Best Original Song - 2009

"The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart sung by Ryan Bingham 


Movie Synopsis: A faded country music musician is forced to reassess his dysfunctional life during a doomed romance that also inspires him.


Does it appear in the movie (i.e. other than the end credits)? Yes.
Is it important to the plot? N/A.
Is it pleasing to the ear?  C+.

"Take it All" from Nine sung by Marion Cotillard 


Movie Synopsis: Famous film director Guido Contini struggles to find harmony in his professional and personal lives, as he engages in dramatic relationships with his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent, and his mother.


Does it appear in the movie (i.e. other than the end credits)? Yes. 
Is it important to the plot? Daniel Day-Lewis's wife expresses her dissatisfaction.
Is it pleasing to the ear? B.

"Loin de Paname" from Paris 36 


Movie Synopsis: When a neighborhood music hall closes down, a trio of unemployed friends vow to bring the business back from the dead by staging a musical they hope will be a hit. If their gamble pays off, they'll have the money to buy the theater for themselves and the power to control their own destinies.


Does it appear in the movie (i.e. other than the end credits)? Yes.
Is it important to the plot? They're falling in love... 
Is it pleasing to the ear? B+.

"Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog sung by Anika Noni Rose 


Movie Synopsis: A young waitress is transformed into a frog after an ill-fated kiss.


Does it appear in the movie (i.e. other than the end credits)? Yes.
Is it important to the plot? Tiana's hopes of owning a restaurant. 
Is it pleasing to the ear? A- .

"Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog sung by Dr. John 


Does it appear in the movie (i.e. other than the end credits)? Yes. 
Is it important to the plot? Introductions. 
Is it pleasing to the ear? B.


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So what won?

"The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart

What would I have voted for? 

"Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog

I know, the day I vote for a Randy Newman song! It's the princess "I Want" song. How could I not? 


Analysis

This year at the Academy Awards, they didn't perform the BOS nominees. Instead they showed some quit clips. So this was the first time I heard them all the way through in one sitting. In one way, I'm glad a country song could take the prize, but this one is so...ugh. (I'm one of those chumps that likes popular country and not "drown your sorrows" Merle Haggard type country.) Also, why was "Take it All" the one song from Nine to be nominated? Everyone prefers "Be Italian".