Supporting Actress 1992

Not super excited about watching this group based on its history of under performing but I'm at least getting closer to the 80s. Let's see if this holds any hidden gems for me.

1992 Best Supporting Actress

Marisa Tomei - My Cousin Vinny

Everyone always points to this as a big surprising win, but when you actually look at this category and those nominated, it looks almost like a clear winner. Now yes, her being nominated was probably very shocking because it's not exactly a typical Oscar performance or film. It's the kind of performance that maybe gets some kudos and people enjoy the film, maybe it gets some buzz but then on nomination day some other established actress in a boring film gets the nod. So Tomei being nominated AND winning is a nice change of pace. The performance is actually really good for what it is which is a purely supporting turn. Tomei plays the kind of gangster girlfriend role although Joe Pesci is a lawyer instead of a hitman this time around. She's along for the ride as he gets called to defend some college kids in Alabama who are falsely accused of murder. Tomei is funny and delightful and a lot of fun to watch her and Pesci interact. She motivates him, she grounds him, she helps him figure out some legal loopholes and abstract ways of looking at the case, and her big moment is when she is called as an expert witness on types of cars and tires, thus sealing the case for Pesci. Sometimes something as straightforward and simple as this performance can really hit the spot after watching a lot of the other supporting situations. Alliteration! But seriously, this is a pleasant performance which I can't stress enough. It's nice to watch Tomei do her thing and know she's not gunning for an Oscar, to know she's not trying too hard. And the thing is, compared to some of the other performances in this category, this is a great performance! So it shouldn't be a surprise that Tomei actually won, it should be a surprise that the Academy actually rewarded her and didn't just give the Oscar to an old/British woman for a boring role. Tomei has great comedic timing, working class smarts, and (rough) girl next door charm - what's not to love?

Judy Davis - Husbands and Wives

This is most definitely a typical Woody Allen female character which of course gets a nomination. He's very good at writing female characters and giving the actresses something to really sink their teeth into just like this one. Davis plays a woman who separates from her husband and goes on to live the single life but jealousy and heartache and loneliness ensues causing her to get back with her husband at the end. There's a lot to be said about the dynamics of the relationships being shown in this film, really a ton to be said. Davis is part of a couple who are bored with each other and want to experience the single life again (aka doing what they want and fucking whoever else they want). They are the typical successful New York couple with fantastical jobs bored because their life is so good and they need to inject drama into it to feel alive. At least, that's how a lot of Allen's relationships come off to me since I can't relate to them at all. Davis is a fiery, tempestuous woman. She's very critical and says whatever she wants and doesn't seem to grasp that her words can be hurtful. That seems to be one of the themes of the film is guys falling all over themselves to be with beautiful woman even if it means going against what they believe in and stomping on their own convictions just because they want some ass. It's a very critical film on both men and women and Davis gets to play a strong woman. She gets jealous when her husband starts sleeping and seeing a much younger woman and then reacts in a similar way to him with another "perfect" guy. Throughout this, Davis is bullheaded and extremely selfish and she pulls it off wonderfully. I don't exactly like her character but the performance is pretty good. She's abrasive and unpredictable and that fits perfectly with the tone of the character. She doesn't exactly know what she wants but she'll fight for whatever her whims might be at that moment. Like I said, a very good performance that I'll have to think long and hard on voting for.

Joan Plowright - Enchanted April

Sigh. So this was a made for British TV thing in 1991 that saw a wide US release for some reason in 1992 and garnered all kinds of nominations and awards. It actually won some Golden Globes! I cannot wrap my head around how or why. It looks like it was shot on a budget of about $200 and it's far from Oscar worthy. Plowright plays a Mrs. Fisher, who tags along with Miranda Richardson and Josie Lawrence as like an aide. She's a curmudgeonly old lady who sticks her nose in other people's business. A typical, old time supporting role. And a not very good supporting role. There's nothing to Plowright's performance. She's an old, crotchety lady for a bit and then they all get along at the end and find themselves and yadda yadda yadda. She doesn't stand out. You would have to point her out to me so that I knew who she was in order to say, really SHE got nominated? If you were to watch this and pick out who got nominated for an Academy Award, you might say Miranda Richardson or Alfred Molina or Jim Broadbent or even the random lady there but no, it's the barely heard from old, cranky lady. Go figure. What a garbage nomination this truly is! One of the most undeserving nominations ever.

Vanessa Redgrave - Howards End

This was the main supporting nomination that I was looking forward to watching the most. That's because she's a previous Oscar winner with a couple other nominations and a heavy hitter by name alone. So I wanted to know if this would have been worthy of a win to make Tomei's win so shocking like I've heard for so long. It's clear that Redgrave is a generational actress who brings immediate gravitas to her character and performance just because of who she is. That's evident here as she uses her stature to great effect for her character. She plays a sick/dying older woman of a well off English family who is bored of her place in the world. She's the kind of woman who everyone stops talking and listens to whenever she even whispers and can change the subject of a discussion to something unrelated because she can. She speaks in breathy platitudes, as if she's on autopilot and no one can switch her off. The whole time I was watching her I felt she was like an alien visiting another world. She has this wide eyed look of fascination on her face and she wishes she could be in Emma Thompson's place instead of in her current state. She's bored of the life she is living and Redgrave makes the performance seem as if it's almost from another film altogether - and I mean that as a good thing. I enjoyed whenever Redgrave was around onscreen which was only maybe 15 minutes or so in the beginning because she was such an interesting character. I don't think she blew me away or anything, but I would have preferred more time with her character to get to know her more which is obviously the mark of a pretty good performance. Her presence lingers throughout the film and really highlights how different the beginning is from the end. Not sure this should have been the winner but Redgrave is certainly part of the discussion.

Miranda Richardson - Damage

Richardson had quite the year in 1992, turning out much loved performances in this film, Enchanted April, and The Crying Game. Easy to see why she was nominated for at least one of them since the Academy loves rewarding actors for appearing in a lot of acclaimed films in the same year. The nomination alone is her reward, though it's interesting to note that she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for Enchanted April. My guess is the Academy wanted to reward her for her year but didn't want to vote for her in Lead so she was nominated for this film. In Damage, she plays the wife to Jeremy Irons. And that's it, should end the review there. But seriously, she doesn't factor into the film at all until a very brief scene at the very end where she wails about her son who dies accidentally and then shows her tits to Irons. It's not even a big Oscar moment. It's just like they forgot she hadn't had much screen time and decided to give her some. That's why I feel like this is absolutely a nomination for the amalgamation of her work. On it's own, this is not worthy of anything. Her The Crying Game work isn't all that good, just typical villainous stuff. Enchanted April she's the lead and she's alright but the film is so unappealing that it's tough to sit through. Oh, and did I mention she's 33 in real life here yet playing an older woman with grown up kids? It simply isn't believable and she doesn't fit the part. She was a flavor of the moment and young and the Academy loves that, so here we are with a nomination.


I'm always hoping for the best but expecting the worst. This year is actually somewhat in the middle and I'm glad for that. I started off by watching Plowright and Richardson back to back and was like oh, no here we go again with an awful category. Seriously, Plowright is boring and the movie is bad and Richardson just doesn't get anything to do in her movie. She's voted in for simply having a good year with a couple films to her credit. Then I watched Tomei and really enjoyed it and was glad that she did in fact win. It's a solid performance that is something this category needs more of in spades. Then I got to the other two actual main contenders and watched Redgrave who is really great in her brief time in the film and leaves a hole when she exits the film. But it's short and I like Tomei better overall with how they fit in their respective films. So it came down to Davis and I was surprised and not surprised at Davis. It's good and I wasn't sure I'd like it as much but Woody Allen creates a lot of interesting and neurotic woman characters so I should have expected something good. Now I was left to figure out Tomei or Davis. I prefer to watch Tomei a lot more but I was certainly drawn to the fiery Davis character even if I couldn't relate to her at all. Just interesting and compelling but Tomei is equally so. So with that in mind I think I'll just stick with the Academy on this one. It's a good one though I wouldn't mind Davis winning either. Not a bad category all things considered but I wish they'd stop nominating stuff like Plowright and Richardson.

Oscar Winner: Marisa Tomei - My Cousin Vinny
My Winner:  Marisa Tomei - My Cousin Vinny
Judy Davis
Vanessa Redgrave
Miranda Richardson
Joan Plowright