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Page 3
Monday • March 24, 1997
[Show Oscar the money
Awards value fame, not true talent
Columnist
Kasie Byers
Junior engineering and
ag journalism major
I or 70 years, the Academy
Awards has dictated to
American audiences the
fear’s best in the motion picture
^forld. But in recent years, the
)scars has sent the message to
novie-goers that achieving mo-
ion picture greatness no longer
equires story lines, acting or di
eting that celebrate the art
orm, but merely star power.
Take this year’s nominees, for
nstance. Included in the race
or best picture is Jerry Maguire,
[tarring Tom Cruise.
The movie garnered a significant amount
bf money, but the story of a sports
igent/playboy who finally finds true love is
10 more powerful than that of the box office
lomb Boomerang.
Cruise’s history of financially suc-
:essful films, not the artistic quality of
J erry Maguire, is surely the basis for the
ilm’s nomination. However, when
nembers of the Academy rec-
ignized Cruise, they
iverlooked The Peo
ple vs. Larry Flynt.
This true story of a
jorn-publishing
naverick was more
leserving of a nomi-
lation. In the film,
Woody Harrelson and
"ourtney Love deliver
lowerful performances
a a compelling stoiy of an
unlikely champion who
takes his First Amendment
rights-violation case to
theU.S. Supreme Court.
By traditional stan
dards, the film should
have received a nomi
nation. But because re
cent trends acknowl
edge only fame and
popularity, the Acade-
Jmy Awards committee
I denied the film a
I nomination.
Perhaps as tragic
as the Academy
\Awards’ denial of a Stew Milne, The Batvauon
nomination to the film is its de
nial of a Best Actress nomination
to Courtney Love for her role as
Althea Leasure, Flynt’s wife. Love
brought strength and emotion to
the character of Leasure, who
went from exotic dancer to Fly
nt’s greatest supporter to a
woman dying of AIDS.
Still, the Academy Awards
must have overlooked Love be
cause of the bad-girl image she
created for herself as the lead
singer of Hole and her lack of pri
or film roles.
But the nomination, which Love and
Madonna deserved, went to actress Di
ane Keaton for her role as Bessie in Mar
vin’s Room — another example of how the
Academy recognizes big names instead of
good performances.
And though Love’s on-screen partner,
Harrelson, deserved a Best Actor nomina
tion for his role as Flynt, it can be argued
that his nomination would have been
based more on past film exposure than
the actual performance.
To better represent the
motion picture industry,
the Academy Awards
should follow suit of
the Golden Globes,
which continues to
celebrate the art of
filmmaking. Earlier
this year, the
Golden Globes
awarded Madon
na with Best Ac
tress and recog
nized The People vs. Larry
Flynt for its contributions to
the industry with a nomination
for Best Picture.
As it stands, the Academy
Awards is sending a message to
filmmakers that the only re
quirement to achieve an Oscar is
a mediocre, trite film with a big-
name star. Until the Academy
Awards committee recognizes
this sad trend it has started,
the motion picture industry
will suffer.
Tom Cruise is nominated for Best Actor
for his performance in jerry Maguire.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The English
Patient has history on its side for a best-
picture win, but don’t expect to hear its
theme music replayed endlessly Mon
day night. Oscar is likely to be humming
more than one tune this ybar.
A sweep may be beyond the romantic
epic’s grasp as a mixed bag of films, in
cluding Sling Blade, Shine and Fargo, ap
pear poised to reap their share of Acad
emy Award glory.
The English Patient, with its leading
12 nominations, seems likely to snare the
top honor: With one exception in the last
14 years, the best-picture award has
gone to the film with the most bids.’
Last year that was Brave heart.The year
before: Forrest Gump. The tradition-
buster: The Silence of
the Lambs (1991),
which robbed leading
contender Bugsy of
the top honor.
Affection also
could favor The Eng
lish Patient because
of producer Saul Za-
entz, a respected in
dustry figure hon
ored previously for
One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Let the
stars
shine
Hollywood honors
1996's gems
tonight at the
69th Academy Awards
Crucible star loan Allen is a nominee
for Best Supporting Actress.
rium pit may be
rapidly shuffling
through its sheet
music if such ma
jor categories as
acting and writing
are split among
other contenders.
Writer-stcir Billy
Bob Thornton’s tour
de force in Sling
Blade has his col
leagues publicly
gushing, and he beat
out The English Pa
tient writer-director
1* * *
It
Frances McDormand scored a nomination
for Best Actress in Fargo.
a burn victim in
The English Pa
tient and Woody
Harrelson a para
plegic in The Peo
ple vs. Larry Flynt.
Affliction has
reaped Oscar
gold in the past,
so nominee
Tom Cruise’s
healthy sports
agent in Jerry
Maguire may
mean he goes
home Oscarless.
and Amadeus (1984). He’s receiving the
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award on
Monday night, when the 69th annual
ceremony airs live on ABC.
But the orchestra in the Shrine Autoto-
Anthony Minghella for the Writers Guild of
America Award for best adapted screenplay.
Whether Thornton
can nab the acting
trophy from appar
ent front-runner Ge
offrey Rush of Shine,
who was named best
lead actor last month
by the Screen Actors
Guild, is uncertain.
What is likely is that
the best-actor Oscar
will go to someone
playing a char acter with
a physical or emotional
Cuba Gooding jr. is nominated
for Best Supporting Actor for his
role in Jerry Maguire.
infirmity — a label fitting four of the five
roles in the category.
Rush portrays emotionally troubled pi-
\ anist David Helfgott; Thornton plays a
mentally impaired man; Ralph Fiennes is
The best-actress field is generally hale,
with the exception of the cancer victim
played by Diane Keaton in Marvin’s Room.
That factor may not be enough to over
come support for Frances McDormand,
who captured the Screen Actors Guild
award for her role as a homespun Mid
western crimebuster in Fargo.
A trio of British contenders in the
best-actress ranks — Brenda Blethyn of
Secrets & Lies, Kristin Scott Thomas of
The English Patient and Emily Watson of
Breaking the Waves — could cancel each
other out and give an added boost to na
tive daughter McDormand.
The supporting actor and actress
categories are seen as a lock: Big buzz
and Screen Actors Guild awards have
gone to Cuba Gooding Jr. of Jerry
Maguire and veteran Lauren Bacall of
The Mirror Has Two Faces.
im Carrey's Liar, Liar is hilarious, and that's the truth
Brandon Truitt
The Battalion
T Tp until now, every Jim Caney movie
1 I has had one major thing missing.
Fortunately, director Tom Shady-
'cMce Ventura: Pet Detective) singled out
missing piece and included it in his
test release, Liar, Liar. Yes, after $1 billion
“Worldwide ticket sales, Carrey finally
ippears on-screen with his own hair.
This also may be the first time Carrey
s acted anything like a human being
i a film.
Shadyac says “the comedy is a little
'ore grounded because Jim plays a realis-
c character.”
The movie is “about real connections to
ial characters with real feelings,” Carrey said.
Carey plays smooth-talking lawyer Fletch-
Reed. The film’s premise centers around a
tastic birthday wish from Reede’s five-
ar-old son Max (Justin Cooper).
The first 30 minutes of the film devel-
p Reede’s relationships with both his
imily and his job, and the laughs are
mewhat sparse.
Most of what is revealed about Reede is
Liar, Liar
Starring Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney
and Cary Elwes
Directed by Tom Shadyac
Rated PG-1 3
Playing at Hollywood 16
★ ★★★ (out of five)
that his current court case and much of
his life are based on a foundation of lies.
Reede is an incredible liar, and while this
might be a great asset as a lawyer, it causes
him to continually neglect and let down Max.
Although he loves his fadier, Max is drawn
away from him by his mother’s boyfriend Jer
ry. Cary Elwes [ThePrincess Bride) delivers a
remarkable performance as Jerry, and makes
viewers wonder how anyone, even the best
actor, could pretend to be that much of a
dork for even an hour-and-a-half.
While somewhat slow in its arrival, the
turn in the movie comes at Max’s fifth
birthday party, which Reede has promised
to attend.
Reede is a no-show because he is trying
to sleep his way up the career ladder. He
calls his wife Audrey, played by Maura
Tierney {NewsRadio, Primal Fear), and
says he must work late because “the boss
has really been riding [him] lately.”
In front of all his guests, Max stares
thoughtfully into his birthday candles and
whispers, “I wish, just for one day, Dad
couldn’t tell a lie.”
When Max’s wish comes true, his fa
ther is forced to tell nothing but the truth
for the next 24 hours. Most of the
movie’s funniest parts come just after
Max’s wish comes true and the audience
sees just how different life is when peo
ple stop lying.
Instead of answering a question like
“How are you?” with “Fine, thank you,”
one might suddenly have to say — as
Reede did — “I’m a little upset about a sex
ual encounter I had last night, thank you.”
Carrey’s classic rubber face gets used to its
fullest in these truth-telling scenes because
when he tries to lie, his mouth and body
work against his mind, getting him into all
sorts of contortions and mishaps, including
a bathroom brawl with himself.
The hilarity of the movie comes in
seeing the difference between Reede’s
life before and after his son’s wish. Un
fortunately, the much talked about “real
ity” of the movie ends with this same
wish, when Carrey stops lying. All of a
sudden the audience sees just how terri
ble life would be if people actually did
tell the truth all the time.
Of course, those who might be upset
at this loss of reality can always take
comfort in the utter reality and wigless-
ness of Carrey’s hair.
ISi
Jim Carey can not tell a lie to his clients or enemies in his latest movie. Liar, Liar.
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