Hello All the Loyal OnTheReel-ers out there! I’m back! And I would NEVER miss the opportunity to share my Oscar Commentary. So without fail here we go…
First: Here’s a quick rundown of my thoughts on the Acting Categories. Check out the link to see the rest.
The Acting Awards
Best Actor – Here’s what you need to know out of the gates this year: The Artist will be the movie to beat! Having said that, let me run down the movies and actors in this category since I saw all the nominated actors. A Better Life is actually a decent movie about the struggles of an illegal alien trying to make it in this country. We all have heard the political debates on this issue during this election year, but A Better Life, and specifically Demian Bichir, does a great job of humanizing the issue. George Clooney in The Descendants – ok, I have to say that Clooney grew a bit in my eyes as an actor. He wasn’t the typical cold, matter-of-fact business man he normally plays. He was a business man in a Hawaiian shirt…well actually he was a lawyer in a Hawaiian shirt, if you want to be technical. But Clooney actually shed a real tear in The Descendants, so kudos to him. Ok on to this Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy movie – I consider myself reasonably intelligent, but to be perfectly honest I think I need to see Tinker Tailor about 3 more times to understand what it was about. Gary Oldman can superglue his rear to his chair because he will not be getting an Oscar this Sunday! Brad Pitt and Money Ball – decent movie, but I’ve seen other acting that was better than his this year. I pick Jean Dujardin of The Artist to win. It was remarkable to see what Dujardin brought to screen in The Artist with only uttering 2 words in the whole movie. Quite impressive! Here’s your first installment of useless Oscar trivia: Did you know that with Dujardin’s win, he will be the first French actor ever to win an Oscar? Yep. T ‘is true.
Supporting Actor – I pick Christopher Plummer to win this award. But I have a bit of social commentary to add. In Beginners Plummer played a 70-something-year-old man who came out of the closet as a gay man. I am so OVER Hollywood and giving awards for “Best Out-of-the-Box Gay Behavior on Screen”. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not gay bashing at all. It’s not about that. But if you study this stuff like I do you can see trends like this: Sean Penn wins for Best Actor for his role as a gay man in Milk. Christopher Plummer has a huge body of work. I just wish he was recognized for his outstanding acting, not for kissing another man in the mouth. Another bit of random Oscar trivia: Plummer’s win will make him the oldest person ever to win an Oscar. At 82, Plummer’s got Jessica Tandy beat by 2 years – she was 80 years old when she won for Driving Miss Daisy.
Best Actress – This is the toughest category to judge of the whole year! The race has been narrowed to either Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady or Viola Davis in The Help. No kidding, this will be a photo finish. Meryl has already won the Golden Globe and the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Awards). Viola has the Screen Actors Guild Award this year. I won’t be mad if either of them wins Sunday, but I pick Viola Davis to take home the Oscar. She was wonderful in her role of Aibileen Clark in 1960’s deep south Mississippi. I must also add that Michelle Williams should be very proud of her work in My Week with Marilyn. Although she will not win, she did a wonderful job of becoming Marilyn Monroe on screen.
Best Supporting Actress – I don’t think there’s anything that can stop Octavia Spencer from winning this award for her role as Miss Minny in The Help. She has totally swept this award season with a SAG, Golden Globe, and BAFTA award on her shelf already. My favorite line of her lines from The Help: “…Miss Minny don’t burn no chicken.” And Miss Minny won’t lose this Oscar either! 
For more Oscar 2011 selections check out this link for a PDF of my full commentary and all my selections.
Sherrelle’s 2011 Oscar Picks and Commentary
Tune in to watch the 84th Annual Academy Awards this Sunday at 6:00 CST on ABC to see how accurate my predictions are.
Drop me a line at Sherrelle@onthereelreviews to let me know YOUR thoughts.
Keeping It REEL,
Sherrelle
