What exactly is the definition of excellence? Perhaps the person to ask is Homer Simpson, who in 1992 won the first annual Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.

 

As you can imagine, the award was a joke, and if the Asian Excellence Awards isn’t careful, it may become one.

 

In case you aren’t familiar with the Asian Excellence Awards, it’s like many other entertainment shows of its ilk. Good-looking people get dressed up, win statues and say some inspiring words. It’s like a mashup of the Oscars, the Emmys and the Golden Globes, a chance for Asian American talents in the TV and film industry to celebrate the achievements of the previous year.

 

This is all well and good, except when you see nominations such as Maggie Q for “Balls of Fury” (Outstanding Film Actress), “Rush Hour 3” for Outstanding Film and Naveen Andrews for “The Brave One” (Outstanding Film Actor). The first two are obvious: Any award show that attempts to marry words like “outstanding” and “excellence” with “Balls of Fury” or “Rush Hour 3” is, quite frankly, delusional. Andrews is a fantastic actor, but the role he played in “The Brave One” lasted all of five minutes, if that. And as much as I like Jet Li, having two acting nominations originating from his movie “War” is just wrong.

 

Not only wrong, but reeking of desperation. Films like “This Christmas” and “High School Musical 2” are just as troubling, especially when you compare the current outstanding film nominations to those of the past:

 

2007: “Babel,” “Curse of the Golden Flower,” “Letters from Iwo Jima,” “The Namesake”

2006: “2046,” “Kung Fu Hustle,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Saving Face”

 

Of course, a list like this is a reflection of the industry itself. For these years, Asian Americans had the good fortune to be involved in solid artistic endeavors; it simply wasn’t the case this time around, for whatever reason. Still, this is no excuse to pad the supposedly-best list with substandard productions.Instead, what the organizers of the event should’ve done is highlight films like “Shanghai Kiss,” a fine romantic comedy that never found distribution and didn’t have a theatrical run. Not only did it star the talented Ken Leung, it also featured Hayden Panettiere of “Heroes” fame, and although the story has its pitfalls, the movie has some wonderful performances and chuckle-worthy moments.

Along the same lines, another film the organizers have excluded is “West 32nd,” starring John Cho and Grace Park and directed by Michael Kang, who made “The Motel” a few years back. A gritty crime drama set in New York’s Koreatown, it’s not yet certain whether the film will garner a theatrical release, but wouldn’t it have been nice to highlight efforts like this? Last year, there was a category called Outstanding Asian Independent Film, but this year, it’s curiously absent.