.  For instance, I really enjoyed the Office when Jim and Pam were star-crossed coworkers (though I was Team Karen).  Now that they are "soul-mates," I long for more scenes with Dwight.  Unsurprisingly, my favorite TV couples tend to be lovelorn, awkwardly mismatched, and more fond of arguing than baby talk.
 

Veronica Mars and Logan Echolls (Veronica Mars). It's hard to explain the appeal of Logan.  He's a rich kid, a bully, and always getting into trouble because of the sometimes terrible things he does.  Yet he's also very loving and loyal to Veronica, and no one can roll off a sarcastic whip quite like Logan.  He's definitely preferable to Veronica's other love interests- nice but boring jock Duncan and nerdy hipster Piz.  Logan and Veronica start off as enemies and their relationship is very rocky; however, they always have amazing chemistry together and wonderfully sardonic banter.

Find it in the catalog!
Seasons: 1, 2, 3

Buffy Summers and Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).  Their relationship was trouble from the start: he's a vampire and she is a vampire slayer.  However, its hard not to root for their star-crossed romance.  Angel was an abstinence vampire long before Edward Cullen and he is cursed with having a soul (making killing people for food less enjoyable). He's also the only character on the show capable of matching Buffy's strength and courage.

Find it in the catalog!
Seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Adam Scott: Jerk of My Dreams

 Not to be confused with the hunky golfer of the same name, Adam Scott is a character actor who has appeared in several movies and TV shows including Knocked Up, Leap Year, and The Aviator.  Scott is most frequently cast playing characters who aren't very nice guys.  Probably because Scott excels at playing hilariously smarmy characters like the coked-up baseball agent Pat Anderson on the TV series Eastbound and Down.  Scott is perhaps best known for his performance in Step Brothers, where he plays Will Ferrell's biological brother Derek.  Derek is annoyingly perfect in every way, but strangely hostile towards his screw-up brother Brennen (Ferrell).  One of the most memorable scenes in the movie is when Derek and his family sing along to "Sweet Child O' Mine" while driving in their car; there is a YouTube sensation of people re-enacting this scene.

In spite of his propensity for playing jerks, I actually like Scott the best when he is playing straight man roles.  My favorite performance of his is as Henry Pollard from the TV series Party Down.  Henry is an out-of-work actor forced to get a job as bartender with a catering firm.  Like many real life actors, Henry first gained notoriety from a beer commercial, but unfortunately that role didn't lead to much else.  Much to Henry's chagrin, party guests often force him to say his catchphrase from the commercial, "Are we having fun yet?"  Henry and his coworker Casey (Lizzy Caplan) have one of most realistic romances on television, like a less idealistic Jim and Pam before they settled down into smug coupledom.  Recently, Scott has appeared on NBC's Parks and Recreation playing a state auditor named Ben Wyatt sent to Pawnee to deal with the budget crisis in the department.  Scott is signed on to be in more episodes of the show, and I for one couldn't be happier.  Ben seems poised as a love interest for the Parks department deputy director Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), and he's the most exciting prospect she's had yet- except, of course, for her soul mate Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman).  Scott is also appearing in meta-horror film Piranha 3-D out in theaters this summer. 

Watch Adam Scott in one of the DVDs available through the library:

Party Down (2010)*.
Find it in the Catalog!

The Vicious Kind (2010).
Find it in the Catalog!

Leap Year (2010).
Find it in the Catalog!

Eastbound and Down (Season 1, Episode 6) (2009)*.
Find it in the Catalog!

The Great Buck Howard (2009).  
Find it in the Catalog!

Step Brothers (2008)*. 
Find it in the Catalog!

Knocked Up (2007)*. 
Find it in the Catalog!

The Return (2006).
Find it in the Catalog!

The Matador (2006).  
Find it in the Catalog!

Monster-in-Law (2005).  
Find it in the Catalog! 

Veronica Mars (Episode: "Mars vs. Mars", Season 1, Episode 14) (2005)*. 
Find it in the Catalog!  

The Aviator (2005).
Find it in the Catalog!

*Highly Recommended.