In Before the Buzzer: My Picks for Best Supporting Actress

Let me just get this out of the way before I dive right in: These are not my predictions of who I think will win because 1. That would be way too easy this year and 2. It's not as much fun. So here goes, the following are who I want to win, from least to most.

5. Penelope Cruz- Nine
Being the best thing about a film like Nine, which was so desperately trying to be great while failing at all levels, is a bit like being the least covered in snow in a blizzard. I was so excited for this movie, partially because of Pene, but also because of Dame Judi and Grand Dame Sophia, but it really missed the boat. Pene has her Oscar, and for the time being Julianne Moore for A Single Man and not she should be in this position.

4. Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
I'm so glad she got recognized for this role, because she really is terrific in everything I've ever seen her in (Down to the Bone, The Departed, even Orphan!), but the sad truth is that she should be nominated for Best Actress and I think she was chosen to be pitted against her costar just so she could get a nomination as Best Actress is an otherwise crowded categories will several snubs already. Matching George Clooney in charm and wit is not an easy task, and for that she has already won.

3. Mo'Nique- Precious
Clearly going to win- and deservedly so. I've been trying to decide whether she or Christoph is more of a lock in their respective category. I really love her as a comedian and host of VH1's Charm School, and her transformation from comedienne to amazingly aggressive actress is extraordinary. The whole movie rested on her performance and she delivers.

2. Maggie Gyllenhaal- Crazy Heart
Yay she finally got nominated! I'm a bit of a minority in the Oscar pickers community in that I thought the supporting cast from Crazy Heart (she and Colin Farrell) gave stronger performances than Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake. We'll go there later. Maggie's character could have been a gigantic cliche but instead she is filled with soul, longing, ambition and love. I doubt she has even a tiny kitten's chance of winning, but hopefully she can settle for her first nomination.1. Anna Kendrick- Up in the Air
Anna's Natalie Keener is easily my favorite character of the year (even more than Julia Child!). My criteria for favorite character usually goes as follows: 1. Realism- could she walk off the screen and actually exist in real life? 2. Is she multi-dimensional- does she do more than just be the male lead's love interest or plot stimulator? and 3. Does she hold in her own- do you leave the theater remembering her character or does she fade away? The sharp delivery of her incredible dialogue gave her character the assumed confidence it needed to compete with Clooney, yet her moments of hesitation toward the end gave her the vulnerability necessary to show she was not the cold terminator after all. In an interview Anna summed up her character perfectly by saying that (paraphrasing) her character was trying hard and thought she could be Faye Dunaway in Network, only to find out that it was not to be.

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My Pick for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars

OK, so today I finally finished seeing all the Oscar movies I am going to see (it was a doubleheader with Revolutionary Road and The Wrestler) so now I can finish all my Oscar picks! As with Best Actress, they are in the order of who I least want to win to most:

5. Viola Davis- Doubt

Viola plays the mother of the boy at the center of the priest molestation scandal in the movie. Since he is the only African American student at the school, she only wants him to be able to stick it out for the year so he can transfer to a great high school. The anguish she goes through is evident, and her ability to put up with some things (possible pedophilia) in order to gain others (a higher education) is a weighty choice and hard to sympathize with. She is also only onscreen for twelve minutes. This gives her time to jolt the screen by giving the audience another perspective and more evidence to consider their doubt about the priest's in/actions, but it does not do nearly enough for me to consider awarding her the Oscar.

4. Marisa Tomei- The Wrestler

Marisa plays Cassady, a stripper who Mickey Rourke's character Randy finds salvation in as an aging wrestler with no real family or friends. I really have never enjoyed Marisa as an actress, and the fact that she plays a stripper with a heart of gold is infuriating, though it technically is not her fault she is playing a stripper, it is the writer's fault (for the record, she could easily have played a waitress, or karaoke singer, or any other job and still have kept her clothes on). That being said, she was nowhere near as annoying as I thought she was going to be, and I totally believed that she was a single mom stripper from Jersey. However, she already has an Oscar and this part does not show enough (though it shows too much in other ways- she's a stripper) for me to place her higher on the list.

3. Taraji P. Henson- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Taraji plays Queenie, the woman who works at a senior care home who takes on the mothering of poor Benjamin Button when he is left at her doorstep as an ew- and awe-inducing old infant. My top three from BSA are really hard to choose from; I would probably be happy if any of them won but there are slight reasons why I have stacked them as I have. Taraji really grounds the film with her constant kindness and giving, and she has a significant role in the film to develop her character. The difference between her and my top two are that while she lights a spark in the movie, my #2 makes that spark sizzle and my #1 sets it on fire. It really is a great role, and I'm glad she has received the attention she deserves from it, but I think another lady will walk away with the statuette come Oscar night.

2. Amy Adams- Doubt

Amy Adams plays Sister James in Doubt, the naive nun who sees kindness in everyone as opposed to Meryl's Sister Aloysius's cynicism. All throughout the movie it is nearly impossible to imagine anyone else playing the part to such perfection without it bordering on cheesiness or cupcakiness (though it sounds delicious). Then, a scene comes along that jolts the character to its core where she confronts Meryl's character and musters the ability to yell at her with no fear and absolute conviction. It is mesmerizing to watch her character become more than just a sweet and good-natured nun and Amy's portrayal had me wishing she was onscreen more (though it was a meaty role for a 100-ish minute movie). Still, even though I loved her in the movie, she is just not enough for my #1...

1. Penelope Cruz- Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Penelope plays Maria Elena, an artist and former lover of Javier Bardem in the movie who just explodes on the screen and keeps it smoldering every second she is on it. When I first saw the movie I thought it would be amazing luck if she were able to be nominated because it's an incredible role (Woody Allen has a great track record with women) and she is exquisite in it. Apparently he wrote the role for her, and thank god she accepted. She is at first the villain in the movie, as Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem are falling for each other and she bumrushes their happiness after a suicide attempt. But then the three begin to embark on a menage a trois and the results are glorious. Penelope gives Maria Elena so much life and spark that I think if I met the character I would know all about her and yet still want to talk to her for days. Penelope shows crazy, she shows amorous, she shows creativity, and she does it all while being (by far) the best and most interesting part of the movie, but still by only having the screen time of a supporting character. It's lucky I guess that Kate Winslet was nominated for The Reader in the lead actress category, because as luck would have it Penelope is now the frontrunner come February 22nd.

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