In defense of Jamie Lee Curtis
Friday, March 17, 2023 at 2:00PM 
Yes, I know that title is ridiculous. After all, nepo baby extraordinaire Jamie Lee Curtis just achieved the highest form of recognition in her industry, winning the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award after having already nabbed a SAG in the same category. Moreover, Everything Everywhere All At Once, the film she's been championing ever since it premiered at last year's SXSW, became a sweeping sensation, our latest Best Picture champion. And yet, if you love the actress or have some fondness for her performance, social media has proved a hostile environment. It started way before the Oscar nominations when the possibility of Curtis making the lineup to Stephanie Hsu's detriment angered multitudes…
Racial bias was seen as one of the main reasons Curtis got some precursor nods over her costar. Considering the history of anti-Asian tendencies within awards bodies like the Academy, that's not an unfounded concern. However, to reduce another actress's success to that factor alone feels reductive. Moreover, there's the matter of a legendary career overshadowing a nascent one. Hsu's just getting started, while Jamie Lee Curtis has been a regular screen presence for nearly half a century. In addition to that, she's someone whose legacy is titanic, frankly indissociable from the history of modern genre cinema.
HALLOWEEN (1978) John Carpenter
Jamie Lee Curtis' first film role came in 1978, with John Carpenter's Halloween, whose success redefined American horror, pouring fuel into the blazing fire from which the 80s slashers would emerge, demon-like and voracious. Playing Laurie Strode, the actress hit the ground running, reclaiming the title of Scream Queen from her mother, the original Marion Crane in Psycho. But beyond historical importance or pop culture footprint, it's a great star turn, grounding the nightmare-logic inherent to the premise and making the ludicrous feel viscerally real. Curtis has a talent for that sort of thing, imbuing humanity into roles that could otherwise appear flat, thankless, disposable.
That ability would elevate many a future horror flick, including a variety of Halloween sequels. Even in such trash as Prom Night, you can glimpse a full-bodied characterization every time the camera frames Curtis. Her physicality is also important, for it allowed the starlet to complicate the tenets of what would become the final girl archetype, courting erotic registers that reached out to the mainstream. In other words, she had a rocking body. She put it to good use, trying her hand at biopic sexpot in a TV movie about Dorothy Stratten before making a career transition that would broaden artistic horizons.
TRADING PLACES (1983) John Landis
Trading Places saw Jamie Lee Curtis transform from a scream queen to a comedy bombshell, playing a sex worker with a heart of gold intent on helping a stockbroker whose life has been ruined by a pair of cruel millionaire brothers. The picture is dated, but it's a hoot with a smashing third act and a cast to die for. In truth, I shouldn't write too much about it here since Curtis' performance would make a good Almost There case. She won the BAFTA for it, her first major award. For the rest of the 80s, horror would continue to give way to comedy, culminating in 1988's A Fish Called Wanda, for which the actress received Globe and BAFTA nominations.
At the dawn of the 90s, another genre jump took place, though neither the horrific nor the humorous were ever abandoned. With Kathryn Bigelow's Blue Steel, Jamie Lee Curtis proved she could be an action star, delivering what may well be the peak of her work as a dramatic actress. Other opportunities within the action genre would follow, including James Cameron's True Lies and another brush with awards glory. And yet, the Academy always ignored her. The reason why is easy enough to spot – Jamie Lee Curtis, as a star, was defined by the kinds of movies and roles AMPAS likes to pretend don't exist or don't deserve accolades. Horror, comedy, and action are not the things that should make up a serious actress' specialty, it seems.
And so it was that, even as she kept doing awards-worthy stuff in titles like H20 and Freaky Friday, the prestige of an Oscar was always distant. Aging didn't help, the sexpot roles drying up, the industry's ageism pushing Curtis to the side.
Partly, that's why so much of the dismissiveness toward her victory feels cruel. Go on Twitter, and you'll find various people stating that Curtis does nothing in Everything Everywhere All At Once. They also claim it's a silly role, too small and inconsequential to warrant accolades. Comparisons to Hsu abound, often juxtaposing the vanity-free silliness that characterizes most of Curtis' screen time with the younger actress' tearful scenes.
;)
The same logic precluded the veteran star from getting plaudits for her entire career. When it comes down to it, even this movie's fans don't think genre acting is awards-worthy acting. Not when you have Stephanie Hsu tackling Jobu/Joy's final redemption, Kerry Condon leaving Inisherin in a mix of heartbreak and hope, or Angela Bassett serving Oscar-clip realness in Wakanda Forever. I get it, and will probably write about Bassett in the future, mourn how she has suffered from the Academy's racial biases. Still, to say Jamie Lee Curtis is a horrible winner feels a step too far. Saying she does nothing in Everything Everywhere All At Once is plain wrong.
So far, I've mostly made a case for this victory as a career win. However, many Oscar obsessives despise those, declaring that it should be all about individual performances. In theory, I'm inclined to agree. But, even then, Curtis isn't a worthless candidate for a win – not to me. Not to Nathaniel, who included her as a silver medallist in his Film Bitch Awards and has been doing a valiant job defending the Oscar win in the wilderness of Film Twitter. So, let's try supporting this supporting performance.
;)
In the movie, Curtis plays Mrs. Deirdre Beaubeirdre, an IRS auditor who the Wang family meets to assess their financial situation. Right from the start, we're led to perceive the character as a mundane antagonist, her looks derived from a stock photo, her attitude a cranky caricature. She's the kind of bureaucratic tyrant who will delight in exerting what little power they have over those at their mercy. Regard that vile little smile as she offhandedly mentions the advent of charging the laundry owners with fraud, or the rehearsed nature of her "I see a story" spiel. There's a lot there, from mugging theatricality made hilarious through abrupt cuts to the aggressive way she trashes a plastic bottle.
;)
Structurally, Deirdre exists within Evelyn's story as an obstacle to be confronted, but both the film and the actress suggest there's more to her than that. For instance, she has a soft spot for Waymond, and the hostility toward Evelyn feels personal. Maybe she sees a bit of herself in the other woman and doesn't like what she sees? As we'll discover in our odyssey across the multiverse, the foundation of Deirdre's soul is a pit of bitterness and resentment, lives' worth of disappointments leading her to conclude she doesn't deserve love. The only pleasure to be had is in the wielding of power or the service to a higher purpose, whether that's the IRS or the church of Jobu 'Nothing Matters' Tupaki.
;)
;)
;)
There's sadistic delight in her interactions with Evelyn that intercuts with genuine befuddlement over the Wang matriarch's odd behavior. When an alternate version of Deirdre manifests, the audience is quick to judge – this is just the extreme of her current personality, all that aggression turned physical, perhaps cosmical. On a technical level, the deskbound Deirdre's slumped posture and inelegant movements turn into hulking awkwardness when she shows up as a killing machine. More than her colleagues, Curtis has to navigate tonal jumps without the safety net of a solid character, existing primarily as a collage of gags from which, in the end, you can surmise a person. To learn how to see Deirdre is to learn how to see Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Before form shatters, Curtis already serves as a pathway for the multiplicity of registers that come with the multiverse. From threat, she goes back to piteous cartoon with a swift chop, only to resurface as despair personified when preaching the Tupaki gospel – in a deleted scene, she even kills herself after a pithy comment from Jobu. When we next see her, she's stapling her forehead and summoning the skills of a pro-wrestler Deirdre. Only, unlike the grace of Quan and Yeoh, Curtis performs the stunts with insane expressions and even a spasm of pain. Even as she overpowers Waymond, it seems like the skills of another world's Deirdre can't make up for this universe's body.
;)
;)
;)
It's a great piece of negotiating tone, grounding the lunacy, paradoxically surrendering to the preposterous and the absurd. I love the tiny details peppered throughout, like Deirdre reaching for the pet pig once Elvis Jobu enters the building. These flashes of humanity continue with the introduction of hot-dog fingers Deirdre, who, somehow, found herself in a romantic relationship with that universe's Evelyn. She might be the most demonstrably sad ideation of the figure, delineating a painful break-up and reconciliation in quick flashes that pop up throughout the narrative's third act. Yet again, Curtis is asked to project earnest feeling while looking foolish, dancing around with sausage gloves and not a stitch of irony.
;)
;)
;)
;)
And then IRS Deirdre interrupts the Wang's New Year's celebration with the police in tow. Reeling from Evelyn's disrespect, she looks outraged and terrified, only getting to do her hunched-over domineering routine when talking to Waymond. But then, in one posture shift, Curtis dramatizes bitterness abandoned, a sudden change of heart. Evelyn doesn't understand - not immediately - but the audience does, thanks to the actors. Such matters become clearer to the chaotic mother once we enter the final stage of our conflict. It's time to follow Waymond's example and fight with empathy.
;)
;)
The defeat of Deirdre depends on the sudden realization that this cold unlovable bitch is a person, thus worthy of our attention. It's a total tonal shift central to the film's sentimental thesis and depends on Curtis' ability to transcend caricature for some 'blink, and you'll miss it' movements. Whether it's a shot of quiet tears or two angry broads reaching an understanding while sharing a smoke and feeling like teens again, she deepens the character. It culminates in a perfectly ambiguous line reading – "I feel nothing."
Does she really feel nothing after all this and is crying about that tragedy, the ultimate doom of apathy and emptiness? Or does she feel too much and crumbles under the weight?
;)
Curtis' delivery allows for both realities, enriching the film in the moment and on re-watch, on retroactive reflection. That's something worth celebrating, surely. It's something, at the very least. It may not be my choice for the best performance of 2022, but it's NOT nothing. Yes, Jamie Lee Curtis has been better before, funnier, bolder perhaps. That doesn't make this performance an objectively bad one. That doesn't make the Oscar-winning actress a justifiable target for all the internet's vitriol. In the end, Laurie Strode won an Academy Award, and that's unbelievably cool. A living legend who many had assumed would only get such honors if they were in Honorary won for the kind of role that seldom garners such industry validation. One can mourn another actress' loss without tearing down another. At least, I hope we can.
Reader Comments (26)
Well said. I’m in complete agreement here. I frankly despise EEAAO as a film, but I do not fault the actors in it, who all contributed lovely work, including Curtis. She may not have been my choice for this year, but I’m happy she’s finally gotten some recognition :)
Wholeheartedly agree thanks for a great defence of JLC her career and this performance.
She's an Icon of the horror genre that's a given,it was great for her to shut out to us horror fans
From the line up Curtis would be my winner with Hsu 2nd runner up.
I wouldn't have nominated Angela but she was powerful in WF just not worthy of the highest of accolades but i'd have cheered just as loudly if she had won instead of Curtis.
Due to my avoidance of most social media I was unaware of any impoliteness and controversy toward Jamie Lee,I think it's all a reflection of the sad world social media can be,so pleased it doesn't infect my life.
I wish people when talking about her achievements would look beyond her usual suspect performances,she has many other roles worthy of a mention
Love Letters this is her best dramatic performance and one people should check it if you only know her from horror or comedy,an award worthy turn that shows more range than people give her credit for.
Dominick and Eugene warm and still funny
My Girl tender and sweet
Mother's Boys is against type crazy bonkers in this lurid camp thriller
You Again daft but likeable comedy with Sigourney
I think Curtis is inspired in EEAAO and a lot of it's comedy comes from her,that bench scene sealed it for me both warm and funny and willing to throw herself into that world with no vanity or gimme an Oscar baiting.
Twitter people need to calm down it's the Oscars next year we'll all be moaning about different snubs and winners,everything doesn't need a placard and banner of injustice attached to it.
The wig, the saggy tits, the ugly jersey, the love for taxes... I absolutely love this performance.
Particulary perplexed by the hate from people who love the movie and from actressexuals. If Jamie Lee wins for this, it means that your favourite actress could be just one role away from the Oscar. Gave me hope and gave me joy. I will always remember this win with affection.
I totally agree that JLC doesn't deserve the online criticism she's been getting. However, I do think placing her win into a broader context is fair in order to note the factors other than her performance that led to her Oscar win. Yes, she has done far more expansive work that has been overlooked for years, and so it is fair to look at the entirety of her career as aiding this win. And, yes, being recognizable for her entire life also factors into rising above a crowded field. This year in particular, all five nominated performances were so very different from each other and there were narratives that any one of them (even Hong Chau) could have ridden to an ultimate victory. But, ultimately, I think it was the growing love for EEAAO throughout awards season which JLC herself raised up as often as she could that understandably brought her along for the ride. It's not a bad win, and it's not a great win, but a perfectly satisfying enough win that gets an "Oh, OK" from me. Looking forward to the Trading Places Almost There already!
There are a couple more reasons I attribute to this win.
Like her parents, JLC has always been physically attractive. My God, her leotard clad romp in Perfect is the stuff that lingers long after the film is rightfully forgotten. As Deidre, JLC hides her allure. Oscar has long admired and rewarded beauties who downplay their looks in favor of character.
I think a more important reason JLC triumphed was her SAG speech. Oscar loves to bask in a winner’s joy. We all knew that a surprise victory would prompt JLC to quiver visibly with pleasure. That joy makes for a memorable win. Oscar voters chose JLC’s exuberance over Bassett’s prevailing dignity. They clearly relished the energy of an effusive victor.
People have bitching about Oscar winners and losers forever. Anyone for Grace Kelly over Judy Garland?
While I do think Stephanie Hsu and Angela Bassett gave better performances, I have no issue with Jamie Lee Curtis winning the Oscar as she was great in that film as she brought a lot of nuances to that character. Plus, it's a great cap to a career that has been quite eclectic from horror, comedy, drama, and action. She was someone I grew up watching as I didn't know early on that she was the daughter of two great actors. In many ways, she's royalty and deserves a lot of respect.
I also have to give her props for not just thanking the horror film community for getting her break but also being gracious towards everyone. Even as she thanked her parents as I'm even more shocked that Tony Curtis nor Janet Leigh won Oscars as I'm sure they're in cinema heaven telling everyone "that's our girl!" She is a legend and this is just a reward for not just being in one of the best films of 2022 but for an illustrious career that has spanned generations.
I agree with all said.... but for me the Oscars SHOULD MEAN the best performance.
Not on all one's past work.... in that case no newcomers should ever win! As for her parents .. I grew up with them in mags. and they were adequate actors at best.
I just read the best Oscar book I have seen... Maybe some of you readers might enjoy it.
It covers a myriad of subjects in depth... up until recent times.
OscarWars. by Michael Schulman
claudio - love it. thanks for having my back on this. It's been quite confusing this year.
rdf -- thanks for the recommendation
finbar -- great point on the deglam. that hadn't even occurred to me.
JLC is an icon and I'm glad she finally has her oscar. Was she the best performance? No. Neither was Bassett, and JLC was superior in every single way, including speeches and not giving stank face to Angela when she lost. A class act.
The oscars definition of "best" is very subjective. And if we are going to get an "overdue" narrative, I'm so glad it was JLC.
I'm a fan of this win, too. I find it exciting that the oscars rewarded a performance so far outside their comfort zone: funny, fairly silly, a small part that actually supports the movie.
I think I prefer her to Hsu, simply because she's working with less, but still creating a memorable, resonant character.
I'm also glad to have carved out a social media space where I can be oblivious to the haters.
Here's to Laurie Strode winning an Oscar!
Hear, hear, Cláudio (and Nat).
What I love about JLC—always have, always will—is her utter fearlessness as a performer. She's the joke, sure, but she's also in on the joke. Which results in some truly inspired, material-elevating performances (Freaky Friday, Trading Places, True Lies, etc.) I can't imagine being pulled off by anyone else. And for that alone let's give thanks, and respect. She's earned it.
It's deserved. The category was strong and they all would have been a deserved winner... except Bassett for THAT particular role but the fault was of the script, not her. We all known that Bassett is great and an Oscar occasion could have been few years ago with that gem that is Chi-raq. That particular year (2016) the supporting actress category was fulfill with leading roles.
This is why I deactivated my social media accounts a few years back - it's too easy to get sucked into negativity and I prefer to be positively present in my life. Idk why we need to put a spotlight on the opinions of Twitter haters, but...
I love the win tbh. I was personally rooting for Hsu, but I was expecting JLC after SAG... Honestly, once the film began making waves early last year, I had this distinct feeling JLC could win an Oscar. But I didn't mention it much bc not many seemed to believe it was possible, so I assumed I was crazy. It wasn't until the Globes that I thought I'd miscalculated, where I thought for sure they'd award her.
I can understand the pull for Angela Bassett, as a makeup Oscar for '93, but for that film? Absolutely not. The nomination itself is a stretch and definitely the win itself. I can see her back soon with the right role, and now she has real momentum. I'd love to see her win for something great. She needs something juicy like August Wilson or Lady Macbeth.
The veteran vote erred on the side of Jamie bc she was in THE movie of the year--could be argued as one of Oscar's favorite movies ever.
I digress...
JLC's win is thrilling bc as others have stated, it's so far outside the Academy's wheelhouse, and is an actual supporting performance. She elevated a smaller role that could've felt filler with a lesser actress. The fact that a genre queen won for a performance that encapsulates a bit of all of the genres she's dabbled in feels so special.
While I know this was a sentimental career vote, this is actually a way more inspired winner than the Academy usually chooses. Reading this made me even happier with the decision.
Good for her. And good for Angie for snatching a few trophies herself and another Oscar nod 30 years later. Good for the others for being welcomed to the party.
This is a win for everyone and always is, it's up to you how you choose to view it.
I think what I'm getting at is although the Academy voted out of old habit (hot movie + career win for industry vet), this actually brought about an inspired choice for once.
Then again, that just speaks on how left field EEAAO and its awards success is. I saw it twice in the theaters and can't wait to rewatch.
Also, I gotta say I'd honestly credit JLC's campaigning for pushing herself over the edge, and even Michelle Yeoh to the podium. Michelle was in a toe-to-toe battle with Cate Blanchett and her speeches were not exactly home runs, but JLC screaming her name at SAG right before she won herself won helped a lot. Then the indie spirits happened.
This movie also peaked at exactly the right time. I initially was shocked it didn't win more Globes, and questioned its potential for Oscar glory at that time, but I'm glad it didn't. It likely would've peaked too soon. That's happened to other favs of mine before (Boyhood comes to mind) so I'm glad it didn't this time.
I'm with you, guys (Cláudio, Nathaniel, Mark). While as much as her overdue/veteran narrative was the big push behind this win, this is not without its own merits. How often do we get genre queens win an Oscar not for working within Oscars' wheelhouse but by being where they thrived? And I don't want to even get started with people saying she did nothing. Ridiculous!
I gotta admit, the character of Deirdre seemed pretty one-dimensional the first time I watched Everything Everywhere All at Once. It definitely paled in comparison to the Chinese actors. However the more I watched the film the more Curtis’s performance seemed to stand out. Like Ke Huy Quan she played multiple versions of the same character, but each version seemed less defined than that of Waymond. Nevertheless she was still able to turn each version into memorable characters, especially the tenderness and the heartbreak of the ridiculous Hot Dog Hands universe. Yes, Stephanie Hsu was still better, but she also felt like a co-lead. And I’d still place Curtis above Bassett.
And yes I do love the shot of Deirdre embracing Jobu’s pig.
I think another part of the “she doesn’t do much in the movie” dismissiveness stems from how accustomed people are becoming to supporting Oscars not going to true supporting roles, so this performance registers as too small to win an Oscar to them. In terms of percentage of the film’s total length spent on screen, this is in fact the smallest role to win an Oscar in any of the acting categories since Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love 24 years ago. I’m in favor of this win even if she wouldn’t have been my vote simply because it’s so refreshing to see a true supporting role win, especially one as inventive as this one and by an actor with a career as overlooked (by the Academy) as hers.
I get why people like this win, and this is a solid defense. But, I think different performers mean different things to different people, and different communities. I think this article gets at what Angela Bassett means and why her loss to JLC is such a sting: https://www.vulture.com/2023/03/the-self-possession-of-angela-bassett.html
Personally, I get that JLC did more than she's being given credit for. But, this just doesn't feel like an oscar-worthy performance. She's good and serves the material well, but I don't think she does what any of the other nominated actors in her film are doing with the material. Even her best scene is heavily led by Yeoh. I've watched the film twice and I didn't really think about hers as a performance that I thought "this needs to be rewarded" either time.
To me, this performance is one of the less Best Supporting Actress wins. When I even think of others, like Gloria Grahame, who won an Oscar for a so-so performance, at least there Gloria had great work in Sudden Fear and other movies that year. I don't think JLC has that. She was in a popular film, deglamming, and is well-liked in the industry.
The win also stings when you consider that other vets have been nominated for far better performances and lost.
If we were to go strictly on performance and nothing else, than neither Bassett or Hsu should have won either. It'd have been between Condon, Chau (in 2 different performances) and a host of others that weren't nominated.
Side note, but since people are also claiming Yeoh's win was political and not for the pinpoint-best performance, perhaps we should take Cate Blanchett's first Oscar back for that dreadful Kate Hepburn caricature she won for back then.
Neither Curtis nor Bassett scream "What a legend! They MUST have an Oscar" to me--my sense is that, yes, Curtis has been around a while and has a certain legacy, but this particular film REALLY carried her through. Comparing her to Glenn Close losing for The Wife--when she was that film's only nomination--feels off.
I know there are other factors at play for sure, but you can't underestimate the power of a movie that is beloved and has a strong fan base among voters. The consensus on the Black Panther sequel seemed to be that it was a bit of a disappointment following the first, whereas EEAAO generated a lot more passion and enthusiasm.
For what it's worth neither of them would have been my choice for the Supporting Actress statue.
whunk -- well, that's just the thing. It is never just about performance and yet everyone acts like it should be if they perceive it will help their favourite (in this years case people using that line were mostly pushing for either Condon or Hsu). Of course when they know they're rooting for someone not primarily because of the performance itself (Bassett/Curtis), they're okay with it but they take offense when other people do.
It's all a bit crazy. Because some of us do think JLC was the best of those five. (The best supporting actress of the year wasn't nominated -- DOLLY DE LEON).
I wish everyone could realize that acting is subjective. Even when you make a case for someone as being far and away the best in their category, it's still just an opinion about something magical and intangible and heavily interpretable and impossible to definitively measure or agree upon. That's what makes watching it and discussing it so fun. but it loses the fun when people get so angry and hateful about tearing one contender down to praise another.
Edwin -- spot on yes. People have been so conditioned by category fraud that they now think of every supporting role as "a cameo"... even if the person is in several scenes and a key character in the narrative.
"I wish everyone could realize that acting is subjective. Even when you make a case for someone as being far and away the best in their category, it's still just an opinion about something magical and intangible and heavily interpretable and impossible to definitively measure or agree upon."
THANK YOU Nathaniel!!! I've been having this discussion on other forums when someone mentions that they think a performance should win "on merit", but given that it's such a subjective thing we're evaluating here that everyone has a different criteria of what "merit" means in this case. The Oscars are an (imperfect) exercise in collective taste, and taste is not something that can be measured. It's about gut feelings, not logic. We try to incorporate logic to predict these things, but in the end, we're predicting the collective gut feelings of 10,000 members of the Motion Picture Academy.
Jamie is marvelous!
She's always the coolest girl on the room.
Although Condon gave a great performance and should have been the winner, I was rooting for Jamie like a cheerleader.
Her dramatic scenes in hot dog fingers universe are really touching, she's unforgettable, even more than in her hilarious moments.
Those people attacking her and trying to belittle her victory deserve an anal plug!
PS: Claudio, your article is also marvelous.
You said it all perfectly and done justice to Jamie and Deirdre. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Amazing article and great reflections from everyone in the comments.
JLC gave one the best Oscar speeches ever ("We just won an Oscar !") and, for that alone, I'm glad she won.
Quick thought : can you imagine if Oscar had a "breakthrough acting / Rising Star" category, like at the BAFTA, Goya, César ? Stephanie Hsu would have easily won it, meaning another acting statue for EEAAO !