MTV’s Movie Awards

They are brash, rude, silly, immature, and disrespectful, but the MTV Movie Awards are a lot of fun.

Over at the NPR blog Monkey See, Linda Holmes writes:

At the same time, there’s something to be said for these loose, largely fan-voted awards that dispense with awards like Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (fans are not great at knowing what elements of a movie come from the director versus the screenwriter anyway) in favor of awards like … Best Kiss. Best Fight. And in some years, Best Scared-As-S—t Performance. (I kind of love the fact that last year, they nominated Ryan Reynolds in Buried in that category, because no, that movie isn’t great, but it’s creepy, and yes, he is scared.) And this year, they’re giving out Best Dirtbag. Well — it’s actually Best On-Screen Dirtbag. It’s probably easier to get somebody on stage to accept an award if the chyron doesn’t just say “Best Dirtbag: .”

While the Oscars are great at recognizing movies that have certain admirable qualities – distinctive and energetic acting, say, or beautifully stylized dialogue – they have never been nearly as good at recognizing the value of the entertainment side of moviegoing. They have been reticent to acknowledge on an institutional level that people go to the movies, much of the time, to experience something exhilarating. They go to laugh, to weep and swoon, to look at beautiful places, to be scared and excited and surprised. They don’t always go in order to see the most skilled artists at work. Sometimes they just want to be made to react.

It was a big year for “The Hunger Games.”  Emma Stone was a highlight with her exceptionally thoughtful and gracious acceptance of the Trailblazer award and its message about blazing your own trails, and Fun. was a great choice for the kick-off song.  This year’s winners are:

Movie of the Year
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

Best Male Performance 
Josh Hutcherson, The Hunger Games

Best Female Performance
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games

Breakthrough Performance
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Cast
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Best On-Screen Transformation
Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games

Best Fight
Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson vs. Alexander Ludwig, The Hunger Games

Best Kiss
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

Best On-Screen Dirtbag
Jennifer Aniston, Horrible Bosses

Best Music
“Party Rock Anthem,” LMFAO (21 Jump Street)

Best Comedic Performance
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Most Gut-Wrenching Performance
The cast of Bridesmaids