Is Will Smith the last 1990's Movie Star to Win His First Oscar?

There are so many sites on the internet that talk about the immediate Oscar race that I generally steer clear of it outside a few key articles every season, but that doesn't mean I don't think about the Oscar race constantly.  I have avoided talking about the biggest controversy right now (the heinous, unforgivable sin of moving a bunch of the categories off of the main broadcast to allow for a Twitter poll that's going to, I don't know, make people see the clip of The Matrix slow motion for the 1000th time?), mostly because I'm on record as saying this is a terrible idea (the way to "fix" the Oscars is to lean into the traditions, not exorcise them).  But I have realized recently that a strange phenomenon that has been happening intermittently over the past twenty years may well be coming to an end this season, and so I couldn't let this observation go by without commentary.

Barring something truly insane, Will Smith is going to win his first Oscar on March 27th for his work in King Richard.  I remember basically saying this was a done deal after seeing the movie, and despite some protestations that Benedict Cumberbatch or Andrew Garfield might sneak into the upset position, there is virtually no evidence that Smith is going to lose.  It's exactly the kind of role that Oscar loves-a biopic Best Picture nominee from a movie star actor who is doing his level-best to infuse some drama without losing any of his natural charisma as a performer.  Is Smith the best nominee of this bunch?  No, he is not. Is it possible that this win will age poorly, in a similar vein to, say, Gary Oldman's victory for Darkest Hour?  Possibly, especially if Andrew Garfield & Benedict Cumberbatch continue to go Oscar-less.  But this is a done deal-Smith has won every precursor for a reason, and is going to win this trophy.

Part of that is because the Academy loves giving trophies to movie stars.  Despite some people's complaints that the Oscars are an elitist organization, that doesn't really track.  Most Oscar winners are not Glenda Jackson or Peggy Ashcroft...they're John Wayne & Gregory Peck & Joan Crawford & Paul Newman.  They're big-name, marquee-headlining performers who have made everyone in that room rich and everyone at home shell out for tickets.  Smith is not unusual in this regard.

What is unusual about Smith is that he comes from a different generation of movie stars, some might argue the "last" generation of movie stars.  While we still have headliners in movies today, and so I don't love when people say "there are no movie stars anymore," it's fair to say that the last time that movie stars reigned supreme in a significant way in Hollywood, where a name launched a film's box office more than franchise, was the 1990's, which is when Smith hit his peak (albeit in the late 1990's).  Oscar has been milking the nostalgia for that decade, the last decade where movie stars (and not franchises or IP) ruled Hollywood, for over twenty years.

It's to be expected during the actual 1990's movie stars of that era would win, and indeed you see people like Tom Hanks & Gwyneth Paltrow armed with statues.  But it was in the decades that followed, where true Grade-A movie stars largely disappeared, that it became apparent that Oscar couldn't let go.  Since the end of the 1990's, by my count at least a dozen big-name stars of that era have won their first Academy Award.  You can quibble if one or two of these names don't deserve to be on here (or if I'm missing 1-2) but Julia Roberts, Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, Kate Winslet, Sandra Bullock, Russell Crowe, Sean Penn, Morgan Freeman, George Clooney, Matthew McConaughey, Leonardo DiCaprio, & Brad Pitt all got their start in the 1990's as splashy, People Magazine-style stars, and in most cases reached their peaks.  Will Smith qualifies for this list, and continues that trend.

The question I have here, though, is if this is the end of such a trend.  Smith is not someone who, even a year or two ago, seemed inevitable to win an Oscar, certainly not in the way that DiCaprio or Pitt or Winslet did.  So it's possible we're underestimating a star of the 1990's.  Certainly there are still stars that work regularly from this era that could sneak in.  Tom Cruise is the name that comes most readily to mind.  Though Cruise was also a big star in the 1980's, his star shone the brightest in the 1990's, which was also when he seemed to genuinely want an Oscar (he scored three nominations in a ten-year span).

But Cruise doesn't make the kinds of movies that Oscar loves anymore, and hasn't really "acted" in at least a decade.  The rest of the 1990's stars of any caliber don't seem to factor.  Jim Carrey, Hugh Grant, & Adam Sandler are all people who might've gotten an Oscar nomination at some point, but don't really make the kinds of movies that Oscar notices, frequently leaning into paychecks more than stretching their talents.  Johnny Depp was definitely going to win an Oscar at some point, but that seems next-to-impossible at this juncture given the state of his public reputation.  A lot of stars from that era work infrequently (Demi Moore, Meg Ryan) or appear in film projects that aren't seen in the light of Oscar (Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, John Travolta).  Some have shifted their focus to television (Winona Ryder, Uma Thurman, Drew Barrymore) while others weren't stars whose acting was taken all-that-seriously to begin with (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keanu Reeves).  A few actors of note from the 1990's could get an Oscar (I'm thinking specifically of Annette Bening), but were really more "serious actors" more than they were ever thought of as more traditional "open a picture" movie stars.  And then there are a few actors who might still win Oscars, but whose stardom really belongs more to a previous decade (Harrison Ford, Glenn Close).

So I'm going to be honest here-the answer of if Will Smith is the final 1990's movie star to win his first Oscar probably lies with the last person who I think is a serious, true bet to someday win their first Oscar: Michelle Pfeiffer.  Pfeiffer was a three-time Oscar nominee, and you could quibble to a slight degree over whether her stardom belongs more to the 1980's or not, but I'd argue most of her commercial work as a movie star happened in the 1990's, so she qualifies.  Pfeiffer is a good actress, someone who still clearly has the goods to get a nomination.  She works infrequently, but not so much anymore that the right project couldn't come along in the same matter as Smith (she's not Meg Ryan, basically hibernating off-screen at this point).  As she gets older, it's not entirely clear if Pfeiffer, always apprehensive about celebrity, even cares if she's going to win or not.  But if there's still one more 1990's movie star left who could pull it off, she's the glaring example of someone who probably should have an Oscar by now but doesn't.  Without her, I have to wonder if Smith might truly be the last great 1990's star to get to hold a golden statue for the first time.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)

Film: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
Stars: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sam Riley, Harris Dickinson
Director: Joachim Ronning
Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Makeup & Hairstyling)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

In an era where we get almost carbon copy versions of Disney films like The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast, it's comparatively refreshing to see something like the Maleficent franchise (and yes, it feels safe to call it a franchise at this point-has Disney already signed up for a third or a TV series?), where the story is, in theory, unique.  Maleficent's first outing came before the era where we simply recreated the same animated film with real-life actors, and thus with its sequel, it expands further into the Sleeping Beauty universe, this time focusing on the family of a recast Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson replacing Brenton Thwaites...a step-up in virtually every way conceivable).  However, once you get over the happiness that is caused by this being a story you don't know by heart-is it any good?

(Spoilers Ahead) The film picks up five years after its predecessor, with Aurora (Fanning) now Queen of the Moors and Maleficent (Jolie) her surrogate mother.  Aurora is engaged to Prince Philip (Dickinson), who wants to bring his bride (and her mother) to meet his parents, including the scheming Queen Ingrith (Pfeiffer).  Once there, Maleficent is accused of cursing the king (turns out, it was Ingrith trying to set her up), and she is attacked while she leaves the castle, with Aurora unknowingly inviting the creatures of the Moors into a trap.  It turns out Ingrith has a powder that will turn magical creatures into ordinary beings or just into dust, and in a cruel attack, starts doing this to the creatures of the forest before Aurora, Maleficent, and an enlightened Philip save the day.

The film is more involved than that plot (there's an entire side sequence featuring Chiwetel Ejiofor where Maleficent meets other horned creatures such as herself), but we'll leave it there because it's really all you need.  Maleficent 2 is more fun and intriguing than the original (which you might recall I didn't enjoy), aided by a more confident Jolie and Pfeiffer taking on the role of a villain with grater aplomb, but it's not tight in the way that you'd expect from a Disney movie.  The film's meander into Maleficent's origins are dull & kind of pointless, and I ended up being bored by it, but the attack scene was moving (particularly when the Blue Fairy sacrifices herself to save the rest of her forest folk), and visually impressive.

The film's Makeup nomination feels right as well.  This isn't a case where you're nominating the same creations of the original, but instead signing up for more horns, more trolls, more woodland critters, and of course Pfeiffer looking glamorously royal.  There's not a lot to be said for Elle Fanning (I know this isn't a popular opinion, but I tend to like Dakota better still even if in adulthood she's not approached the fame of her sister), but the film is pleasant if meandering-the sort of movie it'd be easy to see on a lazy rainy day, even if it's also a movie you'll have forgotten by nightfall.

4 Mini Reviews

We conclude our review roundups today with four more more movies from 2018 that I'll be giving mini-reviews to for the sake of time as we put a finish on last year and roll into our 2019 projects.  We still have some more 2018 movies that I want to get into, but we'll be doing that via our traditional full reviews, with these last four films getting the one-paragraph treatment (tis the curse of not getting an Oscar nomination and landing on a day I was too busy to complete the review).  I've made these films wait long enough, though, so let's dive in to their discussion.

The Old Man & the Gun (dir. David Lowery)

This film works better if you assume that Robert Redford is, indeed, retiring from acting.  If you do, you get the sense of wistfulness for an actor who has dominated movie screens for decades.  Redford's kind, handsome face and voice resonate with the audience even as he treads on familiar beats.  It's an odd story, the kind I'm surprised Clint Eastwood hadn't gotten his hands on (about a bank robber whom tellers genuinely like and has been robbing banks nearly all of his life).  Being based on real life, there are less twists than you'd hope for/expect, and the back-half where you 100% want him to get away with it but know he can't if this movie ever got made, is a bit of a drag, but Spacek & Redford have good chemistry, and with the knowledge that Redford won't make any more movies, there's enough nostalgia there to give you a good experience. (Ranking: 3/5 stars)

Ant-Man and the Wasp (dir. Peyton Reed)

It must have sucked having to follow something as emotionally-draining as Avengers 3, but Ant-Man in theory works better as a standalone comic film, thanks in large part to the compelling main antics of Paul Rudd, our unlikely hero.  The film doesn't have the same level of panache and focus, unfortunately, that the first film had (which is my second favorite of all of the Marvel Universe films after Winter Soldier), getting too bogged down in the Ghost villainy, which goes nowhere, and perhaps not realizing that the movie doesn't really need a villain since bringing back Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), is more than enough plot.  Still, Michael Douglas's work here is continually great and I love the chemistry between Rudd & Lilly.  I just wish the film had trimmed about thirty minutes off of its runtime, avoiding expanding in too many directions. (Ranking: 2/5 stars)

Colette (dir. Wash Westmoreland)

Keira Knightley's post-Pirates career has perhaps been one of the best I've ever seen out of an actress that could've so easily just been "the love interest" in a pair of 2003 movies.  An adventurous artist, I can think of no better person to play the charming, provocative Colette in the early stages of her career when she was writing the Claudine books under her husband's name.  Unfortunately the movie never really captures the bite that Knightley seems raring to give to this character, with the thick plot feeling thinly handled by Westmoreland, trying to fit traditional story beats into the life of an untraditional woman.  Still, Knightley remains an actress I'm obsessed with, and will follow her pretty much anywhere. (Ranking: 2/5 stars)

A Bag of Marbles (dir. Christian Duguay)

A tiny little film that probably escaped mention with most people last year, I was intrigued by the film trailer of two young boys forced to flee the Nazis during World War II on foot, abandoned by their parents in hopes that they'd someday get to reunite.  The movie is based on a true story, an extraordinary one that became a bestselling memoir in the early 1970's, and there are moments that live up to the potential I saw in the trailer.  The cinematography is terrific, and I loved some of the side touches, particularly the brief interlude in the middle of the film when they're in Southern France, getting a respite from the war.  However, the movie never captures the startling fear of the real-life journey, and the child actors responsible for the main characters feel adrift in the movie's direction.  (Ranking: 2/5 stars)

Oscar's Long-Suffering Bridesmaids

Glenn Close-will she go 0/7?

We are in the heat of precursor season, and while these awards are relatively pointless if all they're doing is trying to predict the Academy Awards, let's be honest-that seems to be what most of them are doing.  If that's the case, we could be looking at yet another year where Glenn Close & Amy Adams are trying to secure their long-awaited Oscars, and I thought "wait, Oscar trivia...there must be some way that I can turn that into a list!" and lo-and-behold, I was right.

A couple of things can be true about the Oscars at once-it's very hard to be nominated for an Oscar and if you're nominated once, it's likely going to be your only nomination.  However, if you can get in a couple of times, it's probable that you're also going to get a trophy.  There's almost certainly a mathematical explanation here (you can only have so many years where you've got a "20% shot of winning" and not actually win), but it's rarer, especially for living actors, for you to be nominated 3+ times and not have an actual trophy.  For women, there are currently only fifteen actresses to hold this distinction, two of them being Close & Adams.  Were they to die without having ever won, they would join a small group of actresses ranging from Irene Dunne to Thelma Ritter to Deborah Kerr, but it's a short list.  Only 11 women have ever been nominated for at least three competitive Oscars and died without winning one, so it's very probable that most of the women on this list eventually take home a trophy.  Let's take a look and guess how many will actually win, and see who has come the closest to Oscar, shall we?

Note: These are ranked first by how many nominations an actress made, and then by who most-recently got her latest nomination.

15. Saoirse Ronan (1994-Present)

Nominations: Atonement (Supporting Actress in 2007), Brooklyn (Actress in 2015), & Lady Bird (Actress in 2017)
She Lost To: Tilda Swinton, Brie Larson, & Frances McDormand
Closest to the Win: Maybe Atonement?  Brooklyn is more likely that she got second place, but Larson was so far-out-in-front that year that 2007, which was a genuine question mark headed into Oscar night, might have actually been her closest.
Well, She Still Won...: Ronan lost the Oscar for Lady Bird, but she still won the Golden Globe that year (and let's be honest, should have won the Oscar).
Is This Happening Someday?: She's 24 and already a three-time nominee who appears almost constantly in Oscar BAIT-y projects (just this year she's playing a queen who spends most of the film giving passionate speeches).  This is the easiest call of the bunch-she's probably going to win, likely in the next 4-5 years.

14. Laura Linney (1964-Present)

Nominations: You Can Count on Me (Actress in 2000), Kinsey (Supporting Actress in 2004), & The Savages (Actress in 2007)
She Lost to: Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett & Marion Cotillard
Closest to the Win: None of these were particularly close.  The Savages was a shock nomination, and no one could beat Julia in 2000, so it's probably 2004, though she would have had to get through Natalie Portman & Virginia Madsen to even have a shot at Blanchett.
Well, She Still Won...: Linney wins Emmys, not Oscars.  Linney has been nominated for five Emmys, and taken home four of them (her only loss came to Melissa McCarthy in 2011, where she famously stood on the stage in a mock-beauty-pageant), and she's also picked up two Golden Globes, though again for her TV work, not film.
Is This Happening Someday?: Probably not.  Linney isn't as famous as Adams or Julianne Moore, where she could launch a campaign out-of-nowhere and suddenly she'd be on a stampede to Oscar, and she doesn't really make the sorts of movies that get this kind of attention, particularly with TV being considerably kinder in terms of fame than movies ever have been (she's currently starring on the acclaimed Ozark for Netflix).  Never say never for a 3+ nominee, but I don't see this happening.

13. Joan Allen (1956-Present)

Nominations: Nixon (Supporting Actress in 1995), The Crucible (Supporting Actress in 1996), & The Contender (Actress in 2000)
She Lost to: Mira Sorvino, Juliette Binoche & Julia Roberts
Closest to the Win: Surely it was Nixon, where a win was actually very much in the cards (that year was a threeway heat between Sorvino, Allen, and Kate Winslet for Sense & Sensibility).
Well, She Still Won...: While her long list of screen credits have gotten her a lot of nominations, the only major award that Allen has ever won was for her years on Broadway, taking the Tony for Best Actress in 1988's Burn This.
Is This Happening Someday?: Amy Adams, take note, as Joan Allen could very easily be your future.  From 1995-2005, Allen regularly appeared in major contenders (in addition to her three nominations, she plausibly could have been cited for The Ice Storm, Pleasantville, and The Upside of Anger), but the roles dried up as did the Academy's love of her, and she couldn't even get a surprise nomination in 2015 for playing a struggling mother in a Best Picture nominee (which would have been a gimme back in her heyday).  I don't think she is a priority for Oscar anymore.

12. Debra Winger (1955-Present)

Nominations: An Officer and a Gentleman (Actress in 1982), Terms of Endearment (Actress in 1983), and Shadowlands (Actress in 1993)
She Lost to: Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, & Holly Hunter
Closest to the Win: Probably none of these.  In a different world where Sophie's Choice didn't exist I could make an argument that she could take it for Officer and a Gentleman (her career was sort of inching to an Oscar at that point, and Lange didn't need two), but she had three really impossible-to-beat actresses she had to go toe-to-toe with during her three AMPAS competitions.
Well, She Still Won...: Winger is perhaps the only actress on this list to never win a major award of any kind.  She's picked up a couple of critics prizes, but despite Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Emmy nominations, she's never won any of them.
Is This Happening Someday?: No.  Winger famously quit acting in the 1990's, inspiring the film Searching for Debra Winger, and she still has the goods to deliver a role (she was superb in 2008's Rachel Getting Married), but there's no momentum for her to win again, and she was famous for too brief of a period in the 1980's to have a "she needs an Oscar!" movement from the public.

11. Michelle Pfeiffer (1958-Present)

Nominations: Dangerous Liaisons (Supporting Actress in 1988), The Fabulous Baker Boys (Actress in 1989), & Love Field (Actress in 1992)
She Lost to: Geena Davis, Jessica Tandy & Emma Thompson
Closest to the Win: I'd assume it would be Fabulous Baker Boys, where she was the only real competition for Tandy, and had won a host of precursors that year, likely meriting the win over Tandy, who was the sentimental favorite.
Well, She Still Won...: Pfeiffer took the Golden Globe for Baker Boys as well as a BAFTA Awards for Dangerous Liaisons, so she's hardly lacking in hardware.
Is This Happening Someday?: Unlike some of our previous actresses, Pfeiffer still has a great deal of pop culture cache, and is the sort of person who is famous enough to launch a Still Alice-style campaign and actually pull it off.  One has to assume that if mother! hadn't divided critics so last year that she could have snuck in for a fourth nomination (and with Russia House, The Age of Innocence, and White Oleander as near misses, a fourth nomination has been in the cards for a while).  She's notoriously press shy & doesn't make a lot of movies, but the fame is still there if she wanted to make a run for this, and quite honestly she's the level-of-famous that she could someday take an Honorary Oscar.

10. Diane Ladd (1935-Present)

Nominations: Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (Supporting Actress in 1974), Wild at Heart (Supporting Actress in 1990), and Rambling Rose (Supporting Actress in 1991)
She Lost to: Ingrid Bergman, Whoopi Goldberg, & Mercedes Ruehl
Closest to the Win: Bergman's win in 1974 seems to have been something of a surprise, with the precursors all-over-the-map, but they do somewhat hint that Ladd was a probable favorite here along with Valentina Cortese, so I think her first outing was her best option.
Well, She Still Won...: Ladd won the BAFTA Award for Alice..., and then took a Golden Globe Award for the TV series based on Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, called Alice.
Is This Happening Someday?: I'd say no considering her age and her stature as a character actress, but if her daughter Laura Dern can get a revival for her father, why couldn't she get one last hurrah for mom?  Ladd clearly has wanted this for a while (her campaign to get a nomination for Wild at Heart is the stuff of Oscar legend).

9. Sigourney Weaver (1949-Present)

Nominations: Aliens (Actress in 1986), Gorillas in the Mist (Actress in 1988), & Working Girl (Supporting Actress in 1988)
She Lost to: Marlee Matlin, Jodie Foster, & Geena Davis
Closest to the Win: Weaver became the first actor ever to be nominated for two Oscars in the same year and lose both of them (since then it's happened three times, though only once, 2002 with Julianne Moore, did the Oscars doubly-snub someone who hadn't won before).  I would assume considering that 1988 had two winners that were somewhat surprising at the time that her best shot was that year, and perhaps she split her own vote too much to take it.
Well, She Still Won...: Weaver won both of the Golden Globes in 1988, a flip of her eventual Oscar night, and also took home the BAFTA for 1997's The Ice Storm (starring #13 on our list, Joan Allen).
Is This Happening Someday?: While she's not really famous enough to ever win an Honorary Oscar, she still is famous enough from her work in the Alien franchise to demand attention, and could get a fourth nomination if she had the right kind of movie.  Considering she's one of the few actors patient enough to work with Jim Cameron more-than-once, he owes her another juicy role in a movie at some point, if he ever stops making the nonexistent Avatar sequels.

8. Piper Laurie (1932-Present)

Nominations: The Hustler (Actress in 1961), Carrie (Supporting Actress in 1976), & Children of a Lesser God (Supporting Actress in 1986)
She Lost to: Sophia Loren, Beatrice Straight & Dianne Wiest
Closest to the Win: I'm genuinely not sure.  All of these nominations predate my involvement with the Oscars, and I haven't read any of these races as being particularly close.  Were it 2018 when The Hustler came out, she surely would have won Best Supporting Actress for the movie, denying Rita Moreno her iconic win, and proving why category fraud is so dangerous as one of Oscar's best choices would be ruled out as a result.
Well, She Still Won...: Laurie took an Emmy for 1987's Promise and won a Golden Globe in 1990 for Twin Peaks.
Is This Happening Someday?: Laurie still acts (she's seen in the Matthew McConaughey film White Boy Rick this year), but has never been a consistent presence in film, frequently taking long detours on the stage (she didn't appear in a Hollywood movie from The Hustler to Carrie), so I doubt it.  She's not well-known enough to win an Honorary Award, so I'm guessing her next mention with AMPAS will be at the In Memoriam (morbid, but accurate).

7. Angela Lansbury (1925-Present)

Nominations: Gaslight (Supporting Actress in 1944), The Picture of Dorian Gray (Supporting Actress in 1945), & The Manchurian Candidate (Supporting Actress in 1962)
She Lost to: Ethel Barrymore, Anne Revere, & Patty Duke (don't you love that there's still someone living who once competed against Ethel Barrymore?)
Closest to the Win: Lansbury was the heavy favorite for her dragon-lady mother in 1962's The Manchurian Candidate, but she had to go against Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker, which is pretty much a lead role and a sympathetic one at that, so she ended up losing as a result (Duke's very good in the movie, but nowhere near as marvelous as Lansbury).
Well, She Still Won...: Lansbury won an Honorary Oscar in 2013 for her body-of-work, a well-deserved honor that the Emmys should duplicate considering her 18 nods without a win there.  She also has five Tony Awards & six Golden Globes...Lansbury has a complicated history with awards ceremonies, with some adoring her while others consistently keep her in her seat.
Is This Happening Someday?: The Honorary Award was a great nod from Hollywood to one of its most enduring stars, but it was also an indication that Lansbury's time in the competitive categories is over.

6. Michelle Williams (1980-Present)

Nominations: Brokeback Mountain (Supporting Actress in 2005), Blue Valentine (Actress in 2010), My Week with Marilyn (Actress in 2011), & Manchester by the Sea (Supporting Actress in 2016)
She Lost to: Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, Meryl Streep, & Viola Davis
Closest to the Win: Probably her first at-bat?  The other films had pretty strong frontrunners, but 2005 could have gone a few different ways, including toward Williams as the "long-suffering wife."
Well, She Still Won...: Williams picked up the Globe for her work in My Week with Marilyn (I remember Seth Rogen making fun of the "hilarious" movie while presenting and then having to sheepishly hand the statue over to his Take This Waltz costar).
Is This Happening Someday?: Only 13 women have been nominated four or more times for acting without actually winning a trophy, so we're entering very good odds territory, especially for someone who works as often as Williams who has made the move from leading lady to supporting parts relatively seamlessly.  She's admittedly turning forty in a couple of years so it'd be smart to score soon, but this is still achievable.

5. Annette Bening (1958-Present)

Nominations: The Grifters (Supporting Actress in 1990), American Beauty (Actress in 1999), Being Julia (Actress in 2004), & The Kids Are All Right (Actress in 2010)
She Lost to: Whoopi Goldberg, Hilary Swank, Hilary Swank (again), & Natalie Portman
Closest to the Win: I distinctly remember there being a lot of conversation in 1999, when Bening was just north of 40, that "it's time" for her to win for American Beauty, which she didn't do but had to be close.  While in hindsight that was ridiculous considering the body-of-work she's put out since, it has to be noted that women around the age of 40 frequently have their flourishing acting careers disappear if they can't transition into playing the grittier, indy films that Hollywood's sexism relegates them toward.
Well, She Still Won...: Bening took home the BAFTA for American Beauty (Boys Don't Cry feels a more "American" story than American Beauty, so this makes sense though it's weird they didn't go with Julianne Moore for the "more British" End of the Affair), and nabbed Golden Globes for both Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right.
Is This Happening Someday?: Yeah, I think it is, though it's probably going to have to be supporting.  While Bening has missed in the past two years, she scored major precursor nominations (Globes & BAFTA) proving the love is still there, and she's the rare actress in her sixties that still headlines movies.  I think she's quite likely to get this, and it doesn't hurt that she's married to Hollywood Royalty, as Warren will clearly push for his wife to win this if she's close.

4. Jane Alexander (1939-Present)

Nominations: The Great White Hope (Actress in 1970), All the President's Men (Supporting Actress in 1976), Kramer vs. Kramer (Supporting Actress in 1979), and Testament (Actress in 1983)
She Lost to: Glenda Jackson, Beatrice Straight, Meryl Streep, & Shirley MacLaine
Closest to the Win: Straight was a big upset in 1976, with most people assuming the trophy would go to Alexander or Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver.  Her other three options she wasn't one of the main contenders, so I think this was her best option even though it's not the most memorable of parts in All the President's Men.
Well, She Still Won...: Alexander took home the Tony for the stage version of The Great White Hope and won Emmys for her work in Playing for Time and Warm Springs.
Is This Happening Someday?: No, I don't think so.  Alexander still works regularly, but mostly in TV (I'd totally buy that she has another Emmy win in her), and was never a household name in the way that Bening is, so there's less pressure to give her an Honorary trophy.

3. Marsha Mason (1942-Present)

Nominations: Cinderella Liberty (Actress in 1973), The Goodbye Girl (Actress in 1977), Chapter Two (Actress in 1979), & Only When I Laugh (Actress in 1981)
She Lost to: Glenda Jackson, Diane Keaton, Sally Field, & Katharine Hepburn
Closest to the Win: It's hard to tell, but it'd be one of her first two nominations.  Jackson's win in 1973 was considered a big surprise (if you've never seen the looks of shock and not-so-veiled disgust on Mason's, Joanne Woodward's, and Ellen Burstyn's faces when Jackson won at the 1973 Oscars, do yourself a favor).  Mason seemed happier being beaten by Diane Keaton, though considering the Annie Hall wins weren't a foregone conclusion that night (Mason & Jane Fonda were both in the running), she might have just been acting.
Well, She Still Won...: Mason picked up Golden Globes for both Cinderella Liberty & The Goodbye Girl, but is one Tony nomination away from having been nominated for every leg of the EGOT but not winning any of them (only Lynn Redgrave has ever pulled off this feat).  Considering how often she treads the boards, this is not out of the question (weirdly Redgrave also won two Golden Globes in her career).
Is This Happening Someday?: Doubtful.  Mason is very active, one could argue more active than even Alexander, but her days as a leading woman are largely forgotten by modern audiences, and so there's no way for her to easily get in on pop culture cache.  She'd need to land a really good film role, which is tough for a woman nearing eighty.

2. Amy Adams (1974-Present)

Nominations: Junebug (Supporting Actress in 2005), Doubt (Supporting Actress in 2008), The Fighter (Supporting Actress in 2010), The Master (Supporting Actress in 2012), & American Hustle (Supporting Actress in 2013)
She Lost to: Rachel Weisz, Penelope Cruz, Melissa Leo, Anne Hathaway, & Cate Blanchett
Closest to the Win: I don't think Adams has ever actually been close to a win.  Her best shot would have been in 2013, where she was competing against four former winners so a movement to "make her one of the club" was definitely possible, but it never panned out.  She's more consistently in 4th place when she's nominated.
Well, She Still Won...: Adams took an expected Golden Globe for American Hustle and then a shock win for Big Eyes (she clearly hadn't prepared even a "I can't believe I won" speech that year).
Is This Happening Someday?: Only five women have gotten to the 5+ club without taking home a competitive trophy, so Adams is in rare company if she never wins, but I kind of think she will.  Her fame and age indicate it should happen soon, and Oscar's love of her may be waning (she missed for Big Eyes & Arrival despite ample precursor attention), but Vice this year has a solid recipe for a trophy (supporting part, biopic, showy work) if its reviews don't bury her chances alive.

1. Glenn Close (1947-Present)

Nominations: The World According to Garp (Supporting Actress in 1982), The Big Chill (Supporting Actress in 1983), The Natural (Supporting Actress in 1984), Fatal Attraction (Actress in 1987), Dangerous Liaisons (Actress in 1988), & Albert Nobbs (Actress in 2011)
She Lost to: Jessica Lange, Linda Hunt, Peggy Ashcroft, Cher, Jodie Foster, & Meryl Streep
Closest to the Win: In 1988, Close was the frontrunner for this win.  Most people assumed she'd take it after a decade of headlining major films, perhaps joining Sigourney Weaver on the stage (getting two women off of this list), but Jodie Foster pulled off the upset, and Close would have to wait another 23 years before she finally was invited back to the Oscars.
Well, She Still Won...: Close has won two Golden Globes, three Emmys, and a trio of Tony Awards-the only thing left to cap off an incredible career would be an Oscar...
Is This Happening Someday?: Close joins Thelma Ritter & Deborah Kerr as the only actresses to ever hit six nominations and never win the Oscar.  As a result, it's hard not to see a movement happening for her if she gets a citation this year since she'd be in uncharted territory for a woman if she got seven nods & never won.  In a normal year, I'd argue that Olivia Colman or Lady Gaga or even Emily Blunt would have more steam than Close's quiet, introverted turn in The Wife, but that's the sort of performance that eventually won Geraldine Page her Oscar too after losing seven times previously (though Close is better than Page was in The Trip to Bountiful), and honestly at this point the movie behind her name might not matter-they are likely just voting for Glenn Close, Oscar Winner, at that point.  I think if she gets in there's a very strong possibility the Oscars decide to avoid another Richard Burton situation and just gives her the trophy.  If not, expect an Honorary Oscar soon, though Close famously wants this so I doubt she settles for an Honorary if she can help it.

Mother! (2017)

Film: Mother! (2017)
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

I am sitting in an airport right now, desperately trying to fight off jet lag (I never got used to my new time zone, so the next three hours of my life could be rough as I’m not good at being tired, and I’m already starting to fade).  That being said, I am going to try and keep myself awake while writing film reviews, and boy-howdy is it hard to sleep when you’re thinking about something as strange, controversial, and genuinely confusing as Darren Aronofsky’s Mother!.  So, let’s give this a shot.

(Spoilers Ahead…and genuinely, avoid spoilers if you are planning on seeing this movie at any point, as the punch isn’t going to work if you don’t) The film focuses on Mother (Lawrence-all of the characters are unnamed in the picture), a beautiful young woman who is refurbishing the house she shares with her husband, creating something from nothing as he fruitlessly works to create something great from his writing (he is the Poet).  One day, a strange Man (Harris), shows up at the door, dying but clearly enamored with the work of the Poet.  He is soon joined by the Woman (Pfeiffer), his wife, who prods at Mother over why she hasn’t had children, and continually shows misguided scorn toward her.  The film unfolds with the two being intensely rude guests, breaking a stone that at the beginning of the film had transformed the house, and having sex after Mother tries to throw them out.  When one of their two sons kills the other one, an impromptu funeral unfolds, and at the end after taunting the Poet, Mother becomes pregnant and the Poet is suddenly inspired to write as a result.

This may sound a bit strange, but honestly-this is the normal part of the movie.  In the second half of the film, utter madness ensues.  While we have lost the Man and Woman, the Poet is worshiped by hordes of increasingly lecherous intruders, ripping the floor apart and destroying the house that Mother has so cared for, and eventually even killing her baby, breaking his neck and eating his remains.  The movie eventually has her burning the house to the ground, giving her love to her husband in the form of a hardened crystal similar to the beginning of the movie, and then being reincarnated as a different fair-faced young woman, seemingly doomed to repeat the same scenario over and over again.

The film is, for its many, many faults, quite ambitious.  Aronofsky is not pulling any punches here, literally having a baby die during a crowd surf and then being eaten whole by a mob of people.  The movie, at least in its first half, is a pretty clear biblical metaphor, with Adam & Eve represented in the form of Man and Woman, with their sons being Cain-and-Abel (the elder kills the younger after learning that his inheritance was to be tossed aside), and the Poet is a god of some sorts, while Mother represents the Earth prior to humanity.  The similarities here are too direct to not clearly be alluding to the Bible, though one could argue the film also has an environmental message, is an allegory for social media, or even is as direct as the destructive nature between artist/muse.  But for me, the first half feels pretty similar to a biblical story.

This means the second half fails, in my opinion, quite miserably.  The idea of reincarnation of the planet seems more at home in other religions (Hinduism or Buddhism), than a Judeo-Christian one housed in the first half of the picture.  The movie also loses all direction when there isn’t any goodness or misunderstanding in some of those who ravage the house, the planet that Mother so deeply cares for-is Aronofsky’s view of humanity so bleak that he doesn’t have room for goodness?  It doesn’t help that it’s obvious by the film’s midway point that the only thing that we can’t predict is how disgusting the imagery is willing to be (oh, and Kristin Wiig-genuinely didn’t see her cameo coming as I didn’t realize she was signed up for the film-if the religious allegory works, she seems to be some sort of opportunistic religious zealot, trying to use the Poet while caring little for his muse, perhaps like a politician who claims to be Christian but then destroys everything that his God holds dear).  Pretty much any interpretation of the first half of the picture doesn’t work with the second half-Aronofsky is trying hard for a provocative metaphor, but metaphor only works if you make it consistent.  Otherwise it’s just shocking, which is what I feel like the second half achieves.  It’s an interesting failure, but a failure narratively-speaking.

The acting, though, is at least worth recommending.  Lawrence has never done a part like this before, and it’s fascinating work even if it isn’t always successful; her movie star charisma is shelved in favor of a blank loveliness, passive to the point of frustration, and naïve to the point where the audience was laughing at certain points of the picture, but she does the trick.  It’s nowhere near her best work (still think that’s American Hustle), but it’s miles away from the boredom of Passengers, so she’s at least recovered in that regard.  Her male costars are underwhelming-Bardem in particular feels too all-over-the-place, playing a role that at once feels almost typecast for him and yet one that he doesn’t uncover much of its heart within, playing everything surface-level.  The best of the bunch, though, is Pfeiffer, who gives the film some heat where it seriously would have lacked it otherwise.  She is knowing, specific, and anchors the movie’s scarier tendencies before Aronofsky completely discards the picture you were promised in the trailers.  If the film were more accessible, I suspect we’d be hearing about a comeback fourth Oscar nomination, but I have to wonder if AMPAS voters won’t stop the film an hour in, wondering what they’re being subjected to from Aronofsky.

Those are my thoughts?  Anyone want to share theirs?  Anyone else wishing they’d seen the film that they’d been promised in the trailers, or is this bizarre jumble up-your-alley?  Share your thoughts in the comments!

Everybody's Linking for the Weekend

Anyone else just have a ridiculously long week?  I sure did-that took forever to get done!  Let's take a look at some of the stories we haven't discussed yet on the blog that have been making headlines!

On Entertainment...

-It's of course Avengers weekend (I won't be reviewing this weekend-I'm saving my watch of the film for a Mother's Day present so I will be behind the collective internet on this one), and as a result everyone's ranking the Marvel movies, including IndieWire.  I will fully admit that I haven't loved all of the movies in the series, but they got the top film right of the ones I have seen (still haven't caught Thor 2 and obviously Avengers 2).

-Oscar winner Morgan Freeman gained a lot of headlines this past week for his comment "F&#^ the media" in regard to the protests in Baltimore.  While I don't condone violence, I do kind of see his point.  The media wasn't remotely covering this story in nearly as much depth when it was simply Freddie Gray's death, but they sure as hell do when a CVS is on fire.  Every time I watch this sort of media coverage, I am reminded of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing and the reaction its ending (I won't spoil it, but you must see this movie if you haven't) got from white versus black audiences.

-Darren Criss broke the internet with his saucy photos from the Hedwig premiere, where he spends a good deal rocking glam makeup and sporting not much more than a black speedo.  If you didn't already know this, however, you should probably be following my Tumblr, which has devolved from random photos of my life to random men I find attractive, admittedly, but you get some substance on the blog and some fluffiness at the Tumblr-it seems only appropriate to have balance in life.

-Michelle Pfeiffer may or may not be in the next American Horror Story-I can't really tell.  While Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, and Lady Gaga all got huge headlines when they were announced for the cast, it seems like Pfeiffer's announcement has been shoveled under the rug.  I don't know if this is because she'll just be in one episode or because it hasn't been substantiated.  Either way, you'd think that a 3-time Oscar nominee who was one of the biggest actresses of the 1990's would get more of a media scurry for a return to television, especially if this is a regular role of some sort.

On Politics...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

-This past week saw Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) enter the Democratic primary for president, giving Sec. Hillary Clinton her first reputable challenger for the nomination (what?, I've seen his hair, but he is a two-term U.S. senator).  Honestly-my biggest problem with Sanders might be the fact that he's still an independent.  I get that the country has a supposed anathema to the two-party system and Bernie running as a third party candidate would be probably the worst thing in the world for the Democrats, but shouldn't he suck-it-up and become a proper Democrat if he wants our nomination?  Other than that, this is nothing but good news for Hillary, who probably avoids Elizabeth Warren (who might actually beat her), but ensures that Democratic issues and her race continue to make headlines.  This is why she tweeted Sanders earlier this week, which you can bet she wouldn't have been so cordial if Warren had gotten into the race.

-Gov. Chris Christie's year just continues to get worse and worse.  The New Jersey governor whom I feel is going to turn down a presidential bid any day now had a former official at port authority (David Wildstein) plead guilty to conspiracy in the Fort Lee lane closure and had two aides (Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni) get indicted on nine counts.  Perhaps most fascinating is that Wildstein's lawyer said that Christie knew about the lane closures and he has evidence of such.  While this isn't proof, if it is Christie would probably have to resign at this point considering the depths of scandal he's put himself in as a result of saying he had no knowledge of what occurred.  Either way, I cannot see a fathomable way he recovers from this and his severely weakened stance in the presidential race-it's pretty obvious that Rubio, Walker, and Bush have all moved on from him and are going after each other.

-The Daily Mail takes a look at why the new Princess of Cambridge (it's a girl!!!!) is going to be Prince George's best friend.  The new young "spare heir" will be getting her own post in the next couple of days, as soon as the family announces the name, but I figured I would share this link in the meantime as I have royal fever!

-If you're into statistics and rankings, this link may just eat up your weekend-it's a mathematical look at which states are "the best."  My native Minnesota usually does well in these contests, and this is definitely true here (Mississippi, not so much).

Shameless Self-Promotion of the Week...

-Scott Hoying and I are going to be very happy together.

YouTube Video of the Week...

-Shane Dawson meeting his queen Hilary Duff is wonderful-I love his epic ramble after meeting her:

Just One More...

-I get that they end the article with some pragmatic solutions to solve this problem and that promoting a healthier lifestyle is always a good thing, but seriously CNN?  "Sitting is the new smoking?"  This is why Jon Stewart constantly mocks you.