Here Comes The "Bridesmaids"

After a hard night as work (don't ask), I went home to my humble house and popped in a movie that I picked up Tuesday: "Bridesmaids."  I saw this movie earlier in the year and deemed it the surprise hit of the year.  I gave it four stars in my review, but considering how few great comedies we've gotten this year, maybe I should have added an extra half star to the grade.  The year is almost complete and there hasn't been a more funny film I've seen this year (the film is very likely to make my Top Ten list).  Re-watching it on BluRay made me realize something: This film may have Oscar potential.  I know, I know, comedy is a tough sell for the Academy.  But you know what?  Once in awhile you just sort of have to go with your heart.  It seems unlikely on paper that this would get nominated for anything, but considering the shallow competition we've gotten so far, it seems more crazy not to predict it at this point.

It has box office success.  It has a breakout performance by Kristen Wiig.  It's also one of two big hits this year starring mostly women ("The Help" being the other one).  And by golly, this is such a funny movie that I'm starting to feel like a bitter old man not predicting it to get nominated for SOMETHING!  So first I'm going to predict Kristen Wiig getting a nomination for Best Actress.  This was a breakout role for her, and she just won an Emmy a few nights ago, so she may have momentum to get a nomination here.  I'm also throwing in a prediction for Best Original Screenplay, since the screenplay categories are where comedies tend to fare very good.  Don't believe me: "Shrek" got a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.  No joke, look it up.  My last prediction is a long shot, but I'm going to predict a nomination for Melissa McCarthy for Best Supporting Actress.

I know, that last one sounds more crazy than anything else, but think about it: She STEALS the movie!  Every scene she's in she's upstaging the entire cast of characters, and she's the most complex woman in the whole film without getting all serious and depressing.  Way back in 1960 Peter Ustinov won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the Stanley Kubrick film "Spartacus."  You may think that for an epic that must have been a serious role, but you'd be wrong.  It was comical.  VERY comical!  Kevin Kline and Alan Arkin won Oscars in this category for playing largely goofy roles, so if a comedy performance is going to get a nomination, it will normally be as a supporting character.  Whether it gets these nominations or not is up in the air, but one thing should be obvious: If you haven't seen "Bridesmaids" yet, you are missing out on the best comedy of the year.  No joke, you really are.

Update: I made a mistake in the article.  It wasn't Kristen Wiig who won an Emmy it was actually Melissa McCarthy.  I'm sort of glad I was wrong about this though, as it gives McCarthy's chance at a Best Supporting Actress nod more weight.

Viola Davis's Oscar Campaign Needs 'Help'

This week "The Help" crossed the $100 million dollar mark.  It shows once again that making smart films for older women is an untapped market that Hollywood needs to stop ignoring.  It's avoided a lot of controversy on the basis that people of different ages, colors, and genders love it.  It makes you feel good, but it doesn't sugarcoat things.  All these reasons make it one to watch for Best Picture, and few will argue that.  However, there IS an argument that is circling the web: Viola Davis's performance!  Many people agree that it is an Oscar worthy performance and worthy of a nomination.  The debate is this: Will be be nominated in the lead category or the supporting category?  I find this to be a stupid question to ask, but one that is being asked none-the-less.

Davis's character narrates the film.  The film opens with her.  It closes with her.  She is instrumental to getting Skeeters (Emma Stones character) book project off the ground.  She tells the most personal stories in the film.  In my mind there is no question: She is the lead performance in this film.  You can't even describe the film without mentioning her.  Yet the debate is that she might get put in the supporting category because its easier to win there.  That may be a good publicist move, but in my eyes its a huge disservice to what this film is trying to say.  I'm wondering if the irony of this debate has registered with anyone but me, but am I the only one who finds it odd that we're considering putting Davis in the supporting category when the film really is about her?  Isn't this the kind of lower class profiling that the film fights so hard against?

This whole movie is about black women making their voice heard in a world that is unwilling to listen to them.  That a white woman helps get their voice out does not take away from the fact that its their stories that are being told.  In a sense, that makes this movie their movie as well.  I don't mind Octavia Spencer getting all the buzz for being a potential nominee for Best Supporting Actress.  She deserves all the praise she's getting, but her part is much smaller compared to other characters in this film.  Davis though...without her character there is no movie.  Period.  It's really about her in every single way.  How society dictated what she does with her life.  The dilemma that she spends more time raising white kids then her own son.

That being a maid is not what she wants to do, but its the only thing she CAN do at this point!  It's her journey we sympathis most with.  If Davis does get an Oscar nomination she will have deserved it.  If she wins it will be because she gave the best performance of the year.  If it's in the supporting category though I think it will be a sad commentary on how much society REALLY views black women these days!

"Creation" Trailer

Oh boy, creationists are going to crucify this film. Really, they are. This film is likely going to be the most controversial big budget film of the year. Making a movie about Charles Darwin (played by Paul Bettany) was always going to garner boos and cheers before we even saw a single frame of it. Well, now we DO have a frame to see, as well as several scenes! And, as Christian who doesn't totally buy into the whole Big Bang Theory, I have to say that "Creation" looks...very, very interesting. The conflict of a man who is making big discovers but at the cost of his personal relationship with his family is the great marks of any good movie. The fact that it's about the guy who thought of evolution is besides the point.

Chances are you will read article after article on this movie, but remember: We can't pass judgment on the film until we actually see it. Who knows; from what I see this movie isn't going out of it's way to bunk religion as it is trying to tell a good story. Once the movie is released we'll know for sure, until then though let's look forward to seeing the film. As for it's Oscar potential I will say this: Never count out Jennifer Connelly in the Best Supporting Actress category.

McDormand Is In (As Far As I'm Concerned)

To those of you who've been wondering when it would be safe to go to the theater again I am glad to report that "Burn After Reading," the Coen brothers follow-up to their Best Picture winner "No Country For Old Men," is a fun movie. It's not great, and I wouldn't count on there being too many Oscar nominations for it, but it's one of the better movies in theaters right now (and it's certainly better then "The Women"). In fact, there is only one potential Oscar nomination I see on the horizon: Best Supporting Actress for Frances McDormand. The wife of one of the directors themselves, McDormand won an Oscar for Best Actress in the classic film "Fargo." Since then she's been greatly underappriciated, turning in great performances under her "plain" looking face. In this movie she shows a comic timing and ability that makes you wish women were allowed to be funny more often. We'll see how the race pans out, but for now she's in.

"Doubt" Trailer Reveled

Wow. I'm sold. Keep an eye out for this one folks: I think it will get many nominations on subject matter alone. Of course, it's looking like Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymore Hoffman, and Amy Adams are all up for leading and supporting Oscar nominations. Whether or not there's a Best Picture nomination in the bag is up in the air, but considering the public concern about child molestation in the Catholic Church I wouldn't be too surprised if this became a front runner before anyone saw it.

Cruz Is Going For Double With "Elegy"

Another movie I saw fairly recently (but forgot to mention) is the dark and sexy "Elegy." Starring Ben Kingsley as a man who go through women like they were disposable newspapers, the movie is a gripping and captivating tale about an unconventional relationship. Though the acting is universally excellent, I think the stand out performance in this movie is Penelope Cruz, who gives a lot of depth and personality to this character that could have easily been lost. Not only is her character an interesting person, but (and this is not meant to be be offensive) the Academy LOVES to nominate sexy whores for Oscars.

Now I'm not saying Ms. Cruz (or her character) are really whores, but how many times have you seen a woman play a sex pot/prostitute/adulter and get an Oscar nomination? Well, just ask Julia Roberts, Halle Berry, Laura Linney, Kate Winslet, Annette Benning, Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Jane Fonda, etc, etc...really folks, if you're a woman in the Hollywood business, the best way to get an Oscar nomination is to play a whore with a heart of gold. But yes, it's a good performance. I'm going to list multiple actors for potential nominees here, but I believe Cruz's will stick around the most. Which would be funny because then she could potentially pull off a double nomination. The trailer is below (Note: I can't post the red band trailer for obvious reasons, but it's out there for you to find):