Nerdrotic and The Critical Drinker Discussed the Oscars with Piers Morgan

The 199 is getting mainstream attention. Today, British broadcaster Piers Morgan had Gary from Nerdrotic and the Critical Drinker as guests on his YouTube show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, to discuss the Oscars with correspondent Ava Santina and commentator Esther Krakue, who were in the studio. The debate quickly got passionate – and not just between the women and our friends, as Krakue and Santina disagreed on whether Barbie is a good movie, or even whether director Greta Gerwig deserved a nomination for past films. The discussion touched on the Academy’s typical distaste for crowd-pleasing movies, male vs. female objectification, and, of course, Donald Trump. You can see the video below:

Sydney Sweeney’s bringing out the jelly, huh?

It was fun seeing some of the YouTube stars we love interacting with someone like Piers Morgan; you can make jokes about him (I don’t think he’s too bad, and he made laugh a few times in this video), but he’s mainstream in a way that, to my recollection, guys like Gary and the Drinker have not interacted with, at least in an official capacity. (The only exception I know of is Eric July, who has appeared on Fox News to discuss the Rippaverse – which, by the way, has just started a campaign for Yaira #1, if you’re interested.) Just hearing Piers Morgan say “Nerdrotic” is satisfying, like an acknowledgment of his – and, collectively, everyone in this space’s – validity. And it’s well earned; more people watch their channels than watch some TV shows. And in terms of predictions and Hollywood commentary, they’re more accurate and certainly more honest than the mainstream entertainment media. I’d like to think this is the first of many appearances like this for them and others, but I’m not putting money on it. But still, good for Piers Morgan for having them on.

As for the various topics, I liked Oppenheimer more than any of them did, but their larger point about the relative quality of cinema today is right; you often see movies that are fine but nothing special celebrated more than they would be if they’d come out when more good-to-great films were being made. I liken Godzilla Minus One to that; I enjoyed it and thought it was well-made and entertaining, but I don’t think it’s a masterpiece that deserved to sweep the Oscars, which many lauded it as upon its release. I’ve done it, too, I’m sure; there are certainly movies I think I overpraised because they seemed better than they actually were at first. When you’re starving, you’ll cling to a Twinkie and lose your mind over a decent burger. I didn’t see Barbie because I don’t think it’s for me (which is perfectly fine), so I don’t have an opinion on most of that discussion.

Gary is absolutely right about the death of the movie star and its effect on the Academy Awards; social media was the death of their ethereal qualities because they brought themselves down to Earth, and most people didn’t like what they saw. When the Oscars air, you never look into the audience and see Jack Nicholson in his sunglasses, or Denzel Washington smiling his charming smile, or Clint Eastwood giving a slight, gruff nod anymore; now, it’s a bunch of people whose names you can barely remember, with the occasional Ryan Gosling or Margot Robbie. The gag about Robert Downey Jr.’s struggles doesn’t bother me much – I don’t think anyone should be off-limits to comedians, whether it be Iron Man or Will Smith’s cheating wife – but the funniest part was not Kimmel but Downey telling him to bring it on because he can take it. That’s a man, someone who conquered his demons and now laughs in their faces. Piers Morgan made a good point about the stars’ avoidance of commenting on something like the Gaza conflict and how it exposes their incessant political posturing as phony; they’ll do it so long as they don’t think it will hurt them. (Esther Krakue had a great line: “If you told all these celebrities virtue-signaling about climate change, ‘Actually, no more private jets for you,’ they would shut up tomorrow.” Yep.) And Kimmel reading Trump’s post about him is classic; he’s humiliating himself more than the Orange Man he hates so much, especially after the response to his jokes last night.

And the Critical Drinker, Gary, and Esther Krakue agree that Sean Connery is the best James Bond, so they can all be my friends now. (I’m sure they’re thrilled.) And Roger Moore was my dad’s favorite, so Piers Morgan and I are cool, too. As for the rest, if you’re interested: Godfather 1, Rocky IV, head says Hitchcock but heart says Tarantino, Marilyn Monroe, and – though for medical reasons I can no longer eat popcorn – salted.