Supporting Actor 1980

I'd love for people to leave comments on these reviews. My Supporting/Leading Actress categories actually get the most views by like 1, so it's 5 total views instead of 4. But I'd love for someone to just call me out and tell me I'm wrong in some belligerent comment post because they love so and so and not my choice. I dunno, just hate shouting into the void because it gets old. I have seen none of these, though one is said to be a classic. I look forward to them all.

1980 Best Supporting Actor

Timothy Hutton - Ordinary People

Hutton also had tried out for O'Keefe's role in The Great Santini and I honestly couldn't tell you the difference between the two. By that I mean, if O'Keefe had gotten this role and vice versa, I think he would have done just as good a job as Hutton. Same goes for O'Keefe's role in his film. Both are young men who do a great job in their film roles. Hutton, though, is far from a supporting role. Hutton is the leading role in Ordinary People. The film follows his every move and is all about what he does after the tragedy. It's absurd to think he's actually supporting. They moved him here because he was a nobody and young nominee and this was an easy spot for him to land. Meanwhile, Peter O'Toole lands in Leading Actor with a supporting role because he's a legend. It's fine, though, because Hutton actually won here and could have won here, period. Hutton plays the son of a rich couple who was there when his brother died after a rough lake outing on a boat that he survived. Hutton feels extreme guilt that caused him to eventually try to kill himself by slashing his wrists. We come into the story once Hutton returns home and goes back to school and resumes swimming on the school team. Hutton's character is clearly still depressed and affected by the events and his heart isn't in the swimming. His mom (Mary Tyler Moore) doesn't love him and his father tries to placate the family. Hutton sees a shrink that helps him out as does seeing a new girl in Elizabeth McGovern (who gets an Oscar nomination the next year, probably to make up for this year partially). The film is all about the family aspect and how sad and depressed Hutton truly is. Hutton has so many different emotional qualities to portray that his recovery is amazing. Hutton's display is one that is all over the place. He has emotions of sadness, and happiness, and pain, and confusion as to how he should feel. Hutton portrays all of this with an ease that is admirable. Hutton never lets the role get the best of him. He controls how he should feel and what the scene calls for which is nice to see. It's a very emotional role and Hutton controls that aspect wonderfully. It's fine that Hutton won for this role but I wonder how O'Keefe would do in the same setting. I think that's only natural to question. It's a leading role that even compared to Pesci, doesn't stand a chance.

Judd Hirsch - Ordinary People

If you want to compare Hirsch to Robin Williams' performance in Good Will Hunting, I'm not sure it would be a very long comparison. You could just hold up a mirror between the two performances and there you go. Hirsch is basically the original Williams. They both are psychiatrists who are seeing patients who are in denial at first and then become more talkative and then finally explode into a rage against them exposing their issues and deep seeded fears and then the men can connect with them and get them on the right track. Both are a little kooky, Williams obviously takes it to the extreme but Hirsch brings it a little bit, too. Really, Hirsch is there to poke and prod Hutton as we learn more about him through these sessions and Hirsch is in service to this main character. I don't really know why Hirsch was nominated other than being swept up with the good will of the film because Hirsch doesn't do all that much. He certainly does less than Williams. There is a moment where Hirsch sees the father, played by Donald Sutherland, and it goes off well but is nothing special. Hirsch is more of a mile a minute talker and that translates well here but doesn't lead to much else. Hirsch is a therapist and seen as that but is forgotten about once he's not on screen. It's cool he has a nomination but it's nowhere near a winner.

Michael O'Keefe - The Great Santini

You would recognize O'Keefe if you saw him, I guarantee you that. He's been in a ton of films and TV shows and is a very good actor. Here, he was a young man who had to deal with an overbearing and abusive father who happened to be a Marine Corps pilot officer. He was the first born son so his abuse and bullying from Robert Duvall was extra heavy. O'Keefe is a great basketball star even though he moves around because his dad gets stationed all over. He has to deal with moves and a father who wants him to be a Marine as well and treats him that way even though he's in high school. Duvall is a bully to O'Keefe and it's really unfortunate because he's a good kid. There's a subplot where O'Keefe befriends a local black kid and then has to go to him because the kid pissed off some white asshole bully and shot him. He tries to save him and get him help and it just shows his good character. The performance is actually really strong because O'Keefe doesn't hide behind being a kid in the film and accepts being a de facto parent and adult stand in. And O'Keefe does more than just be a child. He takes charge when necessary and stands up to Duvall at different times sparing the rest of the family. He has an explosive, almost Oscar moment where he gets serious and yells a bit. I think he gives a really strong performance that is made better by Duvall being a dickhead father. But what I do like about O'Keefe is that he clearly loves his father. This isn't a one note performance where the son hates the overbearing dad. O'Keefe can bond with his father at times, while also clashing with him at other times. That's why I like O'Keefe in the role because he can sell both as believable from the same person. Also interesting to note is that Timothy Hutton auditioned for this role but was cast in his Oscar winning role instead. O'Keefe is very good, though, as Duvall's son.

Joe Pesci - Raging Bull

I love Joe Pesci as an actor. He's brilliant in everything he does. The way I look at this nomination is trying to look at it as if I was in 1980 and going through Oscar season. Imagine watching this film and seeing Pesci and never having seen him before and he gives this powerhouse performance right along side Robert De Niro. I would be blown away then just as I'm blown away now that he indeed lives up to the hype. Pesci is so natural as an actor that it just feels like you are watching Pesci. I know that could be misconstrued as a bad thing but Pesci certainly has a style of acting that he adheres to and the result is a ton of great performances. Sure you could compare Pesci in this film to his role in Home Alone, but you could do the same for any actor of merit with two of their more well known performances. My point being that Pesci has an indelible style that is easy to recognize and one that can overpower scenes because he is so good. Pesci goes toe to toe here with De Niro and comes out looking just as good. With Pesci's acting, you are drawn to him as a character. You want to see more of him that he almost begins to dominate and become more than supporting. Pesci is must watch acting at it's finest. That goes for all his roles but it's so true for his turn as Joey La Motta, Jake's brother and manager. I can't imagine what seeing him back in 1980 fresh for the first time had to be like. He's a generational talent that was clearly evident here with his strong performance. I just hope that Pesci comes back to acting for Scorsese's The Irishman that might hopefully get filmed soon with De Niro, Pacino, Keitel, and a few other big names. We need more Pesci in our lives.

Jason Robards - Melvin and Howard

This is one interesting film. Directed by Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs director), it's about a normal guy named Melvin and Howard Hughes. Rather I should say the opening of the film is about those two, as Hughes is only in the film briefly for about ten minutes or so. Jason Robards plays Howard Hughes. There's not much to the role other than Robards playing the famous eccentric and talking with Melvin after getting picked up out in the desert after crashing his motorbike. The two talk a bit and Melvin gets Hughes to open up and sing a little and it's a nice human moment between two people. Robards doesn't play up the eccentricity or make his Hughes weird or crazy or anything. Just more of a grumpy old man who just crashed his bike who then warms up to Melvin. And that's it, that's the performance. Normally I might rail on and on about how stuff like this takes away from deserving actors and yadda yadda, but I won't. The film is just more interesting to me than the performance. Apparently, Paul Thomas Anderson loves it which is partly why Robards has his last role in Magnolia. And apparently, this film was an inspiration for how The Master would be shot by Anderson. I can see some similarities at times, honestly. Particularly the scene where Melvin goes to the Mormon headquarters to drop off Hughes' will. The camera movements tied with the abstract score is very PT Anderson like. The film got a lot of love but it's definitely an odd duck. It must have been seen as something different back then because it's not all that funny and is pretty short and we just follow Melvin around his cruddy existence until the will comes into play at the very end. But that's partly why I started this project. I can watch this and read about how it inspired one of my favorite directors and then actually see the inspiration. It's like a mini film education just right here. Robards didn't need the nomination because he is one of the rare people to win back to back Oscars. He won in 1976 and 1977 which is impressive and makes me eager to see those performances.


This category is a thing of interest. There are two young folk that give very similar performances and then a couple other guys. Robards is a non factor. I'm sorry but the dude has no business being nominated (I know I promised not to get upset about it, but still). He has a nothing performance that is not really all that interesting and is nominated for it. Garbage. Let's nominate Tommy Lee Jones for Coal Miner's Daughter. If that's a leading performance, who cares, because so is Hutton! Hirsch is lucky to be included. He gets swept up in the good will of the film and nothing more. Hirsch = Williams for real. O'Keefe is third because he's good but the other two are better. Hutton is a lead performance yet he's chilling in the supporting group - and won! But not today, as he comes in second. Pesci blows all of these guys away. Combine all four men into one and they still don't come close to beating Pesci. I can't believe the Academy went for Hutton over Pesci. I need to read up on that one and see why they loved Hutton so much. Minus the bottom two, this category is good. But those two drag this group down a little and Robards should be replaced.

Oscar Winner: Timothy Hutton - Ordinary People
My Winner:  Joe Pesci - Raging Bull
Timothy Hutton
Michael O'Keefe
Judd Hirsch
Jason Robards