4 Reasons the MTV Movie Awards are Better Than The Ocars

So to be totally honest with everyone, I didn't actually watch the MTV Movie Awards. I had no idea they were happening, and have been genuinely disinterested in an awards show with a category for "Best Kiss". But after news of several trailers dropping, I was made aware of this pulpy, sophomoric awards show, and you know what I discovered? The MTV Movie Awards are better than the Oscars. Shots fired, I know. Immediately it should be noted that the MTV Movie Awards aren't "so white", but there are also some structural elements that could help make the Oscars a more watchable affair. Here they are.

1. They Recognize Virtual Performances

The MTV Movie Awards has a substantially younger demographic than the Oscars, that's just a fact. This can be a double edged sword; sure you end up nominating Fifty Shades of Grey for several awards, but you also stay fresh and up to date with modern advances in movie making technology. Case in point: the Best Virtual Performance category.

Best Virtual Performance is a pretty broad category and can cover everything from voice over work (Amy Poehler in Inside Out) to performance capture (James Spader in Age of Ultron). Still, these actor's are instrumental in creating iconic characters that usually end up getting little to no recognition. Andy Serkis, for example, is still Oscar-less. In fact, he's never even been nominated.

Adding a Virtual Performance category would be step in the right direction for the Academy and would serve the very important job of expanding the tremendously shallow voting block. Especially if they were to also give credit to the visual effects artists, or animators who round out a virtual performance.

2. They Recognize the Ensemble

Last year's The Big Short was a wonderful film anchored by several strong actors. But when it came to narrowing down who was "Supporting" and who was "Leading", things got a bit divisive. One could argue Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling and Christian Bale were all "lead" roles, and each gave performances worthy of recognition. Still, the only nominee in the acting block was perennial awards contender Christian Bale, for a supporting role.

So many movies are built on the shoulders of a large cast, rather than one or two actors. But the chemistry and skill of those people is overlooked at the Academy Awards in favor of movies that allow Leo to steal the spotlight as the coldest, saddest, dirtiest man. I didn't even mean to make a Spotlight pun, but I did... so Spotlight also had an impressive ensemble cast.

Once again, (try to figure out the theme) nominating a whole cast would be a great way to expand the voting block. Tokenism, or using one minority to seem diverse, is a big issue in a lot of award focused movies. But if the entire ensemble wins, that means that all the token side characters get to cast a vote the next years, (hopefully) expanding the diversity of the nominees. Also, throw the casting director in with the ensemble, and let them accept the Oscar. Just so there isn't fighting over who gets to talk more.

3. They Nominate Comedies (for Comedy)

This is more for the Golden Globes, but the point still stands. Remember when The Martian won Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)? The Martian wasn't a comedy. There were jokes, moments of levity, and characters that didn't make me want to jump off a bridge, but that doesn't mean it's a comedy. Ridley Scott, the director of the movie, accepted the award for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), and clearly stated that the film wasn't a comedy. So did Matt Damon, when he won for Best Actor (Musical or Comedy). This wasn't a problem at the MTV Movie Awards.

There was only one "Comedy" category, but the nominees were at least all from Comedy films: Deadpool, Trainwreck, Ride Along 2, Spy, Pitch Perfect 2, and Get Hard. The closest thing there to "not a comedy" would be Deadpool, which I'd like to argue right now is a comedy first and an action movie second. Do all of these movies deserve to be nominated for awards? Absolutely not. But it's a step in the right direction for recognizing something that isn't just and indomitable bummer

Technically speaking, the Academy Awards doesn't have a comedy category. But maybe it should get one. Don't compromise Best Picture, but in the same way that Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary, and Best Film About a White Man in Trouble (oh that's Best Picture), there should be special recognition for movies that are just tremendously funny. As it stands, there was arguably one comedy nominated last year, and it was about the financial crisis of 2008. Haha.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying The Boss (which out-grossed Batman v. Superman this weekend) deserves an Academy Award. But Trainwreck, Bridesmaids, The Way Way Back, Me Earl and the Dying Girl, and even The Hangover deserve a little credit. If you can tell me that there aren't five sincerely good comedies every year, I pity you, and I pity your pitiful soul.

4. They Give People a Reason to Watch

This is perhaps the most important thing the Oscars need to learn. Nobody cares about the majority of Oscar movies. The jokes never land, often the funniest part of the evening is watching the awkward pauses as jokes bomb. It's a night of perpetual self-congratulation, everybody patting themselves on the back, shouting out their favorite political cause, and then going to the after party to presumably get black-out drunk in a room full of people who presumably envy them to a dangerous degree. Really, it's kind of a bleak affair.

Compare that to the non-stop party of the MTV movie awards. This years ceremony was hosted by the perpetually energetic Kevin Hart and perpetually charismatic Dwayne Johnson. Cynically, I know they were only there to promote their new movie. But cynically, I know Chris Rock only got to host the Oscars so they wouldn't look so monochromatic. Which is better?

Both awards shows are much longer than they need to be, but the MTV movie awards dropped three buzz worthy trailers throughout the night. The Oscars cuts together weird montages of movies that didn't get nominated to celebrate that year. Seriously, the 2014 Oscars had two weird montages with a whole lot of Man of Steel for some reason... Yay? By the way, Man of Steel wasn't nominated for any Academy Awards, but did get nominated at the MTV movie awards. Take that Marvel!