Categories One-by-One: Best Makeup

[anonymous1980]

I think Bad Grandpa got in because the makeup not only had to look good for the camera but it had to look convincing enough to fool people in real life since it is a prank movie after all. That factor is why I'm not completely counting it out though, yeah, it's probably gonna be Dallas Buyers Club.

[Big Magilla]

This one's a real head-scratcher.

American Hustle would have been an obvious choice. Maybe it was too obvious, but I haven't seen either The Lone Ranger or the Jackass movie so I really can't say if their makeup was good or not. However, I should note it was Johnny Depp's garish makeup that turned off of The Lone Ranger even before the negative reviews started coming in.

Having not seen all the nominees in the category I should abstain from voting as per Academy rules, but if actual Academy members did that, the young radicals might just decide to give it to the Jackass movie for no reason other than to throw a monkey wrench into the cartwheel so hopefully they will either overcome their objections and watch the damn movies or ignore the rule.

I suspect in the end, however, class will out, and Dallas Buyers Club will win.

[Mister Tee]

I know the category is now officially called "Best Make-up and Hairstyling", but the selected nominees tells me this branch is still mostly focused on make-up. The hair in American Hustle was a virtual character -- a far more dominant factor than any of the nominees' make-up was in theirs.

The nominees:

Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass presents Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

Honestly, I don't know what this branch is doing, these days. They seem to be willfully excluding movies people might be interested in seeing/voting for; sticking up for flops (Lone Ranger) and movies the older set won't get at all (Bad Grandpa).

This might make sense if the make-up in these films was truly extensive or striking, but I can't say that about what's on display in either of those two. Yeah, Johnny Knoxville is made up like an old man, but I wouldn't say a wildly convincing old man; it's not close to the Streep/Iron Lady verisimilitude. Moreover, Knoxville doesn't work all that hard at suggesting genuine age; he's not quite Bette Midler in For the Boys, but he's not a huge step past, either.

And Lone Ranger just doesn't have all that much make-up. Tonto wears war paint for most of the movie, and, for maybe 15 minutes total screen time, is made up as an old man. This is done more effectively than in Bad Grandpa, but 15 minutes hardly seems to justify a nomination. (Daniel Bruhl's post-accident make-up in Rush would seem far more deserving in that vein)

So, I guess Dallas Buyers will win this easily, even though there's nothing that wildly impressive there, either. But it's respectable work, in a "serious" movie -- and maybe the only one of the three most voters even get through (though those who nominated Borat might kick a marginal kick from Bad Grandpa).

I guess they REALLY didn't want the hobbits winning here again.