The year is...
"1973"
The Smackdowners are...
Fritz from Fritz and the Oscar's
and Yours Truly, Twister
1973's Supporting Actress' are...
FRITZ - An impossibly hard to judge performance – where does Linda Blair end and Mercedes McCambridge begin, plus the confusion with all the make-up and body doubles. The story makes sure that hers is an interesting role, for sure, but the performance itself is neither interesting nor even challenging. Linda Blair plays her first scenes very naturally and successfully establishes the most important theme of the story – a love between a mother and a daughter. But the truth is that she isn’t given much to do she could screw up and it seems that her co-stars, the editing, the special effects and the make-up do more for Linda Blair’s performance than the actress herself.
TWISTER - A peculiar performance and odd nomination. Blair's work in this legendary role offers the actress almost nothing to work as it's one big, elaborate stunt used solely for narrative purposes -- yet, (when she does get to actually act) Blair, with her radiantly natural appeal, subtly shades the tender, underlying emotional foundation onto which this haunting film is built upon. 
TWISTER - Stuck in a tired retread of a stock role we have seen too many times, Clark's performance might have been able to spin gold from coal had she invested something fresh, new, or surprising into the air-headed Debbie, making the role her own. Sadly, this is all absent form Candy's work; where's the energy, the zest, the idiosyncrasy? Not an instance of shading, humanity, or emotional insight involved with this caricature who could have easily of stood out among the surrounding dullness. An uninspired performance and a silly nomination. FRITZ - As the über-blond girl who appears out of the dark, Candy Clark is obviously supposed to be the comic relief but she unfortunately shows that a ‘dumb blond’ isn’t as easy to play as it seems, especially if the writing lets you down. Candy Clark is part of the least interesting story line in American Graffiti and on top of that constantly overshadowed by her co-star. She does get some laughs later in the proceedings and adds some unexpected and truly funny body gestures, but Debbie is barely even a real character and even though Candy Clark brings a lot of warmth and sympathy to the role, she isn’t able to become truly interesting. That way it’s just a mystery why she was the only cast member to be singled out by the Academy.
TWISTER - Kahn is hilarious, delightful, and enduring in a role tailor made for her, but she remarkably doesn't coast on her charisma in the role. Instead, she gives us a humane glimpse into this flaky caricature's private pain, and subtly crafts a inner and outer life for Trixie to convey and entire sad history of mishaps, regrets, and failed dreams. And that saucy line reading? Genius!
FRITZ - How wonderful to see that the true supporting lady of Paper Moon wasn’t forgotten. Madeline Kahn shows how to leave the biggest impression in a thankless part. With the talent of a true comedienne, she found all the possibilities of her role and added so much more to create a character that is hilarious, poignant, pathetic, a woman hungry for life and money who uses all (ALL!) the talents she has to get it. But Madeline Kahn took the stereotypical money-grabber and gave a deep and understanding performance that combines so many emotions at the same time. Who would have thought that a monologue about bone structure could be funny, sad, intelligent and stupid at the same time? A truly scene-stealing and show-stopping turn!
FRITZ - I usually don’t support "category fraud" but Tatum O’Neal’s incredibly funny, childish, grown-up, multi-dimensional and leading performance is so fantastic that I can’t resist. She shows a maturity beyond her years in this part and creates one of the most original, lovable and unforgettable characters in movie history. She acts like a child and behaves like a child, but she is all grown-up when she has to be and knows how to use every situation to her advantage. She finds both the humor in her acting and also in her scenes but adds a surprising amount of sadness, too. Like every character in Paper Moon, Addie is struggling to escape her harsh reality to find a little happiness. A hilarious, moving and unique performance!TWISTER - With perfect timing and naturalistic instinct, O'Neal is a absolute riot -- watching this little girl who knows how to play and control the game better than the grown ups do without thinking twice about it -- is pure delight. But Tatum offers so much more by providing a richly nuanced and multi-faceted characterization that's rare for such a young actress. She subtly builds the essential emotional architecture into the character to convey Addie's every emotional complexity, without ever losing sight of the simplicity of the character. Warm, luminous, charming and most assuredly mature. O'Neal's isn't just of the best (if not the best) kid performances ever, but one of the most impressive acting achievements by an actor of any age.
FRITZ - I appreciate it when an actress attacks a throw-away part with an almost aggressive dedication but Sylvia Sydney has lost the battle before she could even begin. In a true supporting role, her visiting mother sets up the action for Joanne Woodward’s Rita and, unlike Candy Clark, makes the viewer want to see more but in the end, Sylvia Sydney isn’t even given enough to do to reach a level of two-dimensionality. She adds some nice touches to her dominant character (like rolling her eyes when she sees the picture of her gay grandson) and her heart attack scenes are frighteningly realistic but neither the character nor the actress has any staying power – once she leaves the pictures, she is immediately forgotten. And in the case of Sylvia Sidney, this happens much too early.
TWISTER - Although the character is written as a hollow plot device, Sidney -- with formidable verve and sharp wit -- elevates this boring role out of the gutter and gives this old harridan some peppy life. She ably nails easily overlooked character tid bits (her sadness, her past regrets, her non-acceptance) to actually make Mrs. Pritchett a much more complete person and to rejuvenate what the script offers her by turning close to nothing into something actually interesting.Tatum O'Neal
in Paper Moon
And of course the Smackdown must agree!
Tatum O'Neal is our Best Supporting Actress of 1973!
Here's to you Ms. Tatum!
Overall thoughts: An interesting year with five very different performances -- already knew I loved the Paper Moon gals, and Sylvia was a nice surprise, but I was seriously let down by Candy. I was really excited to watch the film and her performance -- but then both failed to impress. First, I don't how the hell that film maintains such an iconic status and one thats respected who as much admiration now as it did then because it is seriously overrated and flawed. I became so mad when the narrative nose dived into one of the stupidest final hours of any film I have seen. And that first half wasn't nothin' to be that proud of either. But with Clark -- I kept waiting for the scene that would make her nomination make some kind of logical sense...I waited some more...and nothing happened at all. Argh! But as far as my personal nomination ballot is concerned, I would put Tatum on it -- I know, it is a leading role, but she truly does support and elevate the film like a Supporting Actress should, and she would make both Leading and Supporting for me...if that makes any kind of sense at all. I might give Blair a nomination because she does alot with so little and it truly is surprisingly what she does for the overall effectiveness for the film. But two players that were sadly left off of Oscar's ballot are Mackenzie Philips in American Graffiti and P.J. Johnson in Paper Moon, both of whom deliver funny and fantastic performances far beyond what the script required of them. So my ballot might go something like this:
--
*Tatum O'Neal, Paper Moon
*Mackenzie Phillips, American Graffiti
*P.J. Johnson, Paper Moon
*Madeline Kahn, Paper Moon
*Linda Blair, The Exorcist
Look at that four kids in the same year!
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