The 80s! Wooooo! Also, I decided against doing any favorites list or most surprising or whatever. Maybe at the end of the project but right now I'd rather stay on target.
1989 Best Supporting Actress
Brenda Fricker - My Left Foot
Brenda Fricker is so frickin good! Okay, now that that's off my chest, Fricker is really the only choice for the win. She is so strong as a character in this film that you can argue that she might be better suited for the Leading Actress category. I understand why she wasn't submitted there because who is Brenda Fricker? and because her character really supports Christy Brown almost exclusively. The whole time while watching her performance I was thinking of it as the Yin to Daniel Day-Lewis' Yang. Or maybe it's vice-versa, but the point stands: Fricker balances out DDL's performance and makes it work even more. She's the one who encourages him and supports him and really helps him become who he is. She feels more like a legit supporting character than an actress making a play at an Oscar. Fricker is so caring and attentive and so motherly in her scenes that you can forget that you're watching a movie. The two characters are so connected that neither work without the other and so it makes sense that they both won Oscars for their work. Fricker's performance is strong and really shows off what a supporting actress should be. She's just so steady and sets the bar for all the similar performances from disabled person films. You have to be human and you have to treat the subject like they are loved or at least they are understood and Fricker displays those emotions perfectly. She just really compliments DDL and the film itself and is a great choice for the win. Watch it and not say yeah, now I get why she won because you can't do it.
Anjelica Huston - Enemies, A Love Story
We are still in Huston's grace period after winning her Oscar 3 years before in this same category. Not to say that's the only reason she was nominated, just that the Academy has a well documented track record of continually nominating winners after they've won for maybe what's seen as lesser work. For the record, I do like Huston's performance here. She plays the wife of Ron Silver, a sleazy Jew who has many women in his life. Huston comes back after Silver thinks she died in a concentration camp and now further complicates his muddied love life. It's a weird film but Huston plays a very clever character. She knows her husband is a player even from the old days and isn't shocked or surprised when he has a wife and a mistress already. Her character is very matter of fact about things and almost used as the voice of reason or at least the normal one of the three women. Her character gets a lot of the funny moments in the film like when Silver's current wife thinks she's a ghost who has returned from the dead and reacts to her presence. Her Tamara is very dry and patient which speaks to her almost nonchalance towards her former husband stepping out on her and the other women. Huston isn't a big part of the film but she adds a ton a charisma whenever she's onscreen. But just like the other women, she doesn't quite stand out as a whole and doesn't make the film any more palliative.
Lena Olin - Enemies, A Love Story
Olin plays a fiery, Russian Jew who is the mistress for Ron Silver. This is a pretty strange movie when you really boil it down. Silver is seeing three different women and marries all of them at various times and they all know about each other. She is hot tempered and the sensual, sexy one of the triumvirate. She also seems the more accepting and understanding one of the bunch, though Huston is very nonchalant about his dalliances, too. She brings to mind Lauren Bacall with her husky, masculine voice and sultry looks and though that might bring forth a compelling interest for her character, her Masha is a little all over the place. While the histrionics are somewhat contained, she seems suited to be the sexy woman and not much else. She has her quiet moments that are interesting and her sex scenes are notable because of her looks of boredom and obligation. It's interesting in that there is a lot going on with the character but none of it seems cohesive. It's entertaining but also you know it's mainly because she's good looking and gets some explosive moments in the film. I'm okay with her being nominated but realistically, she was never going to win for that performance.
Julia Roberts - Steel Magnolias
So it's kinda hard to discuss this performance without giving a spoiler alert, so spoiler alert. I always thought this film was just about a bunch of Southern fried ladies gossiping and talking and carrying on, which is accurate, but I was not expecting the ending or really Roberts' arc at all. So that threw me for a loop. Roberts plays a young woman who has diabetes and is getting married. She has a diabetic episode while getting her hair done which shows us the seriousness of her situation. Then come to find out she wants to get pregnant which could kill her and does end up pregnant. She has the baby but it screws up her kidneys and leads to a coma and her family pulling the plug. Pretty heavy stuff for a film that's also lighthearted and fun with some other notable women giving decent performances, too. I feel the role helped get her the nomination because she plays such a doomed character and she was/is an up and coming actress at this time. The performance itself is nothing too special. She has the right amount of charm and hits the right serious notes when necessary. I think this is just rewarding a film that people really loved and anointing a new star in the process. Not a bad first nomination but more of a primer for Roberts than anything else.
Dianne Wiest - Parenthood
This is a performance in a light comedy that isn't really that much of a comedic performance. I like Dianne Wiest here and she is able to get off some zingers that don't first seem like zingers. Her delivery of the jokes is either very subtle or non-traditional and it makes for a very funny character once you parse it all down and actually get it. I think if you're not paying attention, you'll miss the humor in the performance because Wiest isn't in the same vein as Steve Martin. Wiest plays a single mother trying to connect and deal with her two unruly kids who want nothing to do with her. This is a Ron Howard directed Steve Martin vehicle and it's almost astonishing how tame the humor is. Obviously nowadays we are used to a lot more risque and vulgar stuff, but the big moment in this film is joking about a vibrator and it's so banal almost. Just weird seeing some jokes that were probably edgy and funny back then fall flat when I'm watching it today. Not all comedy transcends. Anyway, Wiest is actually sort of touching in her performance because she loves her kids and just wants to get through to them and look out for their well being but they resist and rebel. There's not much of an arc because she stays the same way all through the film but it is a nice little caring performance that brings some humanity to a generic comedy. She's good but nowhere near worthy of the win, especially since she won once before this and once after.
This category has a clear cut winner in Brenda Fricker but then the next four are a jumbled mess of I don't know. Wiest is decent but nothing amazing. Roberts is okay but her nomination is a star making turn designed to get some eyeballs on the Oscar ceremony. Huston is good but that film is weird and does her no favors. Olin is alright but again the film hurts her. I think this just really comes down to preference (duh). So Fricker followed by Wiest who gives an interesting performance in that film though it's not even close to a win. Then Huston, Olin, and Roberts in that order. Simply because I do enjoy Huston more, Olin is good enough and gives more of a performance than Roberts who is cutesy but still raw. It's a shame that the rest don't really matter but Fricker is a great winner.
Oscar Winner: Brenda Fricker - My Left Foot
My Winner: Brenda Fricker - My Left Foot
Dianne Wiest
Anjelica Huston
Lena Olin
Julia Roberts
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