Also Worth Mentioning: Michael Jackson’s rendition of “Ben” might have made the list, but it wasn’t a live turn (and it’s also pretty treacly, though Jackson does it brilliantly). We’re also fond of Bob Dylan‘s “Things Have Changed” from “Wonder Boys” (performed live from Australia), the song from “Belleville Rendez-Vous,” Robin Williams doing “Blame Canada“ from “South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut.” And more recently, there’s Three Six Mafia‘s “It’s Hard Out There For A Pimp,” Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova doing “Falling Slowly,” and from last year, Adele performing “Skyfall,“ doubled with Shirley Bassey doing “Goldfinger.”
5 Terrible Ones
“In The Deep” – Bird York – from “Crash” (2006)
There are so many things to regret about “Crash” being such an Oscar force, but one of the main ones is its Best Original Song nomination. “In The Deep,” the nominated song by Kathleen “Bird” York (an actress/singer best known for playing Toby Ziegler’s ex-wife on “The West Wing“) isn’t bad so much as it is terribly, terribly bland, but it’s the hilariously literal staging that makes it such a disaster. York sings in front of the backdrop of a, uh, burning car, while performers of various ethnicities included in Paul Haggis‘ film walk around in slow-motion behind her. It’s quite staggeringly misjudged, redeemed only by the fact that it was beaten for the Oscar by “It’s Hard Out There For A Pimp,” which makes quite the contrast.
Ray Parker Jr. – “Ghostbusters” from “Ghostbusters” (1985)
In the week where Harold Ramis passed, it should be understood that we’re not knocking “Ghostbusters,” or the Ray Parker Jr. theme tune that was Oscar nominated (only to be beaten by Stevie Wonder‘s “I Just Called To Say I Love You”). Indeed, Parker Jr.’s spirited performance is not what was wrong with this particular production number. It’s more that it seems to have been put together by someone who not only hadn’t seen “Ghostbusters,” but that had absolutely no sense of taste. For some reason, Parker Jr. sings his track in an orange jumpsuit (?) from an forklift truck elevated above the stage (??) as ghosts dressed as Southern belles and, uh, lampshades (???) dance on stage, until out-of-work actors playing sort-of Ghostbusters come on—clearly and obviously late for their cue—and shoot them (????), followed by an appearance by Dom DeLuise as a vampire or wizard or something (?????). It looks like an unauthorized Eastern European remake of the movie by someone who only saw the trailer, and is one of the most embarrassing things we’ve ever seen on the Oscar stage.