Thelma Adams is assembling a few of us women Oscar peeps for an ongoing discussion of the Oscar race. This is my favorite one of the bunch so far because the thing about Thelma Adams and Susan Wlosczcyna, Kim Voynar and Anne Thompson is that they’re funny. So they make a great coffee klatch, just saying. Here is a bit of it as we drill down McCarthy’s chance — but you might want to read the whole thing over at Thelma’s site.
As for Ms. McCarthy, I actually had no idea how versatile she was because all I’d ever seen her do was the plucky chubby best friend on Gilmore Girls. But once I saw her show her true acting ability on Bridesmaids (I can’t wait to see her host SNL next weekend) I realized that it’s not just about: let’s reward the brave fat girl. This is about acting. It really and truly is – and if those idiots in the SAG are too dense to notice because she isn’t speaking with a British accent? Well I don’t know what to say.
KIM: Sasha, I agree with you that great acting SHOULD be rewarded. But we’re talking here (I think) about whether the Academy is LIKELY to. And like it or not, I think the mostly male academy won’t see beyond the “brave fat girl in a comedy” thing. Or SAG either, for that matter. I think her best shot is in Comedy and Musical for the GGs. There are just to many other contenders in the kinds of films Oscar likes for her to have a legit shot at that.
Then again, I’d love for the Academy voters to prove me wrong.
SASHA: Indeed, Kim, you are correct. Are they most likely to? Well let’s see:
Can the supporting win make up for a whole film’s non-win? Like:
Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton
Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls
Alan Arkin for Little Miss SunshineAnd on and on. So the answer is, no, it cannot. Let’s ask it a different way. Is it a lead performance that should never have been supporting and therefore has an unfair advantage over the other contenders? Like:
Marcia Gay Harden in Pollock
Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful MindIs she Judi Dench or Vanessa Redgrave? No.
What does she do? She makes us laugh. Precedent? Marisa Tomei, Kevin Klein, Jack Palance, and Tommy Lee Jones.
I think she’s got a shot. She takes a shit in a sink. For that alone they should reward her. I know, it’s just too gross for them.
KIM: Yeah, but only one of your precedents is a chick, and Tomei at that time was also considered a hot commodity. Are Academy voters more likely to see the shit in the sink as gross or brave? I think the former, myself.
SASHA: Yeah, you’re right. I’m in denial. I’m in shit-in-the-sink denial. But you know, it’s a funny scene. How many of those actresses could really do that?