Smackdown '91: Juliette, Jessica, Diane, Kate and Mercedes Ruehl
Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 7:30PM The Supporting Actress Smackdown series picks an Oscar vintage -- 1991 this time -- and explores.
THE NOMINEES Oscar went with two sentimental favourite veterans (Jessica Tandy and Diane Ladd) and three first-timers (Juliette Lewis, Mercedes Ruehl, and Kate Nelligan) who were having hard-to-ignore years. This shortlist was full of characters: a chatterbox octogenarian, an agressively needy video store owner, a sexually mercurial teenager, a monstrous southern matriarch, and a proto-feminist in the deep south.
THE PANEL Here to talk about the performances and films are, in alpha order, entertainment journalist Mark Harris ("Pictures at a Revolution", "Five Came Back"), Tony winning actress Nikki M James (The Book of Mormon, The Good Fight), Tony nominated actor Rory O'Malley (The Book of Mormon, Hamilton), Vanity Fair's deputy editor Katey Rich, Drama Desk winning actor Nick Westrate (Casa Valentina, Turn: Washington's Spies), and your host at The Film Experience, Nathaniel R. Let's begin...
1991
SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWN + PODCAST
The companion podcast can be downloaded at the bottom of this article or by visiting the iTunes page...
Diane Ladd as "Mother" in Rambling Rose
Synopsis: An idealistic free-thinker convinces her husband to have patience with the sexually promiscuous young boarder in their house.
Stats: Then 56 yrs old, 36th film, 2nd billed. Third (and final) nomination. 35 minutes of screen time (or 31% of the running time)
Mark Harris: It’s a drag of an assignment to play a paragon of gentle kindness with a steely core of human decency—how can anyone act when they’re smothered in that much golden light?—but it has been the road to many a Supporting Actress nomination, including this one. Besides sweet rapport with Laura Dern, Ladd brings some welcome eccentricity to the role, and she delivers in her climactic scene, where she tells off both her husband and a doctor (though it goes on a beat too long, “Designing Women”-style). Nice work, but the character isn’t much more than an overidealized sketch. ♥♥
Nikki M James: Of the five films, this is the only one I hadn't seen before. I was unprepared! I don't know who writes these synopses, but they truly underplayed this one. The movie is strange, but Diane Ladd was a dream. It's a pitch-perfect combination of earnestness and eccentricity. The big payoff comes in the scene where two men discuss "spaying" our Rambling Rose. They speak as if the woman in the room couldn't possibly understand their coded language. The flash of fierceness in her eye, and a speech that, as far as this movie goes, is downright feminist. At least one of the four stars is making that hearing aid not feel like a gimmick.. ♥♥♥♥
Rory O'Malley: Not at all what I was expecting when I told my mom she should watch with me. The “robbing the cradle scene” was a lot to handle. Dianne Ladd’s character is a brilliant woman trapped in the wrong time, but her relentless defense of Rose is like the first green shoots of modern feminism. I think her daughter Laura Dern playing Rose really affected her performance. She gives a speech in the doctor’s office about female sexuality that is most definitely the best part of the film and a satisfying triumph for her character over her misogynistic husband. ♥♥♥
Katey Rich: It’s fun to imagine the fantasy mother-daughter Oscar nominations that could have happened for Wild at Heart a year earlier, but this is nothing to frown at either, for as odd a movie Rambling Rose is. Ladd seems to recede to the background of the film for a while, given how much else is going on, but the scene she and Duvall have with the doctor really makes it clear how this happened. ♥♥♥♥
Nick Westrate: Watching her build this complicated woman with such ease and incredible ability to listen- even while playing someone hard of hearing! Her strength and great wit shine in this wonderful film. It is also so moving to witness her onscreen warmth with her real life daughter, delivering a seminal early performance in her career. Dianne Ladd creates this ultra-modern woman with such humor and grace. I also have to mention that Lukas Haas deserves a nomination for this movie, I would give him the Oscar over Jack Palance. Also, Diane Ladd’s fierce defense of “her category” may make her this podcasts’ ultimate hero. Her performance in this is a marvel. ♥♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: Laura Dern is the headliner and Robert Duvall is the legend but nobody told Diane Ladd that because she is not letting anyone coast through a scene when she's around, whether by billing or reputation or narrative importance. Ladd never phones it in is what I'm saying and this is a completely endearing turn that's easy to imagine going very wrong in lesser hands. Calibrated just a bit differently it could have been cloyingly preachy, unbelievable, or schmaltzy. She's really digging into the unique psychology of this woman and always present even when she's not quite keeping up with the conversation. Fine work in a tricky role. ♥♥♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "A lesser actress would have cried and sobbed during her monologue at the doctor's (and won)" - Peggy Sue (Reader average: ♥♥♥)
Actress earns 24 ❤s
Juliette Lewis as "Danielle Bowden" in Cape Fear
Synopsis: A sexually curious teenager is fascinated and then repulsed by the man who is tormenting her father and probably killed her mom's dog.
Stats: Then 18 yrs old, 6th film, 6th billed. Her first (and only) nomination. 28 minutes of screentime (or 22% of the running time)
Mark Harris: I was wowed revisiting Lewis’s performance, especially by the thirteen-minute centerpiece in which she holds her own with De Niro as he lures her, first by phone and then in person, into his clutches. It’s a terrifying duet—the innocent who doesn’t realize how innocent she is being captured by the big bad wolf—and she commands your attention every second, manifesting all the interest and uncertainty she’s feeling in every vocal choice and physical gesture. She exposes herself so fearlessly; you feel you’re watching a real teenager (which she was) try to think things through in real time. ♥♥♥♥
Nikki M James: Juliette Lewis, an 18-year-old Juliette Lewis! She gives an extraordinarily mature and nuanced performance here. The promise of her future success is evident; she is already full of quirks and honesty. She's captivating, the perfect combination of vulnerability and volatility, the angsty, ignored teen, just shy of the age when she knows when to be turned on and when to be terrified. It’s both terrifying and heartbreaking to see the pure terror in Dani's eyes while she attempts to mollify and seduce De Niro, her mouth and her eyes telling two different stories, all while not telegraphing to the audience for a single moment. Casting her might have been the single best choice Scorsese made in the uneven film. ♥♥♥♥♥
Rory O'Malley: This performance runs the gambit of emotion of a teenage girl and Juliette Lewis delivers beautifully in every moment. Her scene with Robert DeNiro on the high school stage is a masterwork in acting. The layered dynamics between teacher and student, adult and teen, psychopath and innocent are on full display and make for a chilling conversation. She also finds complete truth in the horror of finding her friend the housekeeper dead, burning DeNiro’s face with lighter fluid and dealing with Nolte, a creep of a dad who always coddles her instead of telling her the truth. ♥♥♥♥
Katey Rich: It’s exciting to watch this and see so much of her future star persona emerge, and realize that she was enough of an unknown quantity at the time that she could believably be the innocent teenage girl at first before transforming as the film goes on. You wonder how this movie pulled off such an odd combination of nominations-- actor and supporting actress! -- and then there’s the scene in the theater between her and De Niro and it all comes into focus. The conversation between the two of them on the houseboat, when she’s flirting back while so obviously in danger, barely makes sense, but she has that combination of teenage interest in and terror of sex that manages to stand out even in a movie with so much else going on. ♥♥♥♥
Nick Westrate: Juliette Lewis gives a spontaneous, precocious and deeply real turn as Danielle Bowden. One of greatest teen performances Oscar ever nominated and I will admit this is one of my all time favorite movies. She carries almost as much danger as DeNiro as she explores her sexuality, yearns for freedom from her parents and still maintains a vast childlike curiosity. Also, Illeanna Douglas is so good in this movie, and should have a nomination for something in a more just business. How Juliette Lewis could so perfectly portray the complications of innocence, while completely in them is a marvel. She is one of the true originals in cinema. ♥♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: One of my top five Scorseses and a huge part of that is due to the haunting provocative spell Juliette Lewis initially casts (that voiceover prologue) and then delivers on in this absolute knockout of a performance. Hollywood may never have quite understood where, when, and how to deploy her thereafter but Lewis knew herself from the jump; she was in full command of her gift at just 18. Her disturbing centerpiece duet with DeNiro surely prompted the nomination but she's alive with choices in every scene (watch her eyes and hands and just marvel). This busy and ruthlessly edited thriller slows down for no one (save De Niro's showboating) but Juliette never fails to keep up and carves out an iconic place for herself in the chaos. ♥♥♥♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "Astonishingly charismatic, but she doesn’t rely on it; Danielle is the finest portrait of the confusing mixture of teenage sexual intrigue and sheltered suburban innocence committed to screen." - David (Reader average: ♥♥♥♥¼)
Actress earns 30¼ ❤s
Kate Nelligan as "Lila Wingo" in The Prince of Tides
Synopsis: An unhappy southern woman wishes her children would just shut up about their difficult childhoods and stay quiet about the family secrets.
Stats: Then 41 yrs old, 11th film, 4th billed. First (and only) nomination. 12 minutes of screen time (or 9% of the running time).
Mark Harris: At 41, Nelligan, who is Canadian, played a brittle, coiffed, bigoted old Southerner without a lot of makeup, effectively using her deep, frayed voice. It’s not her fault that she’s in a different movie from the main one, or that she’s such odd casting. What she brings to the part is an understanding of how toughness and abuse can hollow you out. The script is savage to Lila Wingo; she isn’t. She understands that the character’s humanity needs to be apparent for her monstrosity to mean anything. I’m not sure, given the role’s limitations, that she could have done better. ♥♥♥
Nikki M James: For me, this performance is just a bit over the top. It might be age makeup, or the terrible costumes, or the fact that the character is a mostly lousy person. Her soap opera-esque delivery in the present-day scenes is grating. The flashbacks are slightly more successful, but even they feel pitched just a bit hot. Except for the harrowing rape scene, I can't remember a moment where I thought, "Now that's an award-worthy performance." The performance, and frankly the film itself, hasn't aged well. ♥♥
Rory O'Malley: Maybe they gave her a nomination because she had to play her character young and old, but other than that I’m not sure. She most definitely gives a good performance but I guess I feel like her character is lost by the end of the movie and doesn’t really land anywhere. It feels like there must be a scene on the cutting room floor that gives her a full journey. ♥♥
Katey Rich: This nomination seems much more about the context of the Oscar year, and the desire to reward The Prince of Tides, than anything about the performance itself, which is perfectly fine but so immaterial to the movie itself it’s difficult to even remember it. The flashbacks to childhood are so truncated it’s hard to get a sense of her beyond the childish idealization that Tom Wingo admits to, and while she’s far more interesting as the wealthy, older woman, that transformation happens entirely offscreen, making her mostly feel like an entirely new character. I just don’t get it! ♥♥
Nick Westrate: While her transformation from the manipulative brassy Lila of her youth to the manipulative rich Lila of old age- the performance is broad and builds a monster rather than a mother. Streisand doesn’t do her any favors by undervaluing her character’s experience of the violent rape in favor of focusing on the children. I am stunned that she was not nominated for Frankie & Jonny, for which she won the BAFTA. I also wish this spot was taken up by Alfre Woodard for Grand Canyon. ♥♥
Nathaniel R: Frankie & Johnny was right there if they wanted to honor her! They just can't resist 'monster moms' in this category, can they? I'd argue that her overkill in the flashbacks works for the movie -- it's all a little too much, but that's the (unintentional) tone! -- so I bought that this woman would truly damage her children even if not exactly in this way. But it's a reductive role and though she tries valiantly to redeem and explain the character with her old age showdown with her son (Oscar clip!) it's just not going to work with this ridiculous text. ♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "As the movie is distinctly presented from Nolte's perspective, the other characters suffer. However, Nelligan admirably fills in her performance with little details to make up for this with her physicality (I was struck by her rigid posture) and inspired line readings." - Aditya (Reader average: ♥♥¾)
Actress earns 15¾ ❤s
Mercedes Ruehl as "Anne" in The Fisher King
Synopsis: A video store owner struggles to make a relationship work with a self-absorbed radio jockey while advising an awkward woman on dating.
Stats: Then 43 yrs old, 15th film, 3rd billed. First (and only) nomination. 37 minutes of screentime (or 27% of the running time.)
Mark Harris: Terry Gilliam makes everything very big and shouty, from camera angles to performances, but Ruehl came to play, and there’s something exciting about a supporting actress who absolutely refuses to let herself get lost in a movie defined by exhausting male energy. She’s so flexible here (stage training!)—it’s hard to imagine three scene partners with rhythms as different as Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, and Amanda Plummer, and she recalibrates to each of them without losing the consistency of her character. Her long, mostly-one-shot Oscar scene, when Bridges dumps her and she explodes in sorrow and anger, is a killer. ♥♥♥♥
Nikki M James: This performance is lovely. It feels like a precursor to the long-suffering, tough New Yorker of Carmella Soprano and My Cousin Vinny's Mona Lisa Vito - the good woman through whose eyes the audience learns to love a not-so-good man. I can't say this would have been my pick to take home the trophy, mostly because I can NOT stop thinking about Amanda Plummer's performance as Lydia! For me, hers is the standout female performance of this film. Maybe Ms. Ruhl needed a dumpling. ♥♥♥
Rory O'Malley: No one could have played this part other than Mercedes Ruehl. When I think that, it usually means the actor has done their job so well I think they are that character. She is an incredible force of nature that goes head to head with Jeff Bridges and nearly steals the movie from Robin Williams. She is the voice of sanity and love in a movie about mental illness and greed. Mercedes balances her characters desperation and power so well and brings much needed comedy to her performance. It seems effortless. ♥♥♥♥
Katey Rich: This movie does not particularly belong to her, but you wish it did every time she shows up— she has such a bracing, no bullshit presence that cuts through so much of the film’s loosey-gooseyness. How could Jeff Bridges be such a mess when he’s already got her on his side? ♥♥♥♥♥
Nick Westrate: Ruehl's mercurial performance gets all the hearts from me. Here’s one the Academy got right. Mercedes brash, wounded, generous and complicated Anne is the most thrilling performance in a cast of virtuosos. A single look or line reading from Ruehl can change the entire temperature of the film: she can drolly deliver: “What do you want, applause?” to undercut Bridges’ return or hear his rejection of her and break her heart wide open to us with a look. She is as open as she is tough, a clever as she is generous, fragile as she is ferocious. She is the human personification of early 90s New York, if Manhattan was a human she would be Anne Napolitano. ♥♥♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: I used to think of this performance as a (blissfully) loud star turn, a firestorm, or a whirling dervish. Revisiting the movie after all these years, I was shocked to discover that Ruehl, for all her innate theatricality, is essentially the straight man in a cast of bananas. Not that she's letting them have all the fun. Her tetchy impatience with the insanity around her is the movie's best recurring joke. She's expert at delineating minor detonations versus major explosions within her lovelife and just as superb at the gentler lower stakes of her slow-burn mentoring of Lydia (Amanda Plummer, who should have absolutely joined her in this lineup). My personal vote goes to Juliette Lewis (by a hair) but I love this Oscar win. The Fisher King has the best ensemble performance of 1991, period; Everyone is delicious in it. ♥♥♥♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "To me this is perfect, she builds a believable character from what could be a cliche, hits every comic note while letting her soft underbelly show. Knocks her big moment ('what did I get?!?') out of the park" - GreyDog (Reader average: ♥♥♥¾)
Actress earns 29¾ ❤s
Jessica Tandy as "Ninny Threadgoode" in Fried Green Tomatoes
Synopsis: An old woman in a nursing home reminisces about a lifelong friendship between two women who ran 'The Whistle Stop Cafe' during the Great Depression.
Stats: Then 82 yrs old, 25th film, 4th billed ("and" Jessica Tandy). Second (and final) nomination. 25 minutes of screentime (or 18% of the running time.)
Mark Harris: This was a we-still-love-you nomination, two years after her Best Actress win for Driving Miss Daisy, in a maybe-it’ll-work-again movie, two years after Steel Magnolias. The part of a chatty old nursing-home resident whose role is to represent a very Hollywood notion of Southern quirkiness and indomitability is one that, at 81, she could have done in her sleep. To her credit, she doesn’t—she keeps it small, sweet, and controlled, and she uses her voice as only someone with a lifetime of acquired skill could, but there’s not much more here to play than “magical old dear.” ♥♥
Nikki M James: I have almost no complaints about this film. I loved it the first time I saw it, and I love it every time I revisit The Whistle Stop. What I'm saying is I can't be trusted to be objective. Jessica Tandy is equal parts teenage firecracker and frail elder. One could argue that Tandy could get five hearts just for being alive and remembering her lines, but she delivers a shimmery performance; a love letter to female friendship and grit. Tandy, as Ninny, is a captivating and endearing storyteller; no wonder Evelyn keeps coming back for more. TOWANDA!! ♥♥♥♥♥
Rory O'Malley: I always loved this movie as a kid. A lesbian romance and lots of menopause humor. A gay child’s dream. Jessica gives a sweet and endearing performance but acts primarily as the movie’s narrator. She spends most of her screen time trying to conceal her identity and connection to the story. I think this is why it seems like she and Mary Stuart Masterson never had a conversation about playing the same character. However, she deserves the nomination if only for her read of the line “How many of those hormones have you been taking, honey?!” ♥♥♥
Katey Rich: This is the kind of nomination that only makes sense in the context of Oscar history (one of many reasons I love the Oscars—it’s a constantly evolving narrative about itself!) She is perfectly lovely in this, and appealing enough that you get why she inspires Kathy Bates to change her entire life. But the entire lifeblood of the movie is in the flashbacks, and it’s baffling to imagine choosing Tandy out of a lineup that includes all of those co-stars. ♥♥
Nick Westrate: A heartwarming performance. While she has all the glorious humanity and sharp thinking that make her one of our greatest actors, she has to do so much voice-over and narration that we don’t get to see her do much of her acting. I long for a Mary Stuart Masterson nomination for this film as lesbian icon Idgie Threadegoode. It would have changed the trajectory of her career in a major way. I also think Jessica was criminally overlooked the following year for her next collaboration with Ms. Bates: Used People. But you do have to give Ninny credit as one of the great stunt queens in cinema, she really drew that story along before reveling to ANYONE that she was Idgie- damn she even snuck that by Towanda, Righter of Wrongs, Queen Beyond Compare! ♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: A downshift from her Oscar winning role, primarily because she has so much less to work with. She's merely the sweet storyteller with a sparkle in her eye. The movie is vague about this woman's actual identity but, then, so is Tandy. If she's meant to be Idgie grown old than why isn't there a single attempt at twinning Mary Stuart Masterson's performance? And if she's meant to be an omniscient invisible relative, the movie is even siller. Either way, she and Bates are charming together but both quite broad! It's a shame that it wasn't one of the Marys who walked off with the movie's sole acting nomination since their section of the movie is more engaging. ♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "Brimming with the zest for life, no other actress could have made Ninny this irresistible and infectious." - Julius (Reader average: ♥♥¾)
Actress earns 19¾ ❤s
Result: Mercedes Ruehl won the Oscar but ties with Juliette Lewis among our talking head panelists. That means the Smackdown is decided by your collective vote as the final panelist. And the winner in this excellent showdown is... Juliette Lewis in Cape Fear
THE FULL PODCAST CONVERSATION
Download at the bottom of this post 👇 or on iTunes to hear the in-depth discussion with our marvelous guests.
NEXT UP: There are (deep breath now) four more Smackdowns to come this super-sized season and we're going to space them out a little more now so you can be sure to watch along with us. They are 2005 (August 20th), 1938 (September 14th), 1965 (October 8th), and 1987 (November 12th). [All Previous Smackdowns]
Reader Comments (87)
Shit, the robbery is real. I'm not mad I'm just disappointed.
Wow, what a strange panel. This is a clearcut year of Tandy>Ladd>Lewis>Ruehl>Nelligan. What a curveball. Although Nathaniel should've abstained because of a conflict of interest. (Being a rapid Pfeiffer 89-er)
This is a Nathaniel run site so I feared the worst and in 2020 fashion it became a reality. Dragging Miss Daisy indeed. We need a Tandy series as reparations. Accountability is key when clear injustices are committed.
1991 is special to me, as it's the first Oscar ceremony that I paid close attention to - I had the Entertainment Weekly, I knew the ins and outs, and I was ready to be entertained. For this reason, I've always had a soft spot for Ruehl, as the first woman I watch accepted my favorite Oscar. But watching all 5 this year, I finally, for the first time, dropped her below Lewis.
Diane: *** Ladd subtly shows Mother blossoming over the course of her time with Rose, showing a natural born stillness in early scenes that evolves into Dixie Carter realness as she becomes Rose’s champion. Quite funny when given the chance. Gifted with the only character allowed any real perspective.
Juliette: ***** Lewis gives so much specificity to Danielle, complicating her in every possible way: kind of dim, but smarter than she thinks; painfully shy, and surprised by her own moments of boldness; quintessential product of ‘90s dysfunction, but so opaque you wonder what she’s thinking while she telegraphs it.
Kate: ** I wish there was some connective tissue between young Lila and old Lila, but I see none. In fact, she seems to be a different character every time you see her. This could be partly because she is seen through the eyes of a character whose perspective of her evolves, but it’s Nelligan’s job to make the character make sense, and I don’t really see it. Fun when she goes big.
Mercedes: **** Anne Napolitano is one more tower in a movie obsessed with them. Ruehl gives her the full Mercedes treatment, suffusing maximum personality into every line. “Stranger things… have been to known… … … to happen.” Although saddled with a lot of “What’s the matter, baby” dialogue, Ruehl finds the right tone to balance whatever collection of weirdos she’s sharing a scene with, and emerges as the movie’s most memorable character.
Jessica: * As a character whose only personality trait is the inability to make a long story short, nothing is asked of Tandy, and she’s not compelled to give any more than she’s asked. She makes the movie a tragedy as (spoiler alert) it turns out Idgie evolves into this old fuddy-duddy.
I completely support the outcome of this panel. Juliette Lewis gives such a strange, provocative, and unexpected performance in "Cape Fear". When you look at the list of actresses who read for the role (Reese Witherspoon, Christina Applegate, etc) it is clear just how outside the box this choice was and how much it paid off for Scorsese. I agree with Nathaniel that hollywood never really figured out what to make of Lewis or how to cast her, but I think this performance reminds you what a raw nerve of a performer she is and how, when cast and directed well, she can turn the words on the page into something immensely surprising.
On a personal note, thanks Nathaniel for posting the podcast just as I was about to begin my Sunday hike – it made for a great listen as I was powering up the Santa Monica mountains.
The Fisher King was the most surprising for me. I was truly dreading it as it was the first movie I ever walked out of. I realize now that the expectations that 14 year old boys had for a Robin Williams film vis-à-vis what The Fisher King actually was resulted in more cognitive dissonance than our hormone ravaged brains could handle. I loved the re-watch and Mercedes was magic. Oscar definitely pick the right winner.
Juliette Lewis was my runner-up. She wore her inner monologue on her sleeve – I always saw exactly who she was even when other characters couldn’t. And I’ll stick up for Jessica Tandy too. She was the best part of a mediocre outing. She gave us such warmth and humor that I never once questioned why Kathy Bates kept returning to visit this stranger. I would want to spend time with her too! I’ll round out the category with any two from Raise the Red Lantern.
Overall, 1991 was such a great year because it was full of debuts and very early work from Todd Haynes, Lars Von Trier, John Singleton, Richard Linklater, and of course, Reese Witherspoon!
Out two best gay icons, save Cher, Liza Minnelli and Bette Midler were each in bad movies, but I’ll still rewatch Steppin’ Out any day of the week.
In all, I rewatched six ’91 offerings and experienced another 31 for the first time. My new top ten for the year:
1. Beauty and the Beast
2. Silence of the Lambs
3. Madonna: Truth or Dare
4. Raise the Red Lantern
5. The Doors
6. My Own Private Idaho
7. Europa (Zentropa)
8. Paris is Burning
9. Terminator 2
10. Daughters of the Dust
Honorable mention: The Fisher King
Nikki M James with the completely correct takes. Shantay you stay! Everyone else, sashay away.
Us 89ers have to stick together ;)
What a terrific Smackdown! One of my favorite yet. Such rich insights from all. Lovely to hear from panelists so passionate about actressing. More theatre actors please!
If only Helen Mirren had been nominated for THE COMFORT OF STRANGERS - would've loved to hear this crew's take on her performance
There can be a hundred subpar Smackdowners in the room, and 99 don't believe in taste, but one does. (Nikki M James)
Very occasionally the universe is just, giving rewards to those that deserve them (a Tony to the now indisputably amazing Nikki M James)
Funny how life can alter how you feel about certain performances. Back in the day I had a soft spot (blind spot?) for Kate Nelligan. I liked her because she was Canadian and for her performances in "Eye of the Needle" and "Frankie and Johnnie". I re-watched, and couldn't stand "Prince of Tides" and Nelligan's performance was a regrettable miss.
Mercedes Ruehl was still brings a lot of needed energy to her part.
Juliette Lewis was more impressive to me though. (I thought she was too over the top originally but I didn't feel that way on re-watching.) Funny how these things change.
Tandy and Ladd were capable but not as impressive as Ruehl and Lewis.
Well done Smackdown crew !
Is Tandy really that much of a lightning rod, or are people just trolling? I wasn't a fan of her performance but don't think it was notably terrible or terribly notable - it was just kind of there.
I went with Ruehl on this one. I love that even when she got caught up in the act two romcom antics, she took her video store VERY seriously. Her attention to business kept intruding, and it was delightful.
Love that Juliette Lewis scooped this, and that Ruehl was so close behind. Lewis is my pick for this year, but her, Ruehl, and Ladd are a pretty tremendous trio. Tandy’s fine, and I’m with Nathaniel that Nelligan should’ve easily been recognized for Frankie & Johnny instead.
I didn’t get to do as much 1991 watching as I’d hoped for, but beyond the three women I wrote about this month, I’d be happy to shoutout Wendy Robie’s perfectly calibrated villainy in The People Under the Stairs and Kong Lin’s insubordinate resentment in Raise the Red Lantern. Also love Angela Lansbury in Beauty & the Beast, Regina King in Boyz, and Gabrielle Rose in The Adjuster, who gives off such fascinating vibes that I wish had more to do.
Is it just me, or is Buddy’s death in FGT one of the stupidest on film?
For me, it's Mercedes Ruehl as she was the moral compass of that film and really did a lot more that is often expected in a Terry Gilliam film. Juliette Lewis would be my runner-up.
Jessica Tandy... BORING!!!!!
Kate Nelligan was good in The Prince of Tides as that was a film I really did like and honestly, I'm not a fan of Barbra Streisand but she did a fucking excellent job in that film as a director. It is worthy to be part of the Criterion Collection.
i think it's hilarious that so many people think i control what all the panelists say, how they vote OR that i am psychic enough to predict how they'll feel. I AM SO POWERFUL. ;)
this was such a fun smackdown. I love love love this year in cinema.
Dave -- i love that about Mercedes performance too. She really thought through EVERY thing about this woman including probably what her profit ledgers were for that store
Mabel -- gulp. i have never seen that movie but now you're making me want to because the quartet of actors ensembled is so rich.
Kelly -- STEPPING OUT. omg. i shoulda revisited that one this month.
Zach -- wow. i had never heard her read for that part.
Great smackdown! Shout out to Nikki M. James in particular for her insightful comments during the podcast, and for being the first to mention Amanda Plummer's great work! Love that Lewis and Ruehl were the top two, and also that Ladd's work was received positively. And it's a thrill to be quoted in the reader write-ins too, so thank you for that! Looking forward to 2005.
The correct choice!
Can we discuss Juliette Lewis' hair at the Oscars tho
Agreed that Mary Stuart Masterson was more deserving of an Oscar nomination for Fried Green Tomatoes than Jessica Tandy, but Mary was a lead. And it's been well covered how competitive best actress was in '91.
Jeremy -- HA! I was thinking that when i published the smackdown. I was like we talked for an hour and no one mentioned her cornrows at the Oscars!
Another great smackdown this season, thanks all!! I was slightly more in camp Ruehl, but can’t deny the Lewis win as worthy. Fun to see the readers votes be the decider.
Can't wait to listen to the star-studded pocast on my way to work.
I didn't have time to rewatch the 3 I had already seen back in the 90s, and didn't feel good about voting for them. But here are a my votes for the 2 movies I saw this month and whose performances are fresh in my mind:
Juliette Lewis in CAPE FEAR - 5 stars. It's so interesting to see this with the distance of a few decades. It's weird to see Lewis when she was so young and "innocent"... compared to what her persona was soon to be. You almost feel as if you are seeing the "before" actress who is about to get all messed up and now you know how she got that way. She is genius in the seduction scene with Deniro - her line readings are so well calibrated.
Diane Ladd in RAMBLING ROSE - 2 stars. I liked her fine for the first 1/2 of the movie. She seemed decently subtle until that preachy speech near the end... and all subtlety went out the window. *Now* i understand why she was nominated Those over-the-top speeches don't work for me. bleh.
Other faves of 1991:
top 2:
The Lovers on the Bridge
The Silence of the Lambs
also excellent:
Prospero's Books
My Own Private ID
Barton Fink
Raise the Red Lantern
Delicatessen
The result sucks, but some well written if mind boggling opinions. Nikki is a star and the most astute and incisive on this panel, and up there as an all-timer. She has earned an open invitation back anytime.
That 12-minute scene in Cape Fear is so powerful it could exist as a short-film and that would be a masterpiece in that form. Thanks to the writing, the performances and the editing, one of the most memorable scenes in the movies was born. Every aspect of it oozes with complexity. Lewis conveys so much of the character's longing to be seen as a mature being. Her recklessness and excitement were terrifying. There's such originality in her essence this is a character that has never been written before or ever since and no one has ever reached this level of authenticity in a role like this. Lewis's performance is rich and fascinating in an anthropological and psychological way. We learn about behavior by watching her in her body language and what's behind her eyes, facial expressions and speech. A one-of-a-kind performance and artist.
Who would’ve thought this panel would be so controversial? Lol some heated reader comments up in here
The panel got it right. Lewis and Ruehl basically tie with Lewis probably deserving by a hair. I barely remember Tandy in FGT, except as someone I liked before and could say, "oh. It's her. Nice."
I thought despite Nathaniel’s grudge that Tandy may have gotten the love she deserved. To be under appreciated until late in your career and give a fresh, exciting and truthful supporting performance in your 80’s is worthy of respect. That was the same for Christopher Plummer in Beginners, yet a superior performance from Tandy is woefully underrated? The 89er jumped out.
Just stumbled across this trivia (apologies if it was mentioned in the podcast, haven't listened yet): Ruehl won her Oscar and Tony in the same year, which was also accomplished by Audrey Hepburn (1953) and Ellen Burstyn (1974).
Always a great read! I remember StinkyLulu pointing out the surprisingly high number of Scorsese-directed Supporting Actress noms. Now I want to find out how many other films have the rare Best Actor/Best Supporting Actress combo!
(Seeing the rightful winner come second last) How DARE you!
If they cut all those scenes with Bates and Tandy in Fried Green Tomatoes the movie wouldn’t miss anything. The acting is fine but the other story is so much better.
Ooooh 2005!
Writing my Weisz defense now! Not that she’ll need it, since she’ll walk away with the Smackdown, give or take an Adam’s. ;)
I'm elated with the results of this smackdown and the podcast episode is smashing.
Here are my votes:
1) Juliette Lewis in CAPE FEAR, ♥♥♥♥♥ (five hearts)
Like many, if not all, teenagers, Lewis' Danielle thinks herself wiser and more mature than she is. The actress defines her character's overconfidence with utmost clarity, playing her as an unwitting innocent dancing on the precipice of annihilation. Her famous sexually-charged pas de deux with DeNiro's Max Candy is a particular highlight, a stupendous portrayal of foolish, insouciant, adolescent immaturity put face to face with a pit of darkness unto which no one should have to look. Nonetheless, in this recent rewatch, I was most surprised by Lewis' interactions with her onscreen parents. Notice how she plays Danielle as someone constantly trying to hide her vulnerability and project a false image of provocative worldliness. Compared to the previous screen iteration of the character, Lewis' turn is especially mesmerizing, for it conveys the idea of a human rather than a script archetype of endangered youth.
2) Mercedes Ruehl in THE FISHER KING, ♥♥♥♥ (four hearts)
An actress never known for her dramatic subtlety manages to be one of this picture's funniest presences by underplaying her role. She's a beacon of sanity and actorly discipline among a sea of performers going to town on their lunatic personages. Hilarious, but always grounded, Ruehl's Anne feels like a real person, whether she's trading witty quips with Bridges, reacting to Williams and Plummer's tomfoolery with revulsion and compelled amusement, or breaking our heart in a barrage of amorous pain. One thing's for sure, Mercedes Ruehl is an excellent and very generous scene partner, as well as a consummate supporting player who makes her fellow actors shine and even manages to solve some of the scripts' failings.
3) Diane Ladd in RAMBLING ROSE, ♥♥♥ (three hearts)
In the movie's dialogue, the goodness of Ladd's matriarch is often extolled. At a certain point, she's even called a saint. To breathe life into such a beacon of virtue and southern gentility isn't easy but Ladd does it well, playing strength of character as organic human behavior rather than a script contrivance. Even the hearing device shenanigans come off as an honest bit of lived-in annoyance rather than an actorly affectation. She makes it all feel genuine while struggling slightly to match the movie's wild tonalities, especially its shifts from comedy to righteous diatribe.
4) Jessica Tandy in FRIED GREEN TOMATOES, ♥♥ (two hearts)
Tandy is perfectly charming as a wistful narrator. However, hers is an unsubstantial characterization that often feels gossamer-thin when compared to the work of her many illustrious costars. Adding to that, I often feel a disconnect between the two versions of the character, with Tandy's entertaining turn being a bit too self-amused to match Masterson's obstinate confidence in the flashbacks. Still, I get why so many love her in this since she's fun and very funny. I'll always laugh at her dry, matter-of-fact, reaction to Kathy Bates' vaginal lamentations.
5) Kate Nelligan in THE PRINCE OF TIDES, ♥♥ (two hearts)
Like it happens with Tandy, Nelligan suffers from a flashback structure and a general disconnect between the two versions of her character. However, unlike her fellow nominee, Nelligan has no one to blame but herself, considering she plays both facets of this southern mother made bitter by savage trauma. I'm greatly impressed by the energy she brings to the early flashbacks but found her elderly scenes to be painted in too broad strokes. With simplistic psychology and melodramatic fervor, Nelligan embodies The Prince of Tides' greatest problems while gracelessly representing one of the Oscars' favorite archetypes – the monster mother.
Can't wait for the 2005 smackdown. I wonder who'll win between Adams, Weisz, and Williams. I suppose they'll be the main contenders for victory, no matter how solid Keener and McDormand are. It's a great lineup, altogether.
I noted the comment above Smackdown panelist Katey Rich who writes in her Cape Fear remarks, "You wonder how this movie pulled off such an odd combination of nominations-- actor and supporting actress! -- " Actually, three of the 1991 Supporting Actress nominees shared the screen with a Best Actor nominee (Mercedes Ruehl and Robin Williams in The FIsher King as well as Kate Nelligan and Nick Nolte in The Prince of Tides).
Later in the comments Jakey writes, "Now I want to find out how many other films have the rare Best Actor/Best Supporting Actress combo!" Here is the list of films with acting nominations solely in lead actor and supporting actress categories:
1937 Night Must Fall Robert Montgomery / Dame May Whitty
1939 Wuthering Heights Laurence Olivier / Geraldine Fitzgerald
1940 The Grapes of Wrath Henry Fonda / Jane Darwell*
1942 Random Harvest Ronald Colman / Susan Peters
1943 Watch on the Rhine Paul Lukas* / Lucile Watson
1944 None But the Lonely Heart Cary Grant / Ethel Barrymore*
1948 Hamlet Laurence Olivier* / Jean Simmons
1950 Harvey James Steart / Josephine Hull*
1952 Moulin Rouge Jose Ferrer / Colette Marchand
1955 East of Eden James Dean / Jo Van Fleet*
1957 Witness for the Prosecution Charles Laughton / Else Lancaster
1960 Sons and Lovers Trevor Howard / Mary Ure
1960 Elmer Gantry Burt Lancaster / Shirley Jones*
1962 To Kill a Mockingbird Gregory Peck* / Mary Badham
1963 Lilies of the Field Sidney Poitier* / Lilia Skala
1964 Zorba the Greek Anthony Quinn / Lila Kedrova*
1966 Alfie Michael Caine / Vivien Merchant
1968 The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Alan Arkin / Sondra Locke
1969 Midnight Cowboy Dustine Hoffman & Jon Voight / Sylvia Miles
1970 Five Easy Pieces Jack Nicholson / Karen Black
1974 Murder on the Orient Express Albert Finney / Ingrid Bergman*
1976 Taxi Driver Robert De Niro / Jodie Foster
1981 Absence of Malice Paul Newman / Melinda Dillon
1982 Tootsie Dustin Hoffman / Teri Garr & Jessica Lange*
1986 The Color of Money Paul Newman* / Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
1988 Mississippi Burning Gene Hackman / Frances McDormand
1989 My Left Foot Daniel Day Lewis* / Brenda Fricker*
1991 Cape Fear Robert De Niro / Juliette Lewis
1991 The Prince of Tides Nick Nolte / Kate Nelligan
1991 The Fisher King Robin Williams / Mercedes Ruehl*
1995 Nixon Anthony Hopkins / Joan Allen
1998 Gods and Monsters Ian McKellan / Lynn Redgrave
1999 Sweet and Lowdown Sean Penn / Samantha Morton
2000 Pollock Ed Harris / Marcia Gay Harden*
2001 A Beautiful Mind Russell Crowe / Jennifer Connelly*
2002 About Schmidt Jack Nicholson / Kathy Bates
2003 House of Sand and Fog Ben Kingsley / Shohreh Aghdoshloo
2003 Cold Mountain Jude Law / Renee Zellweger*
2004 Hotel Rwanda Don Cheadle / Sophie Okonedo
2005 Capote Philip Seymour Hoffman* / Catherine Keener
2008 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Brad Pitt / Taraji P. Henson
2008 The Wrestler Mickey Rourke / Marisa Tomei
2009 Up in the Air George Clooney / Vera Farmiga & Anna Kindrick
2010 True Grit Jeff Bridges / Hailee Steinfeld
2011 The Artist Jean Djardin* / Berenice Bejo
2012 Les Miserables Hugh Jackman / Anne Hathaway
2013 Nebraska Bruce Dern / June Squibb
2014 The Imitation Game Benedict Cumberbatch / Keira Knightley
2015 Steve Jobs Michael Fassbender / Kate Winslet
2015 The Danish Girl Eddie Redmayne / Alicia Vikander*
2016 Fences Denzel Washington / Viola Davis*
2017 Phantom Thread Daniel Day Lewis / Lesley Manville
Let those lesser bodies gravitate around the shining queen miss Tandy!
Tandy has the same look of contentment that Richard E. Grant had. Knowing that to those who are refined and truly matter will know in the many coming years that you were easily the winner, but other factors got in the way of the gold.
Thank you, James!
I'll never understand the combative love many have for Jessica Tandy on this site's comment section. I've considered her great before, like in THE VALLEY OF DECISION, but her Oscar-nominated turns aren't particularly stellar for me. Still, I admit that I'd love to have seen her Blanche DuBois on stage.
There was another Best Actor/Supporting Actress combo in 1991 with Nick Nolte and Kate Nelligan from Prince of Tides.
I'm so sad! :'( :'( :'( :'( !! I spent all week rewatching the nominees (had been a good 10+ years for 3 of them) and then forgot to send in my votes.
It's all about Ruehl and Lewis for me, so might score might've made the margin smaller (both 5 <3s for me) raisng Ruehl's but the result remains. Both splendidly vivid, fascinating complex and dazzling performances. Totally different films and actresses keeping up with the wildly different tones and demands from their films. No easy tasks.
Curiously, both films also had very sensible choices if they wanted to throw a second nominee from each film (Douglas and Plummer, the latter making my own lineup).
And while I get the Nelligan nomination (even without the historical context I could see it) but she's so much better in Frankie & Johnny (I was surprised by the lack of Pfeiffer mentions in the actress post, even from Nathaniel!) it's almost maddening she got this instead.
Damnit Kate Nelligan/Juliette Lewis! If you switched then this lineup would be perfectly ranked from oldest to youngest and best to least at the same time.
Lewis is really great here and I have no problem with her winning but I was rooting for Ruehl more she’s really deserving of that oscar!
The academy used to have a good taste in 90s !
Ha ha I have to laugh at all the FGT/Tandy stans. You all do know that this is a fun exercise, right? You don't have to take it all quite so seriously. Getting mad is absurd. Hell, I liked Kate Nelligan best!
What a fun smackdown otherwise! And I will be very interested to see how things go for 2005.
The people have spoken. And the winner in this excellent showdown is... Nikki M James.
and yes, me getting mad a comments is a bit farcical too. Look if there was no Nelligan I'd be on the Tandy train, but it is what is. She was iconic and, sacrilege to say around these parts, deserving in 89.
As a sign of solidarity and support towards the Black Lives Matter movement and the amplifying of voices of Women of Color, we will only be counting non-white and non-male Smackdowners this go around. We thank and appreciate your acceptance and sign of good faith in moving together in a more unified world. Nathaniel we thank you for this. (You are invited to the cookout)
The British we right in this case. It's easily to the only one BAFTA nommed, and such a powerful supporting performance that they bumped it up to lead as they were wont to do in their more fun days!!! (Only needing 25 minutes and 18% of her film to achieve the masterwork)
This panel also did a private Best Actress of 1939 Smackdown. Bette Davis won, with Vivien Leigh only besting Irene Dunne. Nikki M James was the only panelist to award Leigh five stars.
(With extrapolation this scenario is mighty plausible)