4. Joan Allen as Terry Ann Wolfmeyer in The Upside of Anger (2005)
It should come as no surprise to read that writer and director of The Upside of Anger wrote the role of viciously bitter alcoholic Terry Ann Wolfmeyer especially for the glorious Miss Allen. You can tell that he is a fan of the lady and wrote directly to her strengths as well as creating things that we never knew Joan could do. The ability to mine deep mourning and sorrow. The ability to turn a somewhat unlikable (somewhat?) character into a delicious vixen. The ability to twist dialogue on her lips and turn it into hilarity. All there. This instantly became my favourite Joan performance, beating out her beautiful turn in Pleasantville as a colourful (in the literal sense) 1950s housewife.
Like that 1998 performance, her go in Upside was similarly criminally robbed of an Academy Award nomination. Odd that they could dishonourably forget her. If ever there was an example of the "The Academy don't remember anything before November" argument THIS is it. The Academy (and HFPA and the SAG and...) were simply put NOT. DOING. THEIR. JOB. And that is nominating and rewarding the best performances of the given year. That this performance was beaten out by the likes of Ziyi Zhang Memoirs for a nominations at many places was baffling.
The dinner scene with her daughter's fiance's family warrented a nomination, and the rest earned her the win. "I need a bloody mary and soon as humanly possible". That scene and the many others throughout the film are just ripped through by Joan. She tears through them like a bull in a china shop. "Oh no no, I'm done toasting, I'm just ordering another drink!" *waves glass* - priceless.
But Joan doesn't just make Terry hilarious. She makes her sexy too. And for a woman of her age, she can certainly bring all the boys to the yard to quote Kelis (*ding*). So many actresses probably would have wanted to play her as a dowdy ol' housewife. Has any role required an actress to wear a sleeping gown for so much of the movie?
But what it all comes down to is that Joan is spectacular here, in career-best form and is clearly having a ball throwing out these hilarious one-liners and sideward glances. I thank Joan for giving us Terry Ann Wolfmeyer. She is a true (in my eyes) classic character. As is Joan... just, ya know... she's real. Don't you find that a tad odd?
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That wasn't a question, but a quote from the movie... remember? Or are you like the Academy and don't remember that far back? ;)
...to be continued...
6 comments:
We still haven't got this film released in the UK, and I am a big Joan Allen fan ...
I think you are spot on about the Academy fiasco. Clearly, no one is nominating the "best" of the year, but what they are being told to vote for. Just what has the heat at any given moment.
Sometimes I wonder what kind of Oscar equations would have resulted had certain movies experienced different release dates/buzz. Would Ziyi had been in contention had Memoirs been released in April? September?
Would Swank still win an Oscar for M$B if members were forced to vote today? Would the Eastwood-Swank-Freeman juggernaut be as effective at this moment? Or would voters take a second look at Staunton or Winslet?
Would Halle Berry have won her Oscar if the ceremony were held in January, when Spacek-love was at its max? Ditto for Kidman and Moore in the same situation circa 2003?
I often wonder about these things as I lay in bed at night. Yes, pathetic, but it does make you wonder what might have been.
hahah, it really is a question for the ages. Especially considering they like Joan Allen - three nominations already.
Although everytime I think about it I go back to that time Joan said "next time they nominate me I'm just scream GIVE ME THE AWARD, ALREADY!" (paraphrased, obviously) so maybe they don't like her anymore. Who knows.
Oh, and Rami, you have my sympathy. It's ridiculous when movies take over a year to reach other countries. It just doesn't make sense.
The Academy are pretty thick. This was one of the best performances of all-time.
They don't love Joan THAT much... like Shirley MacLaine, they pass her up as many times as they nominate her... and usually for her very best work. I'm not as huge a fan of this performance as some, but it's still better than everyone they nominated last year, with the possible exception of Reese Witherspoon.
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