Supporting Actress Finale: Fashion, Speech and Reader's Choice.
Monday, February 28, 2011 at 5:18PM 
I have displayed the talented women above in the order of Readers Choice voting. Jacki Weaver (25%) just barely won your virtual Oscar over Amy Adams (24%) . Of course the Oscar went to Melissa Leo (21%), who memorably hammed it up with Kirk Douglas before bringing the crazy that we've come to expect and dropping a rare Oscar night F Bomb on the Kodak. Film Experience readers didn't wish the win on Hailee Steinfeld (15%) or Helena Bonham Carter (11%) in big numbers though I noticed that Hailee trounced her competition in Awards Daily's balloting of readers. Different crowd with some overlap. Like AMPAS & BAFTA ;)
It's all over but the memories... and the fallout... and the statistics... and the gowns. Oscar night has a way of bleeding over. Certain competitions remain in the popular memory, or at least the blog memory for long periods of time. Consider how often people still talk about Annette Bening vs. Hilary Swank (1999, 2004) as opposed to say, Marion vs. Julie (2007) ? or especially Reese vs. No One (2005). I sense that Supporting Actress 2010 will be one of those categories we come back to time and again, not only for the real sense of "it could go to any one!" drama that sprung up in the hive mind of Oscar watchers, but for the way that Kirk Douglas almost psychically seemed to understand that dragging out the envelope opening to ridiculous but funny lengths as the women laughed nervously.
Melissa's Speech
Oh my god. oh wow. really really really really really really truly wow. I know a lot of people said a lot of nice things to me for several months now but i'm just shaking in my boots here. ok all right. thank you David O. Russell. I wanna thank the actors Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy My Sweet Sister Amy, Jack, our lovely daughters. ok yeah I am kind of speechless. [Looks up] Golly sakes there's people up there, too.
When i watched Kate two years ago it looks so fuc [BLEEPED OUT] Alice Ward. Your beautiful family that opened your hearts. I saw Mick here earlier. Dick? all right Dick's not in the room. Thank you so much opening your hearts to all of us to make this film. I thank David. I'll thank him again. My family, my beautiful son who is traveling right now who couldn't join me. It's okay I'm okay Jeff. My mom and my dad and my brother and my friends and my family. And I want to thank the very most of all the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences [sic] the Board of Governors and all their members and many of you are here today. This has been an extraordinary journey getting to know what the academy is about. And first and foremost thank you Academy [suddenly shouting] because it's about selling motion pictures and respecting the work! Thank you so much.
And then she stole Kirk Douglas cane. She brought the kooky and Oscar needs moments like that.
Three Questions
1. Best dressed of the category?
2. Who will be back the quickest to the nominee pool?
3. Who owes Melissa $200 dollars?
Reader Comments (58)
Best-dressed: Amy Adams
Quickest to return: Amy Adams (very likely for On the Road)
Melissa owes lunch to: Hmm...
I've finally watched Melissa Leo's speech on YouTube - sign me up for the Leogand train right now. (Thanks, dorian!) Just so you know, I wasn't a Leo fan before and haven't seen The Fighter, so I didn't come with preset fandom, but I thought that was pretty much as authentic as it gets - I could feel her shaking. And guess what? That's how most of us "common folk" would be on that stage as well. Scared, thrilled, shaking with adrenaline. Unlike most of us, however, Melissa still knew how to make it a moment. Her exchange with Kurt Douglas was old-school to me. No more "batshit crazy" than La Kidman going on about wanting to make her mother proud of her in 2002 - and a heck of a lot more entertaining, and I say that as a Kidman fan. (She only went off the rails a bit at the end with the "selling movies" bit, but this is new to her anway.)
I do think it's interesting that Christian Bale can swear onstage and no one makes a peep, because 1) he's a man? and/or 2) he's British, and in the US we think British swearing sounds "so cute and quaint"? I don't know.
As I tend to suspect that her peers know that's she's "crazy" or whatever, and "difficult" women are rarely tolerated in Hollywood the way men are, I don't think this speech by itself would prevent her from getting more work. (And again, "crazy" is something we seem to think is charming and almost a badge of honor for male actors, like Pacino, but not for female actors.)
Regarding Kurt making it "about himself" - he's not playing to the folks at home, really, he's playing to the audience of his peers, who get the joke. And drawing out the suspense - again, making a moment, on a program that badly needs them.
Helena's dress was the most suitable to the actress's personality but Hailee's was wonderful since it was age approriate and she wasn't trying to be a 14 year old looking 25. The less said about that bedazzled doily thing Leo was wearing the better.
Amy Adams will probably be the next back but HBC will win one day even if she has to wait like Helen Mirren did for several years.
The classless, coarse Leo hopefully will be done now although we'll all have to endure her next year handing out the best supporting actor Oscar.
1. Hailee
2. HBC for Deathly Hallows Part 2, hey it could happen! Yeah...Amy Adams
3. Weaver
1. Hailee was stunning. Such a beautiful girl and a gorgeous dress. And how cute was it that she helped design it! I wasn't the biggest fan of True Grit (or her performance, for that matter), but I wish her all the best. I think she'll be a big star.
Amy Adams' dress was pretty, too, but that necklace was fug.
2. Amy will definitely be back within a year or two. Possibly next year if On the Road is any good and she gains traction for it. I'm crossing my fingers for Helena to make a splash soon. I have a feeling the Academy may take a permanent break from Melissa, and Haillee probably won't come back at least until she's around Jennifer Lawrence's age. I have no idea about Jacki.
3. Melissa Leo needs to pay $200 for a first session with a prominent psychiatrist. The woman is annoyingly crazy...I usually like a crazy actress once in awhile, but usually a reserved and self-aware one (like Helena)...not one that seems like a danger to herself and humanity.
I liked all the 5 dresses but for some reason, I really liked Melissa's. I can't say why but I just couldn't stop looking at it and how well it suited her. Sure, Hailee was the classiest, Jackie's choice was elegant and flattering for her height, Helena's dress looked very - I mean v.e.r.y. - good on her and Amy's dress was stunning (but the necklace...that blue with that green..I'm not a fan). Still, there was a little extra in Melissa Leo's that made it so intriguing, probably that although it doesn't seem an obvious Oscar-night choice, it made a lot of sense on her :).
Amy Adams will be back soon I guess, but I would love to see HBC win an Oscar most. I'm also happy Jackie Weaver said what she had thought would be the end of her career was just the mid-afternoon because she's already got an American agent, lawyer and lots of offers, so fingers crossed for her, too :).
I'm happy Melissa won. I'm not sure she was the most deserving because I actually haven't seen her performance or Jackie's yet (I'm just about to) but I would have hated a Mickey Rourke-like situation that after winning all the major awards, due to the conservativism and uptightness of the voting members of the Academy she would have been denied the biggest acknowledgement. I already said what I thought about the Consider ads, it's all about the campaign anyway - just look at Tom Hooper's win. So don't get me started on the ads again or the possible backlash. I don't even care how vulgar M. Leo seemed, I think she was not faking her astonishment and excitement at all and I would rather see this craze a thousand times than someone not being able to say a word trying so hard to counterbalance her emotions and look very dignified.
I think that most of Leo's speech was genuine. Batshit crazy, but genuine. The f-bomb I do think was orchestrated to get her added attention and media coverage. And it wasn't so much about Kirk Douglas making the moment about himself. I think in his condition he didn't know any better, and the producers should have had the good judgment not to ask him to present in the first place. I don't think I've ever been so uncomfortable watching an Oscar category take place like I did that one b/c of him. And that's not really the way I want to remember Spartacus either. But that's another story.
I love watching Marisa Tomei's reaction to Jacki Weaver's clip. She loves Jacki as much as we do!