Cut the BS Breakdown - Best Actor

This is an unabashed look at each nominee in the big eight Oscar categories. We will look at all the nominees and the various categories. No prisoners are taken, so take heed and gird your loins.

Nominees:
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Overall Feelings:
Pretty decent line-up here. Penn and Rourke will go down as classic performances in the future, while Jenkins finally gets his due in a role that is perfectly suited. Langella was a little hastily put into this category with way too much excitement, which has obviously died down quite a bit. Pitt didn’t have much of a performance, but was pretty suited to the character. He didn’t do anything spectacular, but he did what he needed to do. Three out of five isn’t bad.

My Personal Choice:
Two of my favorite performances from this year are going head-to-head in this category, so I couldn’t be happier. My preference is definitely Mickey Rourke. His performance is heart-breaking, redemptive, subtle and powerful. Penn was great in his layered portrayal of the character of Harvey Milk, but Rourke gives a classic performance. On top of that, Rourke had the more difficult role to perfect. Those who say that Rourke was just playing himself haven’t seen the film. Rourke had everything and pissed it all away, but Robinson had everything and lost it just because of time. Milk was well documented in documentaries while Robinson was a purely fabricated character.

Who Should Have Been Nominated:
My love for In Bruges is fairly well-documented. That definitely includes Colin Farrell. This year, the talk is all about redemption with Rourke and Downey, but Farrell has just as much to be happy about. Where was his career before this? Hot off of Alexander, Miami Vice and Cassandra’s Dream? Come on…even now when you look up Colin Farrell on IMDb, the search says: Colin Farrell (Actor, In Bruges). This is the film he will be remembered for. And it should be.

Who Should Not Have Been Nominated:
I’m going to ruffle some feathers with this, but I would have to say Frank Langella over Brad Pitt. It’s not that I think that Langella gave a bad performance, I just don’t think he did anything that would warrant being one of the five best of the year. He was a dramatic version of Sam the Eagle from The Muppet Show. Did he take a true side of Nixon? Did he decide that Nixon should be eternally stubborn, eternally regretful, human? Nope, he took no road at all and figured out the accent. I would have been happy with a nomination to his counterpart in Michael Sheen, but his role just wasn’t showy enough over Langella’s to warrant the recognition.

Who Should Win:
Bill Murray. He should have won back in 2003 when he was up against Sean Penn. Therefore, the best performance of that year would have won and Penn would have gotten his deserved Oscar this year, rather than the good but by no means great performance in Mystic River. That’s my reasoning behind this. By the way, if you get the chance to see the YouTube clip of Penn’s win, look at the box with Murray’s picture. That is the look of pure hatred. Fantastic. By the way, I’m still bitter.

Who Will Win:
This cannot happen again. Murray’s chance at Oscar glory is an once-in-a-lifetime event. What do you think the chances of Murray getting another nomination? Very slim. I see the same thing happening for Mickey Rourke. That is why, I think the Academy will realize the mistake they made back in 2003 and remedy it by giving Rourke the Oscar. They should give it to him just for the sole purpose of comedy. Can you imagine the possible outcomes from an Oscar acceptance speech by Mickey Rourke? I can’t wait. Plus, do we really want to give Sean Penn a second Oscar? I’m not really up for a really pretentious speech about hemp.

A Best Actor Poem:
Jenkins finally got a star turn,
An Oscar nomination and now stardom to burn.

Brad Pitt got his second nomination and now,
He’ll smile with Angelina and take a few bows.

Langella was Nixon I guess this is true,
Too bad Michael Sheen did not get one too.

Penn played a politician whose name wasn’t Dick,
I would like him much more if he wasn’t a prick.

Rourke used to suck and now he’s back to great,
He’ll thank his dogs, his agent and Marisa Tomei