Best Supporting Actress 2002

[nightwingnova]

Zeta-Jones gets a tough part perfect, but is not spectacular.

Latifah, I find not connected to the culture of the times. Worse, she's performing a lot rather than "acting."

Strangely, I don't remember much at all about Bates' performance.

[bizarre]

1. Catherine Zeta-Jones
2. Meryl Streep
3. Julianne Moore
4. Queen Latifah
5. Kathy Bates

I hate Kathy Bates. There - I said it, but despite my own feelings towards her acting it baffles me that anyone could find her broad, grotesque cameo in About Schmidt worthy of Oscar consideration or that anyone could infer that said Oscar consideration was anything other than a knee-jerk reaction to her "brave", self-mocking nude scene.

Queen Latifah has a similarly inconsequential role but she has a lot of fun with it, exuding charisma and making the absolute most of the film's most well-directed musical number. A fun nomination but not a particularly great one.

Julianne Moore steps it up here. I don't usually like her but her pain in this film seems genuine (despite the horrifically prolix approach the writer and director take to said pain) rather than a symptom of the maudlin style she's employed so often for so long. Her private tears in the bathroom as her husband calls her to bed is a nice, small bit of acting - on paper a horribly manipulative moment blunted by an actor's well-placed gravitas.

Meryl Streep has a lot of fun in her role and it is great seeing her approach some broader comedy - I stand by my position that this is what she is best at (see Prime or Lemony Snicket) - and she is the only actor in the cast who manages to survive Kaufman's ludicrous third act with their performer's integrity intact. But still, as is so often the case - tick, tick, tick!

Catherine Zeta-Jones is a deserving winner in this bunch, her Velma's ravenous hunger for fame threatening to chew the entire film to shreds. We enjoy being stuck in her teeth, though - at this point in her career she had both the fire in the belly necessary to fuel a larger-than-life character like this, but she was new enough to the game to keep smugness or laziness creep in. Her energy is undeniable.

My nominees:
1. Eileen Walsh, in "The Magdalene Sisters"
2. Miranda Richardson, in "Spider"
3. Ruth Sheen, in "All or Nothing"
4. Sally Hawkins, in "All or Nothing"
5. Amy Adams, in "Catch Me If You Can"

[flipp525]

I left it with the impact Hope Davis made. In the least showy role she captured the complexity of what being a child of an aging parent is in particular, as well the usual frustrations of being an unfulfilled adult. A lovely performance, and a chance for me to acknowledge an actress I like a lot who, for some strange reason, constantly fails to be recognized as she should.

Hope Davis actually doesn't constantly fail to get recognized, Uri. She was nominated just a year ago for a Tony for Best Actress for her fantastic turn in God of Carnage where her co-star, Marcia Gay Harden, eventually ended up taking home the gong. And then she was also awarded an Emmy nomination for her strong work in last season's In Treatment on HBO. It's not the Academy, but she's not exactly off-the-radar.



Edited By flipp525 on 1291224730

[Uri]

(Bog @ Dec. 01 2010,12:06)

Sabin, actually not a true actress, the mother of the main character Zaza in the film, the director's real life mother...but Ronit good as well.

Ah. Yes. I had forgotten about her.

She is quite good. As are Moni Moshonov, Lior Ashkenazi, and of course Ronit Elkabetz. Great film.

Her name is Lilly Koshashvilli, and she actually won the best Supporting actress at the Israeli Ophirs (along with anyone else conected with her son's film)

[Uri]

I enjoyed Chicago, but apart from Zellweger, none of the other actors in it were award worthy. Zeta Jones was surprisingly competent and looked good but was nothing of a standout, Queen Latifah was amusing and charismatic, but it had nothing to do with acting AND she was way too young to be truly commanding the way the character should have been.

Julianne Moore's Kabuki like turn was the only remotely subversive element of The Hours (it is meant as a compliment), but she shouldn't have been on this list – her turn was an obvious lead. Kathy Bates' loud shtick was an easy shot, and although she's too good an actress to mess it, it was still just a caricature. So I'm left, again, with Streep. I must admit I didn't see Adaptation since it was released – I'm doing my best to avoid Nicholas Cage – but I can still fondly remember Streep (and Cooper) and the impact of her smart and smartly self aware performance.

And Streep is the only one I would actually keep on my alternative list. Other would have been the already mentioned Clarkson, who was her usual consummate self and Barrymore, who was at her outmost best in Confessions. I’ll also throe in Falco for Sunshine State. And than I have my Mare Wininigham slot. I went to see Schmidt for Nicholson (falsely being lead to believe he was not being Nicholson for once) and for Bates, but I left it with the impact Hope Davis made. In the least showy role she captured the complexity of what being a child of an aging parent is in particular, as well the usual frustrations of being an unfulfilled adult. A lovely performance, and a chance for me to acknowledge an actress I like a lot who, for some strange reason, constantly fails to be recognized as she should.

[Sabin]

(Bog @ Dec. 01 2010,12:06)

Sabin, actually not a true actress, the mother of the main character Zaza in the film, the director's real life mother...but Ronit good as well.

Ah. Yes. I had forgotten about her.

She is quite good. As are Moni Moshonov, Lior Ashkenazi, and of course Ronit Elkabetz. Great film.

[Bog]

so this nomination for me reeks of you-were-so-great-in-Far-From-Heaven-but-you're-not-going-to-win-Best-Actress-so-here's-a-little-bonus-for-all-your-hard-work.

EXACTLY what I was getting at....

Sabin, actually not a true actress, the mother of the main character Zaza in the film, the director's real life mother...but Ronit good as well.


One other I failed to mention, Christina Applegate deserved some sort of recognition for The Sweetest Thing



Edited By Bog on 1291183702

[Cinemanolis]

Other noteworthy performances

Michelle Pfeiffer - White Oleander
Isabelle Huppert - 8 Femmes
Toni Collette - About a Boy
Miranda Richardson - Spider

[FilmFan720]

I have spent the last 8 years in no way hiding my disgust of Catherine Zeta-Jones in this role: she is bland, uncharasmatic and wooden in a role that is all charisma and sex appeal. She can't sing, can't dance too well and is completely miscast.

Julianne Moore cannot escape the mess that is The Hours, and while I love Kathy Bates more than most here, this is one of her more uninteresting performances.

I almost voted for Queen Latifah, mostly because I think it is a thankless role that she nails. She is magnetic throughout Chicago. But I have to give it to Streep. I don't love Adaptation, but she is very funny (the telephone scene is ingrained in my memory) and charming in the role. It is probably her best work of the decade. That said, those are my 4 and 5 performances of the year, after three grossly overlooked performances (one by members of this board also).

1. Emily Mortimer, Lovely & Amazing
2. Emily Watson, Punch Drunk Love
3. Patricia Clarkson, Far From Heaven
4. Meryl Streep, Adaptation
5. Queen Latifah, Chicago

[Kova]

I think 4 of the nominees here--Bates, Zeta-Jones, Latifah, and Moore--were were swept in by good will for their films or characters, rather than their particular performances. Bates is the only one in the bunch who goes beyond the call of duty, adding a layer of simmering anger to her role. Like Tee, I like About Schmidt much more than most, and Bates' work is necessary to keep her section of the film from falling into complete sitcom territory. She'd be my runner-up pick.

I remember defending The Hours at the time, but it has pretty much faded from memory. I don't recall anything particularly engaging about Moore's work.

Latifah nails her big number and oozes personality, but a great actress she ain't. Zeta-Jones has some great moments (this is certainly not a shameful Oscar win), but seemed too polished and bloodless, I feel, compared to Zellweger.

My pick, then, is Streep. She's an actress I don't always love, but this is probably her crowning achievement of the decade--it was an unexpected delight.

Tovah Feldshuh, though, gave the year's best supporting turn in Kissing Jessica Stein.

[Sabin]

Bog, do you mean Ronit Elkabetz in Late Marriage? Because I always thought of her as a lead. I haven't seen this great film in a while.

[The Original BJ]

Count me in the group that thinks this is a fairly good line-up. Among also-rans, I, too, loved Emily Mortimer's emotionally naked performance (especially in her physically naked scene), as well as Patricia Clarkson's glorious riff on Agnes Moorhead, the secret weapon of Far From Heaven.

Queen Latifah has, I think, the least to do of any of these nominees, but she was kind of a hoot. "When You're Good to Mama" was a ton of fun, and her one-liners throughout were funny and energetic. She wasn't, for me, a must-have nominee, but she was plenty entertaining with what she had.

I liked Julianne Moore best of the Hours women, but this nomination annoyed me for all kinds of reasons unrelated to the quality of her work. First of all, as others have said, she was as much a lead as Kidman was, and took a spot here that could have gone to a true supporting actress. And second, she should have won the Best Actress prize with ease this year, but, of course, didn't, and so this nomination for me reeks of you-were-so-great-in-Far-From-Heaven-but-you're-not-going-to-win-Best-Actress-so-here's-a-little-bonus-for-all-your-hard-work. I thought she was solid here in a role that fit her well, but Far From Heaven was her true triumph this year.

I'd have been perfectly happy with a Kathy Bates victory for her hilarious performance in About Schmidt. As in Primary Colors, she just blasts into the film and delightfully walks off with every scene she's in. Bates got a lot of attention for the naked hot tub scene, but she was a riot in all of her scenes before that, too. (The "I had my first orgasm when I was six" scene especially.) The role was smallish, and I think there's more substantial work for which I can vote, but I thought Bates was plenty special.

I think Adaptation is Meryl Streep's best work this decade. It was also something of a game-changer for her: although Streep wasn't a complete stranger to comedy, this was really the beginning of the fun, funny Meryl persona that has appeared in most of her films since then. And she's just wonderful here -- relaxed and sexy during her early scenes, really funny during the dial tone sequence, priceless during the film's crazy finale ("You ruined my life, you fat f**ck!) I'd think she'd be a great choice, though I agree with the sentiment that Streep's third Oscar should come for a leading role...

...and I feel the need to come to the oft-maligned winner's defense a bit. Catherine Zeta-Jones is, on the whole, a limited actress, and a lesser actress overall than most of her competitors this year. And I take the point that I heard a lot in '02 -- that she was basically playing herself in Chicago. But, damn...I just think she's perfect, in a wonderful alignment of actor and role. She instantly commanded the screen in "All That Jazz," was ferocious in "Cell Block Tango," hilarious and pathetic in "I Can't Do It Alone," a kick on the witness stand, and a joy in "Nowadays." And, no, the performance wasn't deep, but neither were the great song-and-dance performances of the past. Zeta-Jones's turn here is one of pure showmanship, and I thought the actress's energy and pure razzle-dazzle flair were wondrous to behold -- I couldn't take my eyes off of her. It'd be a close race for me between Zeta-Jones and Streep, but I really do think this is a terrific accomplishment by Zeta-Jones and I see no need to take her Oscar away.

[HarryGoldfarb]

An odd year... I don't exactly dislike any of the nominees but I don't feel too enthusiastic about them.

Though I do love The Hours as a film, it is true that Moore is, at least, a co-lead so she's out. And for that matter I tend to think that while the 3 actresses in it have their respective big-loud and almost over-the-top scenes of nervous breakdown, Moore played most of her entire part with this kind of over-intensity. Maybe the part's to blame but her scenes while effective are the heavier to watch. I loved however her quiet but devastating restrain while interacting with her son. That was the best of her part. She's out for the category fraud.

Instead we should have had Toni Colette, but not for her rightly done but unsubstantial part in The Hours. She was such a delight in About a Boy, a film that I truly love, that she most likely would had been my easy choice...

I'm with Precious Doll... I don't get the love to Adaptation or to its actors. Streep was nice, amusing, but to me that was it. And I, like many others, hated the ex-profeso Deux-ex-machina over-the-top crazy third act, no matter how intentional it was (but that ain't Streep's fault of course.

I don't like About Schmidt but Bates was so right for that role. She plays it almost in an effortless manner. And yes, probable, as a performance alone, it had all the merits to get the award. And as somebody said, she gives some light to this failed self-important film. But her role ain't actually demanding, she creates, as Italiano said, a mere caricature (nicely done, yes) but not a memorable one.

So, even though unlike the majority here I don't like Chicago that much (I like it, I enjoy it but that's it), I agree with both Zeta-Jones and Latifah getting their nods.

Having not seen Chicago in any of its theatrical incarnations, the whole thing was kind of new to me, so it was a good thing not to have any reference frame to compare it with. It's hard for me then to get teh idea of Zeta Jones playing the part or being cast against type. I loved her and she definitely, for my taste, created a memorable character. Her best thing for me, a quik edited sequence when she's giving an interview and suddenly turns her face to a camera changing her face expression from dramatic while retelling her story to charismatic, flamboyant and diva-like... and she made it feel so likely and natural for her character. I always laugh with that! As a whole, she might be considered a co-lead too but not to the extent of Moore in The Hours.

And Latifah has her "When you're good to mama", a scene to remember. A case can be made about Hudson in Dreamgirls, grabbing her award based solely on her powerful performance of "And I am telling you I'm not going"... if that´s the case then Latifah would be a deserving winner. Her performance is so good that, while I agree she has not that much to do in the film, when you left the theater you remembered her so much as if her part would have been larger than it really is. And that is a good thing to say about an actor...

Right now, I am voting for the not so liked Zeta Jones... but any other day I could do so for Latifah.

[Mister Tee]

In addition to the widely-mentioned Patricia Clarkson and Emily Mortimer, I'd throw in Samantha Morton in Minority Report as a potential subsitute for the lesser lights actually nominated.

Like many here, I loved Julianne Moore's lead performance in Far from Heaven but had little affection for her also-basically-leading performance in the dreary The Hours. Bog mentions how, tactically, it probably hurt her in the best actress race, but I recall Dennis B. suggesting it also hurt her from a perception standpoint -- here she was playing another discontented post-war mother, but one so drab it partly washed away the great memories of Cathy Whittaker. Definitely no on Moore.

I have not to date and presumably never will get what some see in Catherine Zeta-Jones. I think her acting is strictly one-note and her singing and dancing only at acceptable level. If you have to make a choice from Chicago, Queen Latifah is more fun and comes closer to a believable human being. But her part is negligible -- a big entrance with no follow-up is just about right, dws.

Like many, I come down to the other two, and am not surprised the entrant from the perceived-cooler film is prevailing. Streep is (a rarity at the time) quite funny in Adaptation -- her stoned scene is particularly hilarious -- and I don't think she's a bad choice. But I have a stronger aversion to voting for major stars in support than many do. I voted twice for Streep in support when she was still on the rise (in '78 and '79), and multiple times in lead after she'd ascended to that level, and I don't feel she needs another prize so badly as to shift my standards.

Besides, I love Kathy Bates in About Schmidt, and, apparently unlike most, think quite highly of the film as well (though I recognize it's got a bitter strain). It's not a large role, but Bates takes full command every moment she's onscreen, and works beautifully with Jack. Not an easy call, but one I'm comfortable making: Bates for the win.



Edited By Mister Tee on 1291143861

[Bog]

Like Italiano, I also love Julianne Moore, and I wouldn't go so far as dws suggests, he is not technically wrong with his assertion. Probably all 112 nominations belonged there as well. The academy is so damn nuts it's infuriating sometimes. They obviously love Julianne Moore enough to nominate her winning worthy performance in Far From Heaven, but with so much extracurricular activity going on with Kidman and her higher profile and her real life scorned woman and her stupid big fat nose, Moore was not going to win, they pacify her with a second (ridiculous) nomination rather than tapping the type of actress this category was made for in Patricia Clarkson.

Moore should already have been waltzing to a statue later tonight, she's out. Both Chicago ladies nominated in this category were blah to me, though the film is quite a bit of fun.

It's down to Streep and Bates, the only two I'd have considered. I'm going with Streep, who I thought along with Cage and Cooper, were a hoot...for a film just narrowly behind About Schmidt in the infuriating.

I liked Koshashvilli in Late Marriage, Rosario Dawson in 25th Hour, and definitely Clarkson and Huppert.

Eric...I'm fairly certain your girl was Roya Arabshahi, and very nice call.