Oscars -- A Mixed Goodie Bag

The 84th Annual Academy Awards were a mixed bag for me. An example was Meryl Streep’s third Oscar win for her wonderful portrayal of U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.” I am glad that Streep broke her 29-year Oscar drought. I’m disappointed, however, that it had to be at Viola Davis’ expense.

First, I think that the Academy takes Meryl Streep and her acting prowess for granted. I think she should have won for playing Karen Silkwood in “Silkwood” (1983) or for “Out of Africa” (1985) or “The Bridges of Madison County” (1995) or “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006) or “Julie and Julia” (2009). Streep inhabits almost every role she plays. She’s a chameleon. But I believe Academy members, while awed at her acting ability, tends to believe she’ll be nominated later or tends to give someone else a chance.

After Davis’ Screen Actors’ Guild win for her role as housekeeper/nanny Aibileen Clark in “The Help,” I thought she was a shoo-in for best actress, becoming only the second African-American female thespian after Halle Berry to take the statue. I saw “The Help” and noticed in Davis’ eyes and her posture her transformation from an oppressed maid with small dreams to a woman with hope, even in the dawn of the civil rights era. Davis was the heart of that movie, which was nominated for best picture while “The Iron Lady” wasn’t. But I will give Davis credit for being gracious in defeat to her friend Streep. As my sister Black Woman Blogging said, “Davis is kind, smart, and important. And inspirational.”

I saw “The Artist” on Saturday at the Varsity Theater in Davis. I liked it. The dog Uggie tugged at my heartstrings. While it deserved its five Oscars, I thought it was a good film but not a great one. A great film, in my opinion, is one where you see it numerous times and find something new in each viewing. “The Artist” had much breadth, with its homages to “A Star Is Born,” “Citizen Kane,” “Singing in the Rain,” and some Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals, but it lacked depth. Yet it was good enough to be the Academy’s flavor of the year.

I’m glad Christopher Plummer finally got his long-awaited Oscar for “Beginners.” I’m happy that Octavia Spencer won for best supporting actress for “The Help.” While her role as Minny could have been written off as another sassy maid, it was her compassion and conviction buried beneath her tough exterior that carried the performance.

As for Jean Dujardin, his best actor win ranked with Roberto Benigni’s win for “Life Is Beautiful.” I doubt that I will see Dujardin in another film shown in the United States. Frankly, I think George Clooney should have netted his second Oscar for his tragicomic portrayal of Matt King in “The Descendants.” I think the Academy felt it needed to award an actor along with its flavor-of-the-year film.

With the technical awards, I was off my game. I expected the Harry Potter finale to take some awards. Instead, four technical Oscars went to Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo.”

Host Billy Crystal did a “pretty good” job. At least he wasn’t the awkward couple that was Anne Hathaway and James Franco. I’m not sure if the Oscar producers will invite Crystal back next year. It is difficult to have a host who is funny yet respects the acting audience.

So, what did you think?

Oscar Nods Plus a Pleasant Surprise

My closest friends know that I am an Oscar geek. I could tell you when was the last time there was a tie in an acting category was in 1968 with Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn. Streisand won for "Funny Girl," while Hepburn took home the third of her four Oscars for "The Lion in Winter."

Today, I am giving myself a pat on the back. The newspaper critics kept predicting the usual suspects for best actor: George Clooney for "The Descendants," Brad Pitt for "Moneyball," Jean Dujardin for"The Artist," Leonardo DiCaprio for "J. Edgar," Ryan Gosling for "The Ides of March." Well, I kept saying, "Don't rule out Gary Oldman for 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.'"

Hah! I was right!

Oldman, who is in the newest series of Batman movies as Chief Gordon, was nominated for his first Oscar for his role as George Smiley, along with an unknown Mexican actor named Demian Bichir for "A Better Life," which I hadn't heard of. Oldman has also been a character actor in the Harry Potter series. I heard of him when he was in "Sid and Nancy" about doomed rock star Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungeon. He was so overdue for an Oscar nod.

Unfortunately, making room for Oldman and Bichir meant that Leo got skipped (again!), along with Gosling. Michael Fassbender, who played a sex addict in "Shame," also got overlooked. Oh, well.

I wish that there could be a tie between Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady" and Viola Davis in "The Help." Both received kudos for their performances. But if Oscar is true to form, Davis may get it because "The Help" was nominated for best picture and "The Iron Lady" wasn't. However, I would love to see Streep get one more Oscar to tie with Jack Nicholson and the late Walter Brennan. Come on, let's have a tie! The two acted together in "Doubt," and Streep was up for best actress and Davis for best supporting actress. As Streep said to Davis during the Golden Globes, "You're my girl." Yeah, a tie!

Surprise snubs from best actress: Tilda Swinton, she of the tornado hair and garbage bag dress, for "We Need to Talk About Kevin," and Charlize Theron for "Young Adult." Maybe Tilda could stay home on Oscar night.

As for best supporting actor, the Motion Picture Academy may as well wrap up a statuette for Christopher Plummer for "Beginners." His closest competition is Max Von Sydow for "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close." Both have their second nomination and, yes, both are old (82). I would have liked to have seen Albert Brooks nominated for "Drive."

Both Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain are nominated for best supporting actress in "The Help." But I think the wild card in this category isn't Berenice Bejo for "The Artist," but Melissa McCarthy for "Bridesmaids." What could happen is that Spencer and Chastain cancel each other out, making room for McCarthy to take it.

The best song category was harsh. No Madonna for her song from "W.E." No Mary J. Blige for her song from "The Help." Only two songs nominated, one from "The Muppets." (I forgot the other one.) Harsh!

As for the movies, the only one of the nine I saw was "The Help." I have some catching up to do. I think "The Descendants" will take it, based on current awards. I was very surprised that part two of the last Harry Potter wasn't nominated for best picture, just some technical awards. The Screen Actors Guild awards on Sunday night may make the Oscar predictions clearer.

The lead story from the Los Angeles Times has more information.

Writing Diva (and Oscar Geek)