Unsurprisingly, Taika Waititi’s “Jojo Rabbit” won the coveted TIFF people’s choice audience award today. I should have predicted this on-print days earlier because I was part of the minority that believed a ‘Jojo’ win would happen. Why? Well, quite simply, much like last year’s winner “Green Book,” Waititi’s film was the most enthusiastically received by the Toronto crowd. It helped that there were ‘Jojo’ banners and posters stamped everywhere you went on King Street. By all accounts, Festival head Cameron Bailey went that extra mile to make this win happen, but the crowd ate it up. “Jojo” is an unlikely crowd pleaser, even if I, and the majority of film critics, did not think too highly of it. Does this mean it is now a Best Picture Oscar contender? I don’t want to say yes just yet, its 52 Metascore should be worrisome, but “Jojo Rabbit” now has the momentum going into its October 18th release. Good God. I do think the runners-up for the audience award today (“Marriage Story,” and “Parasite”) will get recognized by Oscar, but all eyes and ears are now on Waititi’s film and the numbers it will bring in at the Box-Office. Will it go bust or are we about to witness the making of a best picture frontrunner? Contribute Hire me
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