Sunday, May 30, 2010

Best Supporting Actress 2002




1. Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly in Chicago: I know she has her share of haters, but Zeta-Jones forever left her mark on me in Chicago, which is one of my Top five favorite films. She has an electric presence whenever she performs and I think she nails Velma's selfishness and sadness underneath her confident persona.

2. Meryl Streep as Susan Orlean in Adaptation: Meryl Streep gives a unique, perfectly done performance which is very memorable. It's a little hard to describe given that it's so weird, but Streep is no doubt wonderful.

3. Julianne Moore as Laura Brown in The Hours: Although I don't think it come close to the brilliance of her work in Far From Heaven and Boogie Nights, Moore still excels in this film. She perfectly shows Laura's frustration and sadness living in her situation and we feel for her. There's a few shaky moments, but her last scene is magnificent.

4. Queen Latifah as Matron Mama Morton in Chicago: The role of Mama is a small one, but in my opinion, not underwritten. Meaning that it isn't a thin role, just one that doesn't have a lot of screentime, and Latifah does a great job with it. She's perfectly cast and she makes Mama a three dimensional character. Great voice too!

5. Kathy Bates as Roberta in About Schmit: Bates is very funny and she does add some air to the film. But unlike Latifah, her role is too underwritten. We get moments of bitterness from her, but they're never developed enough and Bates isn't able to rise above the underwritten material.


I know I did this category a few months ago, but if you can remember, you can see my thoughts and ranking have changed somewhat due to rewatching some of them and changing my mind. Overall, I'd say that this wasn't a great year for this category, nor was it a bad one. I loved Catherine, and I liked some of the other nominees a lot, but I don't think they were amazing. But who would be your pick and what are your thoughts on this lineup?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I sort of liked Queen Latifah...I wish she could pull a Mo'Nique, and get better material.

joe burns said...

I really hope she does. Do you know if Monique is starring in anything noteworthy this year?

Anonymous said...

I've heard she is to play Hattie McDaniel.

joe burns said...

Wow, really? Let's hope she's up to the task!

Fritz said...

Yay for Catherine! She may not have done anything else award-worthy but she was on fire here!

Robert said...

My favorite is Julianne Moore! She just absolutely captivated me in The Hours, but I really like Zeta-Jones, she's especially great in her singing scenes. Queen Latifah does a great job with her material and I still haven't seen Adaptation!

Louis Morgan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
joe burns said...

Fritz: She certainly was!

Robert: I did like her a lot better then the first time. See Adaptation, it's a great film.

Louis Morgan: What did you think of Bates and Latifah? And I thought you had seen Moore, since you saw The Hours didn't you?

Louis Morgan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Malcolm said...

My pick is Zeta-Jones, but I'm having issues with her since she was too big for this category.

My second choice was Streep who is also a co-lead, leaving me with Latifah as the only true supporting actress in this line-up as my lead.

But, whatever, my choice is still Zeta-Jones.

joe burns said...

I think her role could be considered Leading, but it's more Supporting to me. I think it's because she doesn't really lead the film and more supports and adds to it.

Malcolm said...

That's what keeps me from classifying her as lead. It's about Roxie, not Velma. It's about her rise. But, on the other hand, it could be seen as about the rise and fall of the two. But Renee's more of the real lead than her.

Brandon said...

An interesting year.

I'm still having a hard time between Streep and Moore for who gets my vote. Both are superb beyond words and their performances are true flawless gems.

I feel bad for Latifah who's character should have been written with some more meat on its bones. Still, she's great.

Zephyr said...

I thought Zeta-Jones was the best thing about Chicago. I enjoyed her in this film alot. I have strong feelings about Chicago generally as a film, as it really revived the musical genre, a genre that I love. Having said that, I think I would have prefered Moore to win. She is one of my favourite actresses. A perfect performance in The Hours.