A round-up of two different acting noms: Melissa Leo, Best Actress hopeful for "Frozen River" and Robert Downey Jr., Best Supporting Actor contender for "Tropic Thunder."
These two couldn't diverge more if you scripted it. (Neither is to blame that I chose to lump them together in my meager little blog post!) Melissa Leo has that real quality about her - which means she actually looks like a real person in this movie, not like a Hollywood glamazon dirtied up to play poor. Robert Downey Jr. puts on black face and is hilarious doing so.
"Frozen River" is a tense little thriller. It engages you right into its cold, odd little world. Melissa Leo is Ray, a dollar-store cashier who just wants a new double-wide for her two sons and herself after her husband takes the last of their money and traipses off to Atlantic City to gamble it away. She unwittingly gets mixed up in smuggling illegal aliens across the American-Canadian border with a girl native to the adjoining Mohawk Reservation.
It's not a typical picture, but it more than holds your interest throughout. Melissa Leo is actually understated in many ways - which makes it a bit of a surprise the Academy noticed her role in a small film released before the late-December rush. But it's refreshing, and though I don't know if she will beat some of the power players she's up against, she could. It is certainly a mesmerizing performance.
Conversely, Robert Downey Jr. plays an Australian method actor in black face in the witty "Tropic Thunder." The Academy's well-known discrimination against comic performers in actual funny roles is literally only the second biggest hurdle he must face, as he is up against Heath Ledger.
As a fan of Robert Downey Jr., both before and after his difficulties with cocaine and the legal system, I am happy to see this nomination for this role. He's ironic and hysterical. This movie isn't perfect - there are some real uneven moments - but it's pretty darn funny. Robert Downey Jr.'s take on this character makes the film for me, and in any other year, I might even say he had a real chance. Just not this year.
Both of these actors are real long shots to win the gold man Sunday evening. It's nice to be included in the group, though, and you just don't know: strange and wonderful things sometimes happen on Oscar night.
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About Me
- Stephanie Stark Poling
- Steph's days are complete with little Franco/Mr. Buddy Pants, Pittsburgh Steelers football, Penguins hockey, all things WVU, cold beverages, new handbags, shoe-shopping, pups, and lots and lots of movies. And, of course, her glorious, nutty family.
1 comment:
I was so surprised when Robert Downey Jr. was nominated. Not because he didn't deserve it. I mean, he was so darn funny in this movie. There were times you really forgot it was him. But, since when do these types of movies get nominated for anything "big." Editing? Sure. Sound effects? Sure. Supporting actor? Not so much.
I was under the impression he won for Chaplin, but just found out I was wrong. He so deserved it for that. He may really deserve it this year, too. But I think Ledger deserved it just a tad bit more.
RD Jr. is back, as they say, and I am so totally sure this won't be his last nomination. Hopefully he can be content with that.
(Boy, I need to write about all this in my blog, don't I?)
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