My Oscar Picks

Just got back from our winter vacation but won’t be discussing that this time. This is Oscar week and for the first time in quite a few years, I’m really pulling for one movie and its stars. I don’t go to theatres to see movies often anymore—mostly wait to rent them from either our cable server or a rental shop. However, our hotel in Anaheim was close to a theatre and since we were tired from a full day at Disneyland, we decided to rest the following day by seeing “The King’s Speech.”

Most people still remember the Queen Mother, Elizabeth; however no one born later than the 1950s will remember much about King George VI. I was 15 when he died and while we didn’t yet have television, he was often featured in the newsreels at the movies, so I feel I knew him quite well. His bravery in staying in London during World War II, to give courage to his subjects, made him well loved both in England and abroad. There was no doubt about his feelings for his wife; theirs was definitely a love match and the queen never forgave her brother-in-law for his abdication which forced her husband into a much more public life than he desired.

Colin Firth is far better looking than I remember the king being. He had rather a thin, worried face and Colin is exceedingly handsome. But the portrayal of the King’s speech problem is superb and the supporting actors are equally fantastic. So come Sunday, I’ll be rooting for “The King’s Speech” to take home several of those little gold statues. I’ll be sorely disappointed if they don’t.