Up today, day two of this week-long Oscar revelry: the Supporting Actors. Here we go.
- Christoph Waltz and Melanie Laurent, from Inglourious Basterds: One will win an Oscar, the other deserved a shot.
Best Supporting Actress
The Nominees: Penelope Cruz in Nine, Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air, Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart, Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air, Mo’Nique in Precious.
GREG AKERS: Will Win: It would shock my socks off if Mo’Nique doesn’t win for her magnificently memorable role as the victimizing, victimized mother in Precious. The rest of the nominees shouldn’t even bother preparing an acceptance speech.
Should Win: I’m going to agree with the Academy here and give it up for Mo’Nique. I don’t necessarily ever want to watch Precious again, but I will never ever forget her performance. Terrifying, and bringing in the sympathy late in the movie. I didn’t see Nine, so shame on me. Maggie Gyllenhaal was okay in Crazy Heart but seemed a bit miscast and benefited much by star Jeff Bridges five-tool performance. Actually, I’m not sure how much I like Gyllenhaal as an actress. I find myself underwhelmed, again and again. Does that mean I’m broken? (Oh, except for Stranger Than Fiction, where I thought she was excellent.) That brings us to the Up in the Air actresses, Farmiga and Kendrick. Farmiga was excellent and held her own and then some against the George Clooney blitzkrieg of charm. Just about any other year, she’d be my favorite in this race. Kendrick kind of got lost in the shuffle for me amid the grown ups.
