Smackdown Season Schedule
Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at 7:28PM Attention actressexuals and awards-nuts. The final (?) season of Supporting Actress Smackdown is deep in progress. Ep. 1 on 2020, Ep. 2 on 2000 and Ep. 3 on 1946 are behind us. Here's what's next and if the movies are currently on a streaming service we've indicated that otherwise they're all available to rent at the usual places like YouTube, iTunes, Amazon, and Apple TV. As per usual we'll be intermittently celebrating the following film years leading up to these events...
Smackdown 1998 on Monday July 26th, 2021
- Kathy Bates, Primary Colors (Hulu)
- Brenda Blethyn, Little Voice
- Judi Dench, Shakespeare in Love (Fubo and Starz)
- Rachel Griffiths, Hilary and Jackie
- Lynn Redgrave, Gods and Monsters (HBOMax)
To get the maximum enjoyment out of the Smackdown consider rewatching the films along with us! Voting is open from now until Saturday July 24th. email in your votes with "1998 smackdown" in the subject line and a heart rating on each actress from 1 (poor) to 5 (perfection). You can include notes if you'd like as we might quote you.
Smackdown 1986 on Thursday August 26th, 2021
- Tess Harper, Crimes of the Heart (Amazon Prime)
- Piper Laurie, Children of a Lesser God (Amazon Prime)
- Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, The Color of Money
- Maggie Smith, A Room With a View (HBOMax)
- Dianne Wiest, Hannah and Her Sisters (Fubo)
Voting opens August 1st!
Tentative Dates Thereafter
Sept 27th - Revisiting 1937
Oct 21st - Revisiting 2004
Nov 18th - Revisiting 1997
Dec 16th - Revisiting 1951
Reader Comments (70)
Yayyy!!!!
2020 and 2000 might be more competitive then most think but 1946 is going to be a blowout. Can't wait to meet the panelists and read everyone's thoughts!
2000 is a beautiful quintet.
@Nathaniel, do you consider Gay Harden a category fraud? I've seen the movie long time ago and I remember her leading
Not a fan of doing smackdown 2020 when we have no idea how all these performances will age, but excited on 2000 and 1946 smackdowns!
2000: The year the Academy began endlessly nominating Judi Dench for average performances because they STILL felt bad about the 1997 Mrs. Brown snub. Apparently the Oscar for Shakespeare in Love the next year wasn't enough.
Paranoid Android-
Which Judi Dench nominations?
Or her 7, I feel that maybe CHOCOLAT or MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS should not have been nominated. But the others still hold up.
You need to get Dublin zoetrope on one of these!
@beyaccount:
I'd take off Iris, Mrs. Henderson Presents, Chocolat, Philomena. And I wouldn't have given her the 1998 nod either. (I'd keep Mrs. Brown and Notes on a Scandal.) They aren't bad performances, per se, but can definitely think of better ones in each year.
1998: Lisa Kudrow (Opposite of Sex), Joan Allen (Pleasantville), Patty Clarkson (High Art)
2000: Catherine Zeta-Jones (Traffic), Jennifer Connelly (Requiem for a Dream)
2001: Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive), Tilda Swinton (Deep End)
2005: Laura Linney (Squid & Whale), Maria Bello (History of Violence)
2013: Julie Delpy (Before Midnight), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Enough Said)
ryan c -- who dat?
j -- sorry the readership otherwise demands it and complains if we dont do it each year. (i also prefer doing older years)
pp -- i remember considering her lead but i have only very vague memories of the movie so excited to rewatch.
yeah, Harden is co-lead IMO
Judi Dench deserved all her nominations except maybe Chocolat (she's ok, but only ok) and Philomena (I like her just fine, but the part is a little too easy, and Emma Thompson was much more deserving of the nom). She deserved to win in 1997, 1998 and 2001 (the last one mainly because the field is so weak). She was also deserving of a win in 2006, but Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep are even (marginally) better. I liked her a lot in Pride and Prejudice, The Exotic Marigold Hotel and Victoria and Abdul, also.
I plan to do a rewatch for the 2020 and 2000 nominees before the smackdowns.
I did a 1946 rewatch to prep during this past summer and oh boy is that a list of nominees (not in a good way). Similar to @Tom G I expect a landslide victory for one of the nominees.
I'm excited just for it all even if I've seen all the performances. I wonder how category fraud is gonna come up for upcoming smackdowns because judging by my memories I feel performances in remaining lineups that could be considered lead include"
Marcia. Pollock
Dianne Wiest, Hannah and Her Sisters
Maria, Borat
Thelma Ritter, The Mating Season
Rachel Griffiths, Hilary and Jackie
There are some other questionable ases but those are the ones that stick out most. Of course it shouldn't effect the opinion of the final performance but it goes to show how fraud has been done in the supporting categories.
1937 should be interesting in the future because that category could go many ways given how great many are and all are ABSOLUTE supporting performances.
can't wait! 2020-GLENN 2000 - Julie Walters 1946 - Anne Baxter
Oh say it ain't so, that after FIFTEEN YEARS (started 03.16.06), stinkylulu's supporting actress smackdown is finally about to complete its work and discussed all past years! :'(
1946, oh dear. Flora Robson AND Gale Sondergaard. That's going to be rough.
The smackdown is back! And all is right with the world.
I'm looking forward to discussing 2000.Given that this year feels like the year of Francis with Nomadland, I hope we get to discuss the fact that she had two plum supporting roles in 2000. I tend to think of her nomination, like Jim Broadbent's in 2001, as being for both performances.
Ah, Stinkylulu, how we miss you!...
I will be rewatching all the films so if there's ever a chance for a reader to take part as a panelist I would certainly love the experience if possible
Wouldn't 2020 need to take place after the Oscars? Doing it before defeats the purpose.
omg, dublin zoetrope would be perfect !! especially if glenn is involved.
@Amy Camus, Judi Dench was actually my personal winner for Philomena that year! But I wish Thompson had been nominated too- she was my runner-up. I thought the weakest in 2013 were Adams or Streep
@Kyle, wouldn't it be better to do before? That way, the outcome doesn't affect the voters' choices too much.
Smackdowns are often super-close (I think you tend to find kinder panelists than the terrifically vicious StinkyLulu days); but I think 2020 will be genuinely tight. I could imagine any of the nominees winning (even though I think one of the performances is unusually bad.)
Kyle -- we've never done a current year afterwards. always before. the retrospectives are the only thing that make sense for afterwards.
Yay!! Starting my planning spreadsheet now.
Very excited esp for 1946, I get to see Razor's Edge and The Spiral Staircase again (been too long)!
"2000: The year the Academy began endlessly nominating Judi Dench for average performances because they STILL felt bad about the 1997 Mrs. Brown snub. Apparently the Oscar for Shakespeare in Love the next year wasn't enough"
They should have felt bad about snubbing Helena Bonham Carter's superior performance in 'The Wings of the Dove' in 1997. 'Mrs. Brown' is a glorified TV movie and Dench is fine, but not outstanding in it. HBC should have won the Oscar that year.
Bugger. Might be able to have seen one of these years crop before voting. Do you take single votes if I can't squeeze in 1-2 extra viewings of a nominee?
rosalita - do you mean readers vote? You've always been able to vote on only some of the nominees. We weight the ballots so a nominee is not punished if voters haven't seen them. The end tallies are averages of the people who have seen those nominees.
@Mike M. - Yes. Yes. YES! Helena Bonham Carter should have got the award. I'm SO into that movie and performances. So amazing!
J & Mike -- absolutely agreed. Her best performance. should've easily nabbed the Oscar.
I hope that the performances of years ago are not evaluated with the mentality of 2021.
According to Screen time central here is the screen time of the nominees:
1946
Ethel Barrymore, The Spiral Staircase (12:53)
Anne Baxter, The Razor's Edge (25:00)
Lillian Gish, Duel in the Sun (15:59)
Flora Robson, Saratoga Trunk (40:53)
Gale Sondegaard, Anna and the King of Siam (12:08)
2000
Judi Dench, Chocolat (13:38)
Marcia Gay Harden, Pollock (45:44)
Kate Hudson, Almost Famous (25:28)
Frances McDormand, Almost Famous (12:10)
Julie Walters, Billy Elliott (21:44)
2020
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (40:06)
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy (23:23)
Amanda Seyfried, Mank (18:13)
Youn Yuh-Jung, Minari (26:02)
He still haven't taken Olivia Colman's screen time on The Father.
Nathaniel, you should do a story on Supporting line-ups that actually feature 5/5 supporting performances! I think it would be a fun and interesting read!!
From this year, I am only missing The Father. I may see it during these days, movie theaters reopened and I already checked out Minari (HATED IT, Youn - and all cast - is fantastic, though).
I never got to see Pollock, oddly enough.
So much Judi Dench hate. As far as I'm concerned. She deserved wins I'm '97 and '98. And if it were not for Mirren in '06, she'd have been my pick. Other nominations were mostly deserved: Iris, Philomena and even Mrs. Henderson Presents (she was runner up for LA Critics and came close to winning NY Critics). And Chocolate was a harmless nod, certainly equal to or better than Hudson, McDormand and Walters. In fact, she also deserved a nod for Room With a View.
Patryk, relax. Try being a Helen Hunt fan/defender around here.
Oh good to know if I remember Nathaniel. Let's just say Close gave a performance on one far end of the quality spectrum and I'd hate for it to go unnoticed.
Marcia Gay Harden winning was the Olivia Colman shock of it's day.
I read she was originally going to go Lead but moved to supporting to avoid losing to the Julia Juggernaut.
As for Dench she became the 00's equivalant to Meryl but only deserved 4 out of the 7 noms she got..
Re: everyone questioning whether Marcia Gay Harden was category fraud in 2000, according to Screen Time Central she’s onscreen for 37% of the movie, which to me is definitely in the “borderline” zone...not so much screen time that placing in supporting was blatant category fraud, but enough that she COULD have gone lead.
I don't think of Marcia Gay Harden as category fraud, certainly not as baldly fraudulent as the "supporting" nods for Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl or Emma Stone in The Favourite. I don't remember having any issues with Harden's nom or her win (which was deserved, I felt) but will certainly be willing to reassess when I rewatch for the smackdown (haven't seen her movie since 2000). My sense is that at worst it's a borderline case, that she had plenty of screen time but the movie was about Ed Harris/Jackson Pollack and his arc.
Someone above also suggested that Diane Wiest was lead in Hannah and her Sisters and I can't imagine thinking that. Hers was definitely a supporting role in an ensemble cast (and one of my favorite wins ever).
I really hope people don't downgrade Harden because they believe she belonged in a different category. She gave a magnificent performance and unexpected, deserving wins like hers are what I like to see when I watch the Oscars.
I didn't expect the Judi Dench backlash for very formidable performances but everyone's getting hate nowadays.
Say a prayer for us on team Hunt. Our vitriolic overwhelming hate isn't just beginning nowadays.
2000 is also the year that each major award in the Supporting Actress category went to a different actress.
Golden Globe: Kate Hudson
Sag: Judi Dench
Critics Choice: Frances McDormand
Bafta: Julie Walters
Oscar: Marcia Gay Harden
And if we mention other important ones we have:
National Board of Review: Lupe Ontiveros - Chuck & Buck
Los Angeles: Frances McDormand
National Society: Elaine May - Small Time Crooks
New York: Marcia Gay Harden
And since I've always liked the Satellite Awards since they almost always have a mind of their own:
Satellite Awards: Jennifer Ehle - Sunshine
I always think that the question of the percentage of presence in the film does not define whether it is a protagonist or support, it depends on the relationship of this percentage with the other members of the same film.
I've always felt Marcia Gay Harden was a genuine borderline case. She COULD have been promoted as a lead actress -- it's certainly a dominant part, and she has substantial screen time.
But she also disappears almost entirely from the last act of Pollock -- she's certainly not Ed Harris's equal in terms of screen time -- so the argument that she's a supporting actress doesn't feel disingenuous in the way it does for, say, Alicia Vikander in a similar role.
I think this is just one of those cases of Your Mileage May Vary. If you think Harden's around enough in the first 2/3rds to qualify as a lead, you've got an argument. But I also think you could just as easily argue that she's gone from enough of the movie to be secondary to the film's one true lead, Harris, and thus, legitimately a supporting actress.
After having seen the 5 nominees for 2020, honestly, the only reason for which I can kind of understand that some may object a Bakalova sweep in Awards season is because she could easily be considered a leading performance... but while great, neither of the other four come even close to what is, already, one of the BEST and MOST CHALLENGING comedic performances of all time. Close, Youn, Colman and Seyfried had easy roles in comparison, to pull off. Bakalova's performance is suicidal, and objectively beyond the most reasonable expectations (not only being on par and even outshine a master of comedy like Sacha Baron Cohen, in a foreign language for her, in ONE TAKE, but also for having fooled even the secret service). Anything that doesn't end with a golden guy in the hands of Bakalova, this year, would be an all-time travesty.
1. Bakalova *****
2. Close ****
3. Youn ****
4. Colman ****
5. Seyfried ****
Overall, all are deserving of the noms, and all would be worthy winners... if Bakalova wasn't listed in this category.
I forgot to add... this smackdown is taken easily by Youn. Everybody loves her, and her performance.
Bakalova's is way more divisive, much passionate love - me, included - but also passionate hate or disrespect, so she can't win the smackdown. Colman and Close are the next in line, even if Close's has also some passionate haters. My prediction for the smackdown...
1. Youn
2. Colman
3. Close
4. Seyfried
5. Bakalova
He HATED Minari? Jesus!
Poor Judi! She’s fine in Chocolat (although I prefer Lena Olin or Carrie-Anne Moss). As far as I remember this 2000’s line-up, Julie Walters is still the best and should have been the winner.