Why did Sandra Bullock win an Oscar?

There’s something about Sandra Bullock that us, the general public who pay money to watch her movies, don’t know. It is that something that might have won her an Oscar statuette over long-time nominee Meryl Streep and Gabourey Sidibe’s breakout powerful performance (not to mention the critically acclaimed performances of Cary Mulligan and Helen Mirren) during on March 7, 2010 for the 82nd Academy Awards (for 2009 movies).

Just from listening to people who know her talk, and listening to her funny and sincere gives us a clue that Sandra (or Sandy, as Ryan Seacrest lovingly calls her) might be a really great person. She’s probably always warm, funny, and sweet, and that seems to be the main reason why everyone close to the situation seemed to want “Sandy” to take home that Oscar for her portrayal of a fiercely driven adoptive mom (Leigh Anne Tuohy) in The Blind Side.

This movie, about a teenage black boy with talent who’s plucked from his dismal circumstances in the projects by a white lady with an abundance of love, determination, and money, earned some serious cash at the box office and even gained some lukewarm revenues from movie critics. Sandra Bullock’s films are often good when you measure them against their competition: other screwball comedies, but just because she was able to try a decent turn at a Lifetime-style drama doesn’t mean she deserves the distinction of Best Actress of the year.

As Mo’Nique mentioned in her acceptance speech for winning Best Supporting Actress, the Oscars is often a political affair. People have scoffed at Mo’Nique for brazenly calling out the Academy for their political ways, but there is truth to it. Truth that we may have seen tonight, where it seems at the end of the night we were crowning our Prom King and Queen, or more like crowning America’s Sweethearts,, not giving out an award for the most skillful acting. While Jeff Bridge’s role in Crazy Heart was, indeed, good, it wasn’t really breathtaking by any means. But most people wanted him to win because he’s The Dude, and also, because he seems like a really kind, cool guy.

The same for Sandra Bullock, who just the night before picked up the non-coveted Worst Actress Award at the Golden Raspberry Awards for her work in All About Steve, who comes off as real Sweetheart with a fun sense of humor. But did she really deserve the Best Actress distinction and all the accolades and benefits that go along with it?