Beauty vs Beast: Girl-On-Girl Power
Monday, July 18, 2016 at 3:30PM Jason from MNPP here feeling sweaty and gross here in the annual inferno named July -- I wish I could say I was using this week's "Beauty vs Beast" to cool us down but instead I'm turning the heat up up up thanks to today being the 78th birthday of the spicy Paul Verhoeven, helmer of the hotly anticipated rape-revenge thriller Elle with Isabelle Huppert, and of legendarily epic dumpster-fires (a term I use in this context with extreme admiration) like Showgirls and Starship Troopers and today's honoree, 1992's Basic Instinct. Muy caliente! So everybody slip off your underpants (if you're wearing any), straddle your favorite gal-pal in the bathroom, and help me slash away at this one...
PREVIOUSLY Anticipating this past weekend's Ghostbusters we hit rewind to Paul Feig's last great comedy Spy, forcing you to choose between Head Funny Lady Melissa McCarthy and Supporting Funny Lady Rose Byrne - well it was as called in these parts a total Supporting Actress Smackdown, with Byrne slinking off with 73% of your votes. Said Jakey:
"What a stupid fucking retarded poll."
Reader Comments (27)
Anyone think that out of the 92 Actress field the abscence of such a star making turn was an omission on the Academys part.
Chuck out McDonnell and Deneuve and put in Farrow in H&W and Stone in BI.
Catherine ran circles around him in the movie and should easily overlap him in this poll.
what a star-making performance.... Stone had zero inhibitions with this role and gave it her all... She is actually extremely watchable in the right part and doesn't get enough credit.... hello CASINO!!
Cast her in the Next american Horror Story
I simply adore Stone in Basic Instinct. I would like to watch her working with Lee Daniels
Catherine
My childhood nostalgia waxes poetic for Verhoeven not Spielberg. Though Steven is important too since the 80's is the quintessential decade for his sensibilities. Back to Paul. RoboCop continues to become more and more prophetic. New scientific information about Mars proves the mythology of Total Recall being legitimate. There's water on Mars. Getting chills just writing that.
Stone could have swept supporting actress in '95. But I get it. It was her do or die moment with the Academy -- a best actress nomination is more prestigious. She was also a leading lady then. Underrated is her camp line readings in the Diabolique remake. She knew better than the filmmakers the whole thing should be played as a joke.
yes yes yes this star-making performance should have been nominated (with all the sex and the nudity, you know the Academy watched it - at least the straight male contingent did.)
Really? It that even a contest?
Ugh, neither one.
Outlaw you reject Sharon Stone why?
How come Deneuve or McDonnell were nominated for tiny films over Stone,it was after all one of the most talked about female performances that year.
Nat do you consider her nomination worthy in any of her roles.
Would you have given her a nod.
@ /3rtful
Nothing against Stone, I just can't stand either of those two characters. Ugh.
I like Sharon's performance in this but I wasn't outraged when she was not nominated. If I remember correctly, her performance was talked about a lot but wasn't the movie considered trashy back in 1992? I mean I enjoy it but I can see why Academy won't touch it.
By the way, whoever said the male contingent watch this and do not understand why she is not nominated, just remember that they like their women weak. Yes, Sharon was hot but I bet it scared most of them; I can imagine they will be like.. Omg she is hot but she will kill me with ice pick!!!
Ah, the dawn of the Stoneage. Team Catherine all the way.
Such delicious filthy trash Brilliant movie movie dialogue, and that all empowering Scene. The only person in that room with power is wearing white... and nothing else.
Sharon really should chat up Ryan Murphy.
and agree with /3rtful about "Diaboloque". She's the only fun thing about it. Such potential there.
I am glad you guys are loving on Diabolique because SS is sooooooooo much fun in that garbage. I MISS HER SO MUCH. Y'all saying America Horror Story are GENIUSES.
The original ice bucket challenge.
Stone always has had a talent for making treasure out of trash, and I mean that in the least shady, most complimentary of ways.
Michael Douglas is my favorite actor of all time but holy hell Sharon Stone is everything in this movie.
Jason -- yeah, i'm horrified i didn't think of Stone for AHS. it seems like a natural fit. she has such screen presence she could even be the new lead a la Jessica Lange.
i'm not all that crazy about Basic Instinct. I think Stone is good in it, no mistake, and I think she was often fun/good but I don't think she ever deserved an actual Oscar nomination. I was fairly happy with the Oscar lineup that year.
Howards End: Emma Thompson
NOMINEES
Indochine: Catherine Deneuve
Passion Fish: Mary McDonnell
Love Field: Michelle Pfeiffer
Lorenzo's Oil: Susan Sarandon
I mean replace Love Field with Batman Returns for Pfeiffer and that's a rock solid list. Though I MIGHT oust Deneuve (who I'd have nominated in other years so it wouldn't be a tragedy. I was so happy they honored her that year given that they never had) to include either Farrow but I remember 1992 being one of those years that people said the dread "best actress is weak" about and maybe for a change they weren't wrong. as i recall it it was a strange year with a dearth of female roles but I wasn't seeing as many movies back then to be like "nuh-uh it's not weak because THIS & THIS." Not to go back to the Farrow discussion from the latest streaming post but I think she should have had four nominations in her career with one win.
68 Rosemary's Baby (though I'd still give Streisand the win)
84 Broadway Danny Rose (Kathleen Turner gets the win)
85 Purple Rose of Cairo -WIN
90 Alice (Anjelica Huston gets the win)
I think she was often fun/good but I don't think she ever deserved an actual Oscar nomination. Strange since you support actresses like Jennifer Tilly.
/3rtful - i fail to see the connection. Not being worthy of an Oscar nomination ever is not the same thing as not thinking someone is a valuable screen talent. To be worthy of an Oscar nomination you have to be one of the 5 best in a category in a specific year. Not everyone -- even really good performers -- manage that.
Because Tilly is a lesser actress than Stone. Hell Octavia Spencer is a lesser actress than Stone and Tilly.
/3rtful -- but being "better" than someone else, when you take into account whole careers, has no bearing on peaks and valleys in specific years.
this is why Honorary Oscars are so important (if only they would use them correctly). They should be there to honor performers who may not have ever been the single best in a given year but were always stellar and contributed a lot to the medium.
Will you make a list of living persons who should be considered for honorary recognition?
we did one a few years ago but it's probably time for another list. but they should be announcing this year's recipients soon so we'll probably wait until next summer for new suggestions.