Little Gold Men Invade Hollywood

by Jon Chattman

2-22-00

Damn, no Jar Jar for best supporting actor? As expected, "American Beauty," garnered the most Oscar nominations with eight when they were announced on Feb. 15. The 72nd Annual Academy Award nominations featured several surprises, but once again the nominating committee made more waves with the performances they left off of list."Boys Don't Cry," but Jim Carrey may. It was a bad morning for Carrey. He was snubbed again. Last year, his breakthrough performance in the brilliant "The Truman Show" and once again this year for his portrayal of eccentric comedian Andy Kaufman in "Man on the Moon." Others in the industry who woke up empty handed were the filmmakers behind "Angela's Ashes" and "The Hurricane," the latter film based on the life of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter seemed to be affected by backlash from some who have said Carter was not as inspiring as the film suggests. The film's star Denzel Washington stands as the lone nominee for the film.In addition to "The Hurricane" getting hung out to dry, Hollywood's golden boy, Tom Hanks was left out in the rain for his subtle yet powerful performance as a prison guard in "The Green Mile." Here is a breakdown of the nominees:

Best Picture

As opposed to the past, this year's selections for best picture are actually among the best films of the year. The Oscar-favorite "American Beauty" should be a shoo-in for best picture and deservedly so, but three other films winning a gold statuette would be just fine. "The Green Mile" is way too long, but way too good, "The Sixth Sense" is the best horror film ever made, and "The Insider" is a brilliant investigative film that mirrors "All the President's Men"----but is even better. That film garnered seven total nominations. On the flip side of the coin is "The Cider House Rules" received seven nods. "Angela's Ashes," "The Hurricane," "Being John Malkovich," "Magnolia," and even the delightfully underrated "Notting Hill" could have taken "Cider House's" fifth slot for Best Picture. That film was good, but not great.

Best Actor

What seemed like an easy victory for "The Hurricane's" Denzel Washington even before the nominations were announced, now seems unlikely. Once again, the backlash of the film's crediability could KO his chances to defeat his closest opponents, and they are...Heavyweight champion of the acting world, Kevin Spacey, who is pure-genius in "American Beauty," and Russell Crowe, who is so convincing as a man who takes down the tobacco industry singlehandedly.At the other side of the ring find two underdogs that might jab their way into a victory, although not likely. 79 year old Richard Farnsworth becomes the oldest man ever to be nominated for Best Actor for his performance as a man who travels cross-country on a tractor in "The Straight Story." The fifth slot for Best Actor finds Sean Penn nominated for his role as a fictitious jazz musician in the 1930s in Writer and Director Woody Allen's lame dramedy, "Sweet and Lowdown."

Penn was believable in his role, but honoring him with a nomination is a lowdown dirty shame, because it shut out Carrey and Hanks. The fifth slot could have also gone to "The Sixth Sense's" Bruce Willis, who is among the most underrated actors in Hollywood today, or Crowe's "Insider" co-star Al Pacino.

Best Actress

What no Geena Davis for "Stuart Little?" Four other nominees were announced, but only one name had to be read. Hilary Swank is the odds-on favorite to win for her gender-bending performance as Brandon Teena in "Boys Don't Cry." The four other nominations for Best Actress were not surprising, except for Meryl Streep's performance in "Music of the Heart." This is Streep's 12th nomination, proving that she can do no wrong. She could probably star in "Deuce Bigalow 2: Female Gigolo" or a Prell commercial and still earn Academy attention."American Beauty's" Annette Bening, "Tumbleweeds'" Janet McTeer, and "The End of the Affair's" Julianne Moore round out the cast of nominees. It's a shame, because the best performance in Moore's career went unnoticed. She was compelling in "Magnolia," and although it was a supporting role, her performance was better than any of her scenes in the sudsy "The End of the Affair." In addition, Emily Watson deserved recognition as a suffering mother in "Angela's Ashes."

Best Supporting Actor

Not to take away anything from this strong group of actors for supporting actor, but the best actor in this category wasn't even nominated. How could "Being John Malkovich" be nominated for many awards, and not pick up one for the actor the film pays homage to? John Malkovich pokes fun of himself throughout the film, and gave a brilliantly raw and fictional portrayal of himself. Without Malkovich, this category is still the strongest of any of the other acting categories. The race seems to be a three way fight between Michael Clarke Duncan, who gives a breakout performance as a Christ-like prison inmate in "The Green Mile," "The Sixth Sense's" Haley Joel Osment, the gifted 11 year old actor who "sees dead people," and Tom Cruise, who played against type as a sleazy televangelist and was absolutely riveting in "Magnolia." The next two performances are throw-aways. Michael Caine barely registered as a doctor of an abortion clinic/orphanage in "Cider House Rules," nor did Jude Law in the dreadful "Talented Mr. Ripley. Caine and Law could have easily been replaced by two better performances, Chris Cooper, who played an army sergeant and abusive father in "American Beauty," and Robert Carlyle, who made moviegoers feel empathy for a drunk father who spends money on the "drink" rather than his family who live in an impoverished Ireland in "Angela's Ashes."

Best Supporting Actress

This category is filled with surprises, and all actresses are first time nominees. Toni Collette was a surprising nominee for "The Sixth Sense." Her nomination here redeems her for getting snubbed for her star-turn in "Muriel's Wedding" four years ago. Also in the running is Angelina Jolie, who seems the favorite for her role as a reckless mental patient in "Girl, Interrupted." Ms. Jolie may face competition by Catherine Keener of "Being John Malkovich," and Chloe Sevigny in "Boys Don't Cry."Rounding out the rest of the nominees is Samantha Morton whose performance in "Sweet and Lowdown" as the mute girlfriend of Penn is reminscent of the old Hollywood silent films. Despite Woody Allen's track record of bringing Oscars to his supporting cast, don't count on Morton saying a word on Oscar night---she won't win. All of the performances in this category were excellent, but in addition to Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman deserved recognition for "Anywhere but Here"

Best Director

P.T. Anderson's work on "Magnolia," and Alan Parker for "Angela's Ashes" could have been nominated, but Lasse Hallstrom undeservedly received a nomination for best direction of "The Cider House Rules." The rest of the nominees excelled at their craft. Sam Mendes rightfully was nominated for "American Beauty," as were Spike Jonze for "Being John Malkovich," M. Night Shyamalan for "The Sixth Sense," and Michael Mann for "The Insider."

Random comments on the Gold Guy

Screenplay nods to "Being John Malkovich" and "American Beauty" for the best script written directly for the screen were expected, but it was nice to see "Election" nominated in the adapted screenplay category.In addition to "Election" receiving the Academy's vote, "Sleepy Hollow," a film hollow on plot but full of beauty, deservedly received nominations for cinematography, art direction, and costumes.Perhaps the most bewildering nomination this year goes to the film version of "South Park," which earned an Oscar nod for Best Song for "Blame Canada." Surprisingly R.E.M. were passed over for their "Man on the Moon" song, "Great Beyond,"in favor of Eric Cartman and his Cheezy Poofs.Billy Crystal will host the 72nd Annual Academy Awards .They will be broadcast on ABC on March 26. With the Oscars anything is possible, but expect an "American Beauty"-ful Oscar telescast.