Oscar Night in Review: The Fashions (Pt 2)

The Oscar night posts are almost over. I swear. Oh, you'll start missing the Oscars in a month. Shut up with your "will you stop, please?" griping.

also: worst & weirdest moments | wonderful moments | fashion review part 1 | all 09/10 Oscar posts

One of the crazy stressful things about Oscar night for the ladies must be the simple fact that the pictures taken of them that night go on for infinity. They get recycled each year for "best and worst" of video montages and magazine articles. But in the "viewing parties" and the after parties and such, there's no such museum effect. Without that pressure, the stars are more likely to let loose a little. But what's strange sometimes is that this is still how they're presenting themselves within industry circles when the industry has the biggest spotlight on. All of the following ensembles are from those types of parties. This is just a tiny sampling but you probably haven't seen these photos a million times like you have their Kodak theater counterparts.

yes please

from left to right: We all fell in love with Amy Adams when she was playing pregnant Ashley in Junebug. Now she doesn't need the foam padding and we fall in love with her all over again. Make some good movies once you're done with maternity leave Amy! Lea Michelle is going what you call "above and beyond". She already has a hit TV show (GLEE. I can't wait for April!) and now she apparently wants everyone to know she can do movie star glamour, too. Sometimes I wish I were a casting director just so I could give Maria Bello parts that are worthy of her. Catherine O'Hara!!! I had no idea that she actually went out to industry events. She looks great and I hope with all my heart that people in Hollywood get as much joy out of her For Your Consideration facelift expression as I do. But maybe it cuts too close?

er... Yes, well... maybe. Okay, no.

from left to right: I get in trouble every time I suggest that any particular actress is a bit too thin. But it's even more perplexing when it comes to Leslie Mann. I mean, she's a good actress and she automatically gets work because she stars in her husbands movies, so why doesn't she eat? I think I like the concept of this dress but on her it looks too much like she's starring in Alien V. The slimy Giger babydemon has just burst from her chest cavity. Salma Hayek is wearing something that reminds me of Ralph Fiennes tattoo in Red Dragon and I don't want to think about serial killers when I'm looking at beautiful honeys. Christina Hendricks is awesome. Can't wait for Mad Men 4. Maybe this is too tight and the poof shouldn't be there but... damn. Gabrielle Union can pull off yellow and not everyone can. But that doesn't mean she should.

EEEeeeeeek!

from left to right: I always forget where I know Kate Mara from (and then I have to remind myself "Brokeback Mountain, self. Why do you always forget this?") but this dress is not making a good case for her. If I have to look at Hilary Swank so do you! Jeezus... This is not a hooker convention, Hil, this is an Oscar party. Sometimes when I realize that she will always be employed --thanks to that one admittedly genius performance 11 years ago -- I weep. So many years we've had to put up with her already. So many more to come (she's only 35)! Can't think of one thing that is right with Suzanne Sommers and can't count the things that have gone wrong here. Rita Wilson plays only one role in movies -- sassy best friend to movie star of a certain age -- and does it reasonably well. But just because you're rich enough to buy all the black fabric in Malibu doesn't mean you should wear all of it to the same party.

Eric Bana-nanza

Dave from Victim of the Time here, wondering why Eric Bana isn't a legitimate movie-star yet. I don't like to be an undue influence, but if I were in charge of Nat's Film Bitch awards for this year, Eric would be the current front-runner for the 'Body of Work' award. You'll all remember Star Trek, of course, where Bana played the main villain, the Romulan Nero, and put a lot of energy and zest into a role that wasn't given as much attention as it probably should have been. Since then, he's recently had two more roles that amply show off both his acting chops - in strikingly different ways - and his almost limitless charisma. (He also starred in the Australian film Romulus, My Father, but who knows when that'll reach my eyes...) In a coincidental move that surely inspired this post, I happened to see both of these Bana-starring films within the last week.

The Time Traveler's Wife is a disappointing adaptation of Audrey Hiffenegger's immersive, emotional novel, but you can't blame the cast (or indeed the casting director). Rachel McAdams is tender and sympathetic as Clare, perhaps missing a bit of the fierce passion and independent spirit of the book's Clare, but then the script goes for the romantic heartbreak rather than the book's mixture of romance and intellectualism. There's only so much you can fit into two hours, I suppose. But Bana is really the star here. Working within the script's slimmed down plotlines, he effortlessly conveys the bizarre difficulties and odd pleasures of the time travelling concept, instantly makes you comprehend why he loves Clare, while maintaining the book's unspoken edge that part of his love for her might be the simple need to have a purpose. Bana provides the movie with an emotional weight it would otherwise lack; the movie provides him with a chance to prove he is the romantic leading man the industry seems to be without at the moment. (Feel free to challenge me on this, but I can't think of anyone.)

But he saved the best for last. Or, for you Americans, he served up a rather lovely sandwich (choose your own filling for this metaphor), for Funny People, despite what the poster might pretend, is Bana's film. He steals it from under the noses of more seasoned film comedians (admittedly not particularly good ones) and jolts the film out of the odd, pitiable funk it's descended into. It's well-worn trivia that Bana was a stand-up comedian before he was spotted for his break-through performance in Chopper, but, despite Funny People's premise, Bana's character Clarke asks a different kind of comedic poise from Bana. Clarke is a stereotypical Australian dominant male figure with a rabid business sense and an aggression in both his humour and his temper. Bana displays impeccable comic timing in his interactions with Adam Sandler, Leslie Mann and Seth Rogen (as well as his on-screen children - their Chinese conversation provides the film's biggest laugh) as well as fine balance in keeping Clarke out of the realm of caricature. It's not a stretch to say his work here is a film-saving turn.

Bana's filmography since Chopper is a selective bunch of films, and it has to be said he's not always saved it for the best roles - Troy was a disaster (Bana emerged as the best thing in it), as were Lucky You (again, not his fault) and The Other Boleyn Girl (I don't who to blame for this), and, despite my opinion being that it wasn't half-bad, Hulk was hardly the vehicle to stardom anyone would have wanted. Maybe this terrific year will propel Bana to better things. He has the charisma, the talent, and the looks. Now he just needs to be allowed to use them more often.

Three Things That May Prevent You From Self-Harm Should You Be Subjected To 17 Again

Hello there, folks. This is Dave from Victim of the Time, and apparently I'm supposed to be writing things here. If you're one of the five people who read my blog, you'll know I tend... not to write things. Not very often anyway. So, you know, this is an odd experience for me.

Your widest new release there across the pond (I'm British, by the way, so it you see any 'u's popping up in places you don't expect it's because I'm here to tell you the right way to spell things) this weekend is 17 Again, starring that Disney personage commonly known as Zac Efron. I'm sure usually on this blog this would be dismissed with a paltry paragraph somewhere or other, but because I am the 'yoof' (youth) in this establishment I've decided to act my age for once and talk about movies I'm supposed to like. Also, by some weird circumstance, 17 Again was released here last week, while State of Play (your other main option) isn't released until next week, so basically you'll just have to learn to deal.

If you're going to be seeing 17 Again this weekend, I'd guess it's for one of two reasons. Reason one: you love, worship and lust after Zac Efron, and whatever anyone says you will be seeing this film and you couldn't give a crap about what the film itself is actually like. To those people, I recommend getting something to gag yourselves with during the 'leather jacket' scene, just in case people think that mice have invaded the theatre. But otherwise, you can move on, because I'm not talking to you.

Reason two: you have a friend/partner/child who loves, worships and lusts after Zac Efron and you're being roped into seeing it with them, even though the mere thought of Zac Efron makes your skin crawl. You may be crazy (yes, I'll admit to having the tiniest of crushes on the boy man), but have no fear! Here are three things that will make the painful experience just about bearable.

1. Zac Efron Leslie Mann. Look at Miss Mann's filmography and its tininess is quite surprising. This can probably be put down to her larger-than-life appearances in some of her husband Judd Apatow's school-of-comedy films, most notably Knocked Up, in which she was Paul Rudd's long-suffering wife. In 17 Again, she is Matthew Perry's long-suffering wife. However, since Perry is the man who reverts to being Efron, Mann gets quite a bit of possibly-illegal lusting to do. She doesn't get a lot of the comedy- which is quite thin on the ground in any case- but her natural warmth and charisma as an increasingly confused woman is the most enjoyable part of the film, and should stop you from clawing your own eyes out.

Leslie Mann and Nicole Sullivan in 17 Again

2. Nicole Sullivan. This is potentially a point of debatable validity because she's hardly in the film at all (as Mann's best friend), but Sullivan- mostly a TV actress, who I recognised from Scrubs- has a wonderfully biting presence and will be shot in the arm you might be needing as Efron starts preaching about the wonders of abstinence.

3. A geeky subplot. I said the comedy was few and far between, but it may get to the point where you'll take whatever you can get, so the subplot concerning Perry/Efron's adult best friend Ned's pursuance of his friend's new headmistress does provide a few chuckles here and there. Although there is the possibility that Ned may make your scratching fingernails dig even deeper into your eyeballs, so perhaps feigning illness is the way to go after all.

So, basically, if you are being forced to see this, I just hope you like Leslie Mann. Good luck!

White Weddings (Oscar Night Review ~ Pt 3 of 3)

It's all over but for the fashion talk...

To those who are ready to move on: Back to regular cinema soon. Stick around.
To those who can never get enough Oscar: I'll wean you away gently until the 2009 contest begins in a month and you know I'll drop the Oscar talk back in when appropriate. Stick around.
In short: Stick around.

This Oscar fashion roundup is dedicated to Billy Idol. For apparently Sunday in LA was a "nice day for white wedding". Remember that year when everyone wore champagne dresses to SAG and how irritating it was that all the actresses looked the same? Does Hollywood's army of stylists have spies in each other's camps or are they operating in strict adherence to pack rules. Perhaps they're a lycan society with an Alpha Dog stylist residing somewhere deep in the Hills, howling at the full moon monthly as it reflects off the Hollywood sign.

What was with all the white?

As far as I know Amy Adams is the only star that's about to get married and she was in red!

Rather than do a whole 'nother permanent page at the mainsite I thought we'd just finish the wrap up here with photos. Some of my bests may be your worsts but that's the way it goes with fashion (and acting, actually, as the annual wars over the Oscar shortlists attest)

I'm ignoring the men this time 'round. I didn't mean to and there were lots of sharp dressed men and one handsome boy who could just as easily have been starring in a Gus Van Sant picture as writing it (Dustin Lance Black) but time is short and I really need to put this year's Oscars in the rearview mirror.

I'm not quite sure about this...
Actually all of these goddesses look beauteous. But we're not talking A+ Oscar wear. The Doubt actresses (Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis) look better as a trio, all earth and fire and well matched. Probably the point... great for photo ops. But apart from each other the outfits were a little busy (Amy... but I actually love the huge necklace) plain (Meryl) or risky (Viola). Perhaps I should explain: I love the gold dress and the woman inside it but unless you're a lock to win, I always think that color is asking for trouble. That statue looms large you know.


It was nice to see Bridget Fonda and Phoebe Cates dolled up again but something is missing in both cases...and not just their careers (har dee har har)

What are you wearing?


Beyoncé's a little teapot, short and stout. Why is she always there? You don't see Amy Adams at the Grammy's every year? Robin Swicord's color choices and pattern (!) are disturbing me... even more than her screenwriting for Memoirs of a Geisha and Benjamin Button did. Heidi Klum usually makes best dressed lists but there was something atrociously busy about this number. Nice color on her (which color isn't?) but all the cut outs and sharp angles and then all the bangles. Any of the elements are okay on their own but all together?, Miley Cyrus has been at the Oscars two years in a row and... I... I... don't understand. Or I don't want to understand. And we'll wrap up with Mary Hart. She never leaves the house without a frozen smile. Even if she forgot to buy a new dress or iron an old one to go with it.

YUMMY...


My choices for best dressed are the always ravishing Nicole Kidman (love the feather and shiny details which rescue this from being another boring white dress, Freida Pinto (Latikaaaaaa!) in blue and that sleeve is a beauty, Leslie Mann because her dress reminds me of a disco ball and I've been totally on a 70s kick (I blame Milk) and there's something about her whole look, hair, attitude and all that screams decadent/sexy/underestimated woman. Amanda Seyfried continues to be awesome, despite Mamma Mia! And finally there's my girlfriend Marisa Tomei. I have nothing to say about the dress but to tell you that Nick describes it perfectly on the upcoming podcast. From the back it's even more deconstruct as if the strap was barely hanging on to itself to keep the entire dress together.

Which fashions did you go gaga for at home?
*

Halfway Point: Best Supporting Actress (So Far)

2007 is (almost) halfway over. Time to recalibrate those Oscar predictions...
But first, a few thoughts on where we've been and the sidelined women who helped us get there. If I voted today on my film bitch awards, the five Supporting Actresses would be drawn from this group of eleven. Evening pulls into harbor very soon with about that many actresses in tow. But I don't feel like waiting...

• Laura Dern and Regina King -Year of the Dog
• Ljubica Jovic Fraulein
• Leslie Mann -Knocked Up
  
• Rose McGowan and Marley Shelton -Planet Terror
• Archie Panjabi -A Mighty Heart
  
• Sylvie Testud - La Vie En Rose
• Olympia Dukakis or Kristen Thomson -Away From Her
  
• Sigourney Weaver -The TV Set
  

Those eleven turns skew towards comedic and genre work but they're all good stuff. If the Oscar voters had to choose from this year's slim pickings in January ~ June I'm guessing (it's always guesswork) that you'd see these women as the shortlisters

• Dukakis -Away From Her (former winner)
• Fonda -Georgia Rule (legend. they'd demote her to support)
  
• Mann -Knocked Up (comedic spot & hit film)
• Thomson -Away From Her (empathetic ... and to avoid the genre perfs)
  
• Weaver -The TV Set (comedic spot & celebrity)

I'm guessing (perhaps näively) that they'd avoid Felicity Huffman (Georgia Rule) even though she's got the baitest supporting role yet this year as an alcoholic mother -- only Dukakis's longsuffering spouse rivals her for bait --on account of the suck factor. Boy was she bad in that movie. I hope she's working the steps in Overactors Anonymous even as I type.

But let's be real. The AMPAS voters don't vote halfway through the year and none of these women will survive to make the Oscar cut come January. The fates of supporting performers are very dependent on the overall reception of the picture they appear in and the lead performances they enhance. We haven't seen one of our Best Pictures yet.

Do you have a favorite 2007 supporting actress yet? If so sing her praises in the comments. Make your case. [My updated Oscar predictions]

P.S. StinkyLulu & gang are also talking supporting actress (albeit for 1978). It's a real sibilant spectacle: Stinky's Seventies Smackdown: Streep. Stapleton. Smith. Check it out. I hope to return to that smackdowning party next month.