Interesting factoid for this category is that these are the first and only nominations to date for all five women here. I've seen exactly zero of them so I am looking forward to judging these without any preconceptions, Oscar-wise anyway.
1980 Best Supporting Actress
Mary Steenburgen - Melvin and Howard
I said a lot about this film when writing Jason Robards review and how it is interesting in a strange way. People really seemed to like the film because of the two acting nominations as well as a writing nomination and lots of pre-Oscar love back then. I have always liked Steenburgen because she has a nice, charming, woman next door quality to her. I've enjoyed a lot of her performances throughout the years and was interested to see what led to her winning the Oscar in her only nomination at the very start of her career. She didn't have but two films before this one, so it wasn't like she was this hot thing building up steam. She plays the wife of Melvin, a normal guy who picks up Howard Hughes out in the desert one day. That doesn't really factor into the relationship with Melvin until the very, very end of the film and even then it's not important. She is this pretty young thing who keeps escaping from Melvin and running off to do something better and ends up stripping and dancing. It's a mildly funny and warm type of performance where you just can't help but like Steenburgen. Then eventually she comes back to Melvin very pregnant and they get married and she goes on a talent show to win money and then they get divorced again. The performance is filled more with the cutesy, quirky, flightiness persona than any real meaningful personality. Luckily, Steenburgen is good at being just that and can turn what could be a shrill performance into something a little more charming. She somehow took all the major awards for this performance but it kinda leaves me scratching my head that people would latch onto this character. She flits about and has energy, sure, but like the film itself, we never really get that deep into the actual person Steenburgen plays. It's all a fun show and I feel like I'm missing the point a bit but I know you can't tell me this is over my head. Maybe it was just too of the moment in 1980 that it doesn't resonate today because I've seen her other work before. I like the performance, just not for the win - though I say this having seen none of the others yet.
Eileen Brennan - Private Benjamin
If you read about the film and it being a Goldie Hawn vehicle where she joins the Army, you might not think it will be very good. I really enjoyed most of this film, though. I say most because what it gets right is actually the Army part, surprisingly enough. The ending part of the film is not so great and it definitely should have been changed to something else. But that's a whole other story. Brennan (great name) plays Captain Lewis, the officer in charge of the basic trainees that includes Hawn. The first scene with Brennan is hilarious. Hawn treats Brennan as the upper management coming to rectify a wrong and Brennan's facial expressions are perfect. She goes along with the absurdity that Hawn was promised yachts and lakes and all kinds of things. The way she reacts when Hawn grabs her arm to bring her in for a private chat is priceless. A lot of what makes Brennan's performance great to me is her reactions to Hawn. She might be the villain but she's so funny with her looks and on point with her actual Army bearing I guess you can say. The role normally would be just a cliche mess. But Brennan brings it to life and though she's a villain like R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket, she maintains a likable quality. It is after all a comedy. To me, it's a great supporting role. Brennan plays a source of constant tension and makes it funny and interesting and it definitely belongs. I just kinda hate that the film returns to Brennan after she has been transferred to Europe and has to encounter Hawn again. It could have been better utilized to make it actually funny and not cringe-y. Brennan is great but the way she is used towards the end kinda brings her down. I'd rather know her as the crusty old Captain of new recruits. Not a bad performance though.
Eva Le Gallienne - Resurrection
I think most people that watch Resurrection wouldn't be able to tell that Le Galliene's performance is Oscar nominated if they were made to guess without any help. Most would nail Burstyn's performance and maybe say Sam Shepard as a guess. But I think most people would enjoy Le Galliene's warm, loving Grandma Pearl because her presence in the film is one of love and calmness. It's a short performance of a few scenes scattered throughout the film, but Le Galliene fills the role and character with much more importance than you'd think it deserves. Her role is the familial, supportive elder woman. She serves to tell Burstyn's character about seeing the healing performance done before when she was younger and that it was a gift and a natural thing. The thing you notice the most about her performance is that she does feel very grandmotherly and like you know her. Her major Oscar moment is her goodbye to Burstyn at the end of the film that is a pronouncement of loss and love and is a very touching moment. If you couple all that with Le Galliene apparently being a very respected stage actress and this being one of her only film appearances, it's easy to see why the Academy decided to reward her with a nomination. That's just one of those things the Academy likes to do. Interesting fact is that Le Galliene was the last actor period that was born before 1900 that was nominated at the Oscars. For me personally, I wish Le Galliene had more screen time so we could actually get to know Grandma Pearl. Her performance plays more on our own sort of nostalgia and love for our grandma or whoever and it's more reactionary to Burstyn. It's still very good for the limited time she has and can leave an impact for sure. Just wish there was more to her role to make it even juicier and appealing to take for a win.
Cathy Moriarty - Raging Bull
I didn't know until I did my usual digging that this was Moriarty's first film role. How cool is it to get an Oscar nomination in a Scorsese flick for your debut film? And I wonder how many times a debut performance has been nominated before? I know it's happened a few times but it has to be rare. Moriarty plays Vickie LaMotta, De Niro's wife. Moriarty makes quite the entrance when the camera caresses and lingers on her like a pinup girl. She is a beautiful blonde and I felt her introduction was quite fitting. There are a lot of reviews (from the actressexuals mostly) that rip her for her performance and blame Scorsese for not paying as much attention to her that he does to the LaMotta brothers. That all is patently absurd because I think Moriarty knocks it out of the fucking park with her performance. Sure she's a sexy blonde woman that the camera is in love with, De Niro acts the same way as the camera does! She does probably benefit from the black and white photography but Moriarty is a strong woman and wife that can stand up to LaMotta even when he beats her. Her husky voice seems appropriate that she isn't some meek pushover of a woman cowering and sniveling in every scene. Vickie will do as she wants even if it means catching Jake's ire. That's what I love about Moriarty's performance is that she might take his shit, but she isn't letting it bother or effect her much. Moriarty withholds a lot of emotion but that seems to me to be at Scorsese's behest, maybe so as not to upstage De Niro, I dunno. But I'm not going to tear down her performance because she is stoic at times in the face of a beating. And of course the film isn't all that concerned about Moriarty as a character as this film is all about De Niro and his role. Moriarty is supporting so that's okay that she doesn't get special consideration in the larger events of the film or its message. Those are some of the criticisms for Moriarty and they just feel absurd when they tear her down yet prop up a very small Eva Le Galliene performance that really only has old age going for it. That's somewhat unfair but it irks me when those Supporting Actress Smackdown people wax poetic over small performances then disregard something like Moriarty with ease. I think Moriarty is tremendous because she affects De Niro's Oscar winning performance and leaves me wanting more from her because I can't get enough. I enjoyed Moriarty as a strong piece of Raging Bull and I think you can consider the same thing when you watch her performance.
Diana Scarwid - Inside Moves
Had to rent this one off Amazon since I couldn't find it anywhere else online. It's a strange little film about disabled peoples. The basic gist of it is a guy tries to kill himself by jumping off a building but he lands on a tree and then a car and is seriously wounded which cripples him for life. After he gets out of the hospital he wanders around San Francisco (I think) and ventures into a bar that is a hangout for other crippled guys. He makes friends, especially with a bartender with a gimp knee who loves basketball. That guy eventually fixes his knee and then plays professional basketball with the Golden State Warriors, which is hilarious when you really think about it. Anyway, Scarwid is a waitress at the bar who the initial suicidal cripple guy falls for (he saves the bar by buying part of it at one point). She isn't sure she can love a disabled dude even though she says she loves him. But then she turns around and dates the basketball guy when he's healed. Then suicidal guy confronts basketball guy about being selfish and not being a good friend only to learn she dumped him because she loves suicidal guy. The character really doesn't amount to much more than just love interest, though Scarwid is at least believable. The love stories are rushed and mostly unearned but Scarwid does try to make the character charming and relatable. It's a slight performance that is undermined by a B movie and weird plot. I can't tell you at all why Scarwid was nominated, the only nomination the film had from any of the awards groups. I guess she does have one sort of Oscar speech where she cries and admits she loves the suicidal cripple guy but really that's not enough for a nomination. Maybe it was to bring awareness to disabled people? I don't know. If you ever watch this film (which you won't) you will wonder what the Academy saw in this and I'm right there with you. I know I didn't talk all that much about her performance but there really isn't much to be said other than she plays her role well enough but it's not something that will stay with you after you finish.
Well, this was a very underwhelming group. Steenburgen puzzles me as a winner. Besides being quirky and cute, not sure what was worth a win here. It's not like she was this hot commodity that had been building up steam, this was one of her very, very first films. I felt that Scarwid is the clear last choice for a weird movie and a mostly nothing performance even if she tries to create something for her character. Just a weird choice overall. I feel like Le Gallienne, Brennan, and Moriarty are all better and more interesting than Steenburgen. La Gallienne has a short couple scenes but she leaves an impact on the film and is decent enough. You could probably put her right with Steenburgen and I'd be fine with it, honestly. But Brennan is very good in her comedic role which is tough to pull off. I almost had her for my winner but the last part of her performance brings her down a notch. The film didn't need her to return at the end and link up with Goldie Hawn in Europe. Leave her as the Drill Sergeant Captain and I probably take her as my winner because she was that funny and that good in her role. Moriarty gets my vote, though. I think she is perfect in her role as the wife to De Niro and I really like how understated the character is. She doesn't go crazy or act too broadly when I think others would have taken the character into histrionics. I was just really impressed with Moriarty especially when the actress bloggers really put her down as not worthy. She definitely is worthy of the win and I think would have made a better winner. I'm hoping when I get to 1979 that those women give better performances on average than this mostly meh group.
Oscar Winner: Mary Steenburgen - Melvin and Howard
My Winner: Cathy Moriarty - Raging Bull
Eileen Brennan
Eva Le Gallienne
Mary Steenburgen
Diana Scarwid
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