Hollywood makes 200 major movies a year, plus lots of minor ones. Many of them have songs. And it's been making these for more than a century.
With all of this, it really should be possible for four people to each choose one good movie song for tonight's "American Idol." Instead? "There have been some very strange song choices tonight," Simon Cowell said, accurately.
Here are a few of my comments; please add yours:
1) The two duets were well-chosen and well-sung. In particular, Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze were terrific.
2) Only one of the solos made sense. Crystal's "I'm Alright" (from "Caddyshack") was zesty and dynamic.
3) Lee's song was the wrong kind to show off a singer. As Kara DioGuardi said, it was up and down and all around. Given 90 seconds, a singer needs something relatively straightforward.
4) Michael Lynche's song -- a gospel-style Michael Jackson tune from "Free Willy" -- was big and vibrant. It wasn't Big Mike at his best, but it was pretty good.
5) I sometimes wonder if Casey James is even trying. Each week, he picks some middle-of-the-road tune and sings it in a middle-of-the-road way. This time it was "Mrs. Robinson" -- lots of fun inside a great movie ("The Graduate"), dull anywhere else.
6) Cowell seemed to claim he'd never seen a movie. People had to explain "Graduate" and "Free Willy" to him; he seemed to have only a vague concept of what "Caddyshack" might be.
7) That led to all the wrong metaphors, of course. Soon, we were talking about Big Mike and saving a whale; we were talking about Michael Jackson and freeing a Willie. It was all wrong.
8) Randy Jackson must be stopped from arbitrarily choosing a category for people. Big Mike sings powerhouse songs beautifully; somehow, Randy decided he has to sing rhythm-and-blues.
9) Wednesday's show will be fun, anyway. It will include Fantasia AND Daughtry AND Bon Jovi.
10) And it will choose the final three. I'll say Casey will and should go; of course, I've said that before.