Nearly five months ago, my review of "Little Miss Sunshine" appeared in The Badger Herald. In that review, I said, "[Abigail] Breslin does such an unbelievable job as Olive that it would be a shame if she were not nominated for an Oscar, or at least a Golden Globe." Well, the Golden Globe nominations resulted in shame, but it turns out I was mistaken to deny the Academy more credit. When the nominees were revealed on Jan. 23, Breslin received a much-deserved nod in the Supporting Actress category.
Do you know what that means? To borrow a phrase from Stephen Colbert — I called it! The Academy obviously feared my threat of shame. I single-handedly created the buzz that led to this nomination. Of course, there were countless Breslin endorsers across the nation — anyone with half a brain who saw the movie, and Dustin Hoffman on a recent episode of "The Tonight Show" — but with those supporters aside, I am willing to take full responsibility and accept the victory.
I must say, it feels good. There are so many people I would like to thank. First off, Abigail Breslin for her fantastic performance. I don't want to start a heated rivalry, but you are so much more talented than your older brother, Spencer (Disney's "The Kid"). Just kidding, Spence. Um, wow, I never thought this would happen, but here I am. My parents for all their support, monetary and otherwise. And, of course, my god, Steve Carell. Without all of your guiding hands, none of this would be possible. This belongs to you. Thank you.
Alan Arkin, who plays the grandpa in the film, was also nominated for Supporting Actor. I agree that his performance was great, but I do not feel as though it was any better than Carell's or Greg Kinnear's. Really, the only thing Arkin has on those two guys is three decades. Nonetheless, it is hard to complain when a film I feared would fly under the Oscar radar is getting the extensive attention it deserves.
I'll be honest. I was all prepared to say "Shame on you!" to the Academy Awards in my column this week. Something to the whiny effect of "You never give comedies recognition anymore, and you made a huge mistake by not nominating 'Little Miss Sunshine' for Best Picture and Abigail Breslin for her outstanding performance." However, my cynicism was proven wrong, and I am glad. True comedies rarely get the acknowledgment they deserve in the Best Picture category, and this year brings a glimmer of hope.
On top of that, not so surprisingly, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" received a nod in the Best Adapted Screenplay category. On a side note, I was highly amused listening to that full title being said on the Golden Globes when nominations were read off. Conversely, I was not amused when Warren Beatty did a Borat impression during his acceptance speech. Anyway, this screenplay nomination seems kind of odd to me, since most of the funniest moments in the movie were probably not all that scripted.
Some diehard fans may argue that Sacha Baron Cohen deserved a Best Actor nomination as well. First off, I am not a huge fan of Borat. I saw the movie, found it entertaining, and that was about it. On the other hand, what Baron Cohen clearly puts himself through, and the authenticity and intensity in his performance, does deserve some sort of recognition. Incidentally, he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, so I suppose all is well.
This brings me to another award show point. When I watched the Golden Globes, I honestly thought "Little Miss Sunshine" was a shoo-in for Best Picture in the comedy category. Unfortunately what I always forget is they strangely lump musicals in with comedies. How do these movies even compare? I have not seen "Dreamgirls" yet, but I know the movie is critically acclaimed, and I have little doubt it is, in fact, a phenomenal film. Still, how can one deprive "Little Miss Sunshine" the award when their genres are so different? I am not sure what, but something should be done about that.
Fortunately, something was done by the Academy, nominating "Little Miss Sunshine" and snubbing "Dreamgirls" for Best Picture. Unfortunately, though, now instead of needing to beat a musical, "Little Miss Sunshine" is going to have to prevail over four hardcore dramas, the genre Oscar almost always favors.
With that said, "Little Miss Sunshine" actually winning any of these awards, especially Best Picture, is a long shot. Since the turn of the century, the only comedies (though most of the following were equally as dramatic) to be nominated for Best Picture were "Chocolat," "Gosford Park," "Lost in Translation" and "Sideways." Not one of those movies won the big one. Then again, not one of those movies is as consistently funny as "Little Miss Sunshine."
The best chance the film has of winning an award is Michael Arndt (who, according to IMDb.com, had not written anything prior to this) coming away with an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, but even that category has impossibly fierce competition. However, I believe the movie deserves the recognition, so I will keep my fingers crossed, my cynicism as low as possible, and hope that when Feb. 25 rolls around, I will not be forced to say "Shame on you!" to the Academy Awards. You avoided shame once, Academy. You've come so far. Don't get stupid.
Mike Peters is a senior focusing on communication arts, film and business. Do you think "Little Miss Sunshine" is a winner or a loser? Let Mike know at [email protected].
