Here are my picks for the only Oscar categories anybody will be interested in tomorrow evening; with due respect of course to all of the other very talented nominees:
Actor in a Leading Role
JEFF BRIDGES in Crazy Heart – Not necessarily because I think he was the best; for that distinction goes to Colin Firth in the Single Man – under the noteworthy direction of designer Tom Ford.
Instead, I believe Bridges will get the nod for the same sentimental reasons Mickey Rourke almost won last year for The Wrestler: he has been around a very long time, has a personal story that could rival any script, and the Academy loves welcoming prodigal actors back into the fold with Oscar’s seal of approval.
(Incidentally, the only reason Mickey didn’t win is that he was up against Sean Penn who, as we all know, is the poster boy for this kind antic sentimentality. Hang in there Mickey….)
NOTE: Ryan Bingham should win in the Original Song category for this movie’s theme song, The Weary Kind.
Actor in a Supporting Role
CHRISTOPH WALTZ in Inglourious Basterds – As Ralph Fiennes demonstrated in Schindler’s List, it takes real talent to make a Nazi bastard seem endearing. Waltz does the same in this movie.
Beyond this, though, there’s something very appealing about a brilliant actor like Waltz – who can explain the method of his acting with engaging clarity (as he did during a recent interview on Charlie Rose); as opposed to a peer like Daniel Day Lewis – whose annoying inscrutability in this respect is legend.
Actress in a Leading Role
SANDRA BULLOCK in The Blind Side – With Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren in this category, it should be self-evident that I’m not picking Bullock because of her talent.
Instead, I suspect the Academy will reward her for proving at long last that a leading woman can headline a bona fide Hollywood blockbuster.
And despite its atavistic, white-civilizing-black storyline, the fact that this movie is based on a true story gives her that Erin Brokovich (Julia Roberts), Norma Rae (Sally Field) winning appeal.
Never mind that to make Bullock’s character even more of a white heroine, the movie made it seem as though she had to teach the big black boy not only the ABCs of learning, but the ABCs of football as well. In reality, the boy (Michael Oher) was already a pretty good player before his white family “saved” him.
That said, let me hasten to note that if more rich, white families want to adopt big black boys and make professional sports stars out of them, great! Better that than to have them grow up on the streets, with all that portends for them … and us.
Actress in a Supporting Role
MO’NIQUE in Precious – Ironically, just as racial stereotypes will help Bullock win, they will help Mo’nique win.
In fact, one could be forgiven for thinking that the producers of this film, Oprah and Tyler Perry, figured that Mo’nique’s Mammy look would increase her chances of winning the Oscar – just as it did for the first black woman to win, Hattie McDaniel in Gone with the Wind.
And let’s face it, the black women who have won all played very similar, stereotypical black roles; namely, Whoopi in Ghost, Halle Berry in Monsters Ball, and Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls (on an admittedly more sophisticated and redeeming level)
Directing
KATHRYN BIGELOW for Hurt Locker – Not least because I love her name. But just as Bullock will be rewarded for breaking the glass ceiling on blockbusters, Bigelow will be for integrating the all boys club of directors of war movies. And that she did it in such griping, suspenseful, and appropriately violent fashion dispels all kinds of sexist stereotypes.
Of course, there’s also the undeniable intrigue of not only competing in this category against her ex-husband, James Cameron for that movie hegemon, Avatar, but also having him declare (in an unwittingly chauvinistic, she’s-still-my-woman way) that she should win for directing and he for best picture.
Best Picture
HURT LOCKER – Avatar seems to be a lock, and for very legitimate reasons. But, in most cases, I think the person who wins for best directing should see the film he/she directed win for best picture too. That should be the case this year.
We shall see….
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