Women of the Oscars: Recap 2006
The voice of the Oscars belongs to a man. Usually, it's a funny white man, like Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal or Steve Martin. Once in a blue moon, a funny non-white man is invited to share the stage – or, in Chris Rock's case, to take control of the mic. The only woman to have hosted the Oscars is Whoopi Goldberg, who presided over the awards in 1993, 1995, 1998 and 2001. However, while Whoopi did a fantastic job, the shock and novelty of a black Oscar emcee may have distracted from the shock and novelty of a female Oscar emcee. And Whoopi hasn't produced an Oscar heir: this year, with Jon Stewart as host, we were back to funny white men.
So last night, knowing that I wouldn't be hearing a women's voice cracking jokes, introducing presenters, and narrating film montages, I decide to keep an eye and ear out for fabulous feminist moments – speeches and comments and tributes that put women first, that showcased women in film as more than arm candy, Oscar presenters or gracious white smiles in the sea of faces at the Kodak Theatre. Surely, in spite of what I've seen in US Weekly and E!, female celebrities would bring more to American's most prestigious film award show than fancy dresses and borrowed bling.
And they did! Sure, this year's slick, trimmed-down ceremony was a bit on the bland side (no hysterics, dramatics, polemics, or swans), but fortunately, it was also full of female-friendly moments.
And the honors go to…
Best Dig: Jon Stewart. After George Clooney won the award for Best Supporting Actor, Stewart joked to the Sexiest Man Alive that the Oscar would definitely help him "get laid." I'm the first to admit that if Stewart had made this comment to a woman (say, Charlize Theron), I'd be jumping all over him and calling him a chauvinist pig. But, as Stewart's jibe was directed at a supremely confident single man – a man who was recently featured in Vanity Fair's "all-nude issue" fully clothed and directing a squadron of dripping-wet undie-clad females, a man who has already been duly recognized for his directing, acting and flirting talents- this acknowledgement was perfectly appropriate, and delightfully irreverent.
Best Musical Performance by a Sexagenarian: Dolly Parton. When Dolly performed "Travelin' Through," the Oscar-nominated song from Transamerica, she may have looked a little too perky in her white pantsuit, and a little too perfect to be 60 years old. Still, it was great to hear that gay old spark n' warble in her voice. That woman rocks.
Best Shout-Out to the Moms of the World: Corinne Marrinan, producer of "A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin." Launching into her acceptance speech for Best Documentary, Short Subject, Marrinan said, "As any woman with a family will understand" and then went on to bestow special thanks upon her kids and her mother. Nice.
Best Shout-Out to a Mom: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Best Actor. With a tremor of sincerity in his voice, Hoffman congratulated his mom, Marilyn O'Connor (who was in the audience) for "bringing up four kids alone," and thanked her for sharing his passions.
Supporting Actress Most Deserving of a Best Actress Nomination: Rachel Weisz. The clip from Weisz's fim, The Constant Gardener, featured the raven-haired beauty demanding that her diplomat lover, Ralph Fiennes, take her with him to Kenya. "Take me as your mistress, your lover, or as your wife," Weisz implores him. "I don' t care, just yes or no." As those who saw the film know, Weisz's character speaks not out of passion for Fiennes, but out of a passion for justice. Once in Africa, she intends to cause trouble, dig up dirt, and effect change. This was just one of the many scenes in which Weisz stole the movie out from under the befuddled-looking Fiennes, and while I wish she got more than just a "supporting" actress nomination, I was happy to see her recognized here. To prove that she's just as big-hearted in real life as onscreen, when Weisz took the stage to claim her much-deserved award, she paid homage to international relief workers.
(Now, we all know that the Supporting Actor Most Deserving of a Best Actor Nomination is Jake Gyllenhaal, but that's another post for another web site.)
Best Shout-Out to a Studio: Colleen Atwood, Winner, "Achievement in costume design" for "Memoirs of a Geisha.” In her acceptance speech, Atwood thanked Sony Pictures for "making a movie about a woman" I didn't realize Sony was hesitant to make women-friendly films (aren't they the distributors behind "Marie-Antoinette"?), but whatever. It never hurts to publicly congratulate studios for the female-focused films. Atwood also gave props to her teenage daughter.
Most Balanced Montage: This year's montage of "issue movies" gave female actors as much face time as male actors, and included shots of some the best broads in the business: Dolly Parton in Nine to Five, Sally Field in Norma Rae, Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in Thelma and Louise, Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy, and Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give (that last one's not really an "issue movie," but who cares. It's still delicious to see Keaton basking in the gaze of a hopelessly smitten Keanu Reeves).
The Role Models: Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep, presenters of a lifetime achievement award to Robert Altman. In a seemingly ad-libbed tribute to the 81-year old director, these two gracious actors shared the stage, the limelight and the jokes.
Feel-Good Feminist Moment of the Night: Reese Witherspoon's acceptance speech for her Best Actress award. Witherspoon thanked director Jim Mangold for writing the character of June Carter Cash, whom she referred to as "a real woman, who has dignity and honor, and fear, and courage. A real woman." The pitch-perfect Witherspoon also named her grandmother as one of the biggest inspirations in her life, who taught little Reese to "have strength and self-respect, and to never give those things away." Finally, Witherspoon wrapped up her almost-eerily-eloquent acceptance speech with a tribute to the woman she played in "Walk the Line." "People used to ask June how she was doing, and she used to say, 'I'm just trying to matter.'" The actress then thanked the Academy for making her think that she had made work that meant something, and for making her feel like she "mattered." I'm sorry, but I've just got to say it: You go, girl!
Of course, the night had its low spots:
*When George Clooney stooped to give a congratulatory handshake to Oscar-nominated Heath Ledger, he had to reach over Leger's wife, Oscar-nominated Michelle Williams. No handshake for Williams. No acknowledgement, either.
*After receiving the award for Best Animated Short Film for The Moon and the Son, director John Canemaker totally hogged the microphone. His long-winded thanks prevented writer and producer Peggy Stern from getting a single word in. We watched her mutely mouthing her thanks as the orchestra drowned out her words.
*Post-ceremony, some reporters focused more on Reese Witherspoon's outfit than her award. Yet no one was heard asking George Clooney or Philip Seymour Hoffman where they got their tuxedos.
Slights aside, though, it was a good night for the ladies. And while we wait for the announcement of the next female host of the Academy Awards, these small yet sweet moments deserve our applause.