Hello friends, Oscar Ballyhooer here. I have nothing of importance to say other than thank you for reading my words. I hope that I have interested you in some of these films in some way and that you have decided to watch a film based on my critiques. Film is awesome and I'm glad that I share that love with you, internet stranger, because it can really brings us all together. I have looked forward to watching 4 of these 5 films for a long time and am excited to finally get to see them. I'm super hopeful for a great bunch.
1983 Best Picture
Terms of Endearment
This is a film that when it came to remembering Best Picture winning films, was one that I had a hard time recalling. I never really knew what it was about and no one really seemed to talk about it much when it came to the best Oscar winners. The 80s seems like the perfect decade for forgotten Best Picture winning films, or at least overlooked, which might be a better word. Having finally seen the film I can say that I really enjoyed it but can understand why it's not talked about very much. It's about a mother-daughter duo (Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger, respectively) and their lives and relationships. It's definitely one of those adult 80s films that mixes the comedy with the emotional and dramatic moments. It's also surprising in how tame it can be with some jokes and moments but also surprising with how frank and dirty it is with some of the other jokes. It's an interesting mix. The film is all about the relationship between MacLaine and Winger who are both fantastic and then focuses on Winger's young family and its problems and MacLaine's love affair with Nicholson. It's a very funny film at times and the humor can be very dry and understated, which I like a lot. The acting is the main draw because everyone does a great job with their role and you become interested in every single character, whether you like them or not. There is a big turn towards the end of the film which isn't really a twist so much that it's an unexpected family dilemma. How everyone reacts to it is interesting to watch play out after becoming attached to these characters. It's a good film that has great acting and a compelling story. But I kinda feel like as the years have gone by, this type of film has been done better. So this film might not quite wow and amaze like some other Best Picture winners which leads to it not being mentioned much by Oscar lovers all that much. Also, after seeing it once, would I want to watch it again? I'm not sure other than to watch the performances. I'd rather watch Broadcast News again which is also by James L. Brooks, which I think explains my point. I still have to see if it will even be my winner for this year.
The Big Chill
Written and directed by the same guy who wrote Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, so contemplate that for a bit. Lawrence Kasdan actually wrote a whole bunch of interesting films that you wouldn't think one man wrote, so that's a thing to look into. This film is really interesting. It's about a group of college friends who come together because one of their friends died and they all stay in the same house and issues and loves all pop back up. The group is pretty great and consists of Kevin Kline, Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Meg Tilly, two women you have never heard of and wouldn't recognize, and Kevin Costner (who you never see but is the dead friend). They all have their issues from their time in college together. Each one has gone on to be successful as a doctor, actor, journalist, drug dealer, wife, etc. but all have unfinished issues with each other. Ebert called it a film that has no point but I think the point is just how old friends can get together and rekindle old flames or fix old problems. There's a lot of twists and turns to this film and that's part of the draw in seeing these people navigate the friendships and relationships. The acting is good and it's really fun seeing Hurt and Goldblum and Berenger and Kline all just shooting the shit. I get why this would never have won Best Picture because it's just too lazy and unmotivated. These people come together and hash out some old issues but we never really see much growth or any kind of larger picture from them so I see Ebert's point. There isn't much to it. We are like a voyeur watching them interact and then when it's over we don't feel anything. It's fun to watch them but that's about it. I've read some places that really advocated for this to be the winner but it would be so forgettable, I think. It's a good, enjoyable film but nowhere near being a Best Picture type film.
The Dresser
When you watch a lot of films like I do and follow the Oscar history and read all these Oscar books and whatnot, you develop a keen sense of what the Academy likes in their Best Picture nominees and acting nominees, too. The Dresser fits what they like almost to a flipping standard. It's a good film, first of all before anything else. But it's a film about a touring theater company in Britain during WWII and they put on Shakespeare plays and are helmed by a domineering older actor in Albert Finney. We see all the goings on behind the scenes, especially between Finney's dresser/aide/confidante in Tom Courtenay. That alone would get the film nominated because the Academy loves films and performances about acting and how challenging and destructive it can be to people. It's a self congratulatory thing almost but history shows they love the hell out of films dealing with acting and actors. They vote for what the know and what they can relate to, nothing wrong with that. It's about the effeminate Courtenay who attends to Finney and keeps the show from going under and keeps Finney from self destructing. The acting is top notch and the interplay and relationship of the tow leads are the main reason to even watch the film. It's all about them and they elevate the film into something more than just a normal take on the theater. It's almost melodramatic at times as Finney is this bombastic, overbearing presence and Courtenay is the saving grace of everything as he flits about worrying on how to keep Finney focused on actually making it to the stage to act. It is interesting to see how the behind the scenes action takes place which I think is probably especially so for those that have never been around it. The music at times really hooked me and made me feel as if things were more important, so the score was a plus. I think the subject alone is what draws in the Academy members but I feel it's a decent inclusion to Best Picture. I may not have voted for it in a field of 5 but it's here and I can appreciate it. It also fills out the required British film spot for the BP field which I am totally making up but you know is totally true especially when it comes to the 80s Oscars. This is a film that you'll enjoy if you watch it but I'm unsure of it's lasting appeal besides the performances. This seems more like a one and done watch and that's it.
The Right Stuff
Yeah, I was not expecting this film to be over three hours long, which is probably it's biggest flaw. Watching and learning about how the space program got started is immensely intriguing but this film could have been edited down by about 30 minutes or so and been a really tight, intense film. There are scenes that linger far too long like when Vice President Johnson gets increasingly upset that John Glenn's wife won't see him. The point could have been made more succinctly but it seemed like they were going for some levity and laughs but it just went on and on. There are a few other scenes where things just seem to go on far longer than they should. I think if you get those edits done, the end product would be a much stronger candidate for Best Picture winner. As it stands now, The Right Stuff is already a very strong possibility for my winner. I really enjoyed the film and the ensemble acting is pretty great overall. Lots of big, recognizable names/faces in the film who put in some great work. I enjoyed seeing the juxtaposition of the old school pilots versus the new astronauts and how they viewed each other. Both groups were tied together through Sam Shepard's Chuck Yeager, who was the best old school pilot who respected the new guys and what they were accomplishing and he still wanted to chase the demon to new heights like they were doing. Great acting, compelling story, good space race visuals - what more could you want? I did find myself wondering how much better the space scenes would look if it were anything like Gravity or something. It's early 80s graphics but it's done well and the use of practical effects is nice since it's becoming more rare these days. The Right Stuff is a great historical film and I think it depends on if you like epic, sweeping films or the smaller, adult dramas as to which you might lean for a winner. I'll have to think hard about it but this film would have made a great winner and stood up well to the test of time. It might be over three hours, but it is very easy to watch and get lost in.
Tender Mercies
I had been looking forward to watching this film for a long time because it was supposed to be very similar to Crazy Heart which won Jeff Bridges his Oscar. I liked that film and was eager to hear Robert Duvall sing some country songs. If you've seen that film, then yes, this one is almost the exact same plot. That's okay to me that it ripped this off because films do that all the time with long layoffs in between. I mean, Mel Brooks' To Be or Not to Be from this year (Best Supporting Actor nominee) is just a rehash of that film from 1940 whatever. There's tons of examples of this throughout the years and I'm cool with that. I wanted to see how the original held up against Jeff Bridges' version because I know Duvall is a great actor. And Duvall is terrific in this film. It's a lot more down to earth and low key than Bridges' version. It follows the same script (and look, I hate saying follows as if this isn't the original but going backwards in this project presents some quirks when writing) pretty much with washed up alcoholic country western singer ending up somewhere and meeting a nice woman and her son and then becoming involved with them. He is still writing songs and gives up the bottle and starts to get back into writing and singing and performing. The big difference here which I don't particularly like for this film is that it ends without much happening. Duvall learns his daughter was killed in a car accident and his song is being played on the radio and we don't see what happens after that. Does he make it big again? Does he stay a quiet family man in a podunk town running a motel/gas station with his wife and step-son? This film could have been 30 minutes longer and it is not often that I say I wish a film was longer. I wanted some type of closure and I wanted to know more about Duvall's future. The music is decent but sparing. I was actually very upset at the end when the credits start rolling and we get some weird flute music that doesn't fit the film at all. It should have ended with Duvall's song or something country. Seems like a no brainer that was overlooked. The film is a nice little look into a man's redemption but I wish it was longer so it could be perfect instead of unfinished.
Alright, not a bad group at all! I still don't really know how I'll shake this one out but I enjoyed all of the films to some degree. I'm writing this with a couple days separation from watching most of these films so they've had time to sink in. I say that because I do think it affects my overall rating of them. The Dresser would be last at the moment because it's decent but more performance driven than anything. Once you watch it, do you want to watch it again? I don't think I will. Then I've got Tender Mercies which is a great performance by Duvall and super interesting as the original comparison to Jeff Bridges' Crazy Heart but is a nice little film. Third would be Terms of Endearment which might actually comes as a surprise. I like it a lot and think the women give some really great performances but I'm not sure I'd want to revisit it all that much. I think it's a good enough winner but I am okay without it winning, too. The Big Chill I was kinda hard on when re-reading what I wrote but I want to make clear that I really like it. Would it be a good winner? Probably not but maybe it would! Not a whole lot happens except us intruding on these peoples' lives. That's why we watch and the acting is all great and feels like a very 80s type film and even like a potential winner. I'd be okay with it winning, for the record. My runaway winner is The Right Stuff. It feels like an Oscar winner. It holds up even 30 plus years later and is very good. I like this film a ton even at being 3 plus hours. If this won, no one would an eye and it might even be talked about more. With so much discussion about all of these, this year is pretty interesting all the way around. Every film could win and I probably wouldn't be too mad. What a year, indeed.
Oscar Winner: Terms of Endearment
My Winner: The Right Stuff
The Big Chill
Terms of Endearment
Tender Mercies
The Dresser
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