March 2022 – This Had Oscar Buzz

187 – Water for Elephants

Adaptations of uberpopular novels are always ripe for awards prestige, but this week’s episode is for a film that fizzled quickly. 2011′s Water for Elephants assembled an impressive crew for the circus-set period romantic drama along with a starry cast at tricky career moments: Robert Pattinson breaking from the Twilight franchise, Reese Witherspoon on a string of unsuccessful films, and Christoph Waltz as his typecast was taking shape. Each was slightly miscast, resulting in tepid romantic fireworks and familiar narrative beats that add up to a hohum movie forgotten by the time The Artist became a somewhat atypical Best Picture winner.

This episode, we discuss Pattinson career and the power of the Twihard base, along with our thoughts on The Batman. We also go into the filmography of the film’s screenwriter Richard LaGravenese and director Francis Lawrence, and look back at Witherspoon’s rebound that came shortly after this film.

Topics also include the Teen Choice Awards, why circus films stir up awe and awards prospects, and Uggie.

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186 – Danny Collins

This week, we’re looking at another surprise Golden Globe nomination that fueled minor Oscar talk, 2015′s Danny Collins. An assemblage of fedoras, silk scarves, and one catchy original song, the film stars Al Pacino as a washed up singer in the vein of Neil Diamond who ingratiates himself to the family of his estranged son. Written and directed by Dan Fogelman, the film may have all of Fogelman’s trademark cliched, but we (along with the HFPA) were quite charmed by the Pacino performance and the film as a whole. But that Globe surprise proved to not be enough for Oscar, leaving the film to be a forgotten spring release.

This episode, we go into the Fogelman ethos and examine the long period between Pacino’s Oscar win and his next nomination for The Irishman. We also discuss the cursed 2015 Original Song race that Danny Collins could have enlivened, Pacino’s string of HBO performances, and how Jennifer Garner is a more interesting supporting player than a lead.

Topics also include Dunkaccino, hanging out at the Grove, and Movies That Star Four Old Actors.

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185 – The Aeronauts

We’re taking flight this week with the “women don’t belong in balloons!” heard round the world. In 2019, The Aeronauts’ awards hopes took flight by reuniting The Theory of Everything’s Oscar winning-and-nominated duo of Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones in the quasi-true story of a hot air balloon expedition that launched modern day weather forecasting. The film was originally intended for IMAX and early press promised a stunning visual display and a thrilling adventure for the ages. But when Amazon eventually canceled those IMAX plans and the film’s festival run resulted in lukewarm responses, The Aeronauts was left as a punchline for its unintend silly punchline from its trailer.

This episode, we look back at the Jones/Redmayne pairing as an unexpected one to stir a quick prestige reunion and the acting lineups during the year of Theory. We also discuss the cinematic output of Amazon Prime and their waning awards success since minimizing their theatrical strategy, the film’s divisive visual effects, and hint at what we have coming for our May miniseries.

Topics also include 1990s hottie Vincent Perez, our love of Himesh Patel in Station Eleven, and who these really good aeronauts might have bumped into in the sky.

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184 – Rumor Has It

This week, we’re looking at the less fondly remembered half of Shirley MacLaine’s 2005 buzzed grandmothers (after praising In Her Shoes in a previous episode) with Rumor Has It. Starring an immediately post-Friends Jennifer Aniston as a woman who believes her grandmother was the inspiration The Graduate’s Mrs. Robinson, the film assembled a prestigious cast for its conceptual take on movie nostalgia that made for a high-profile holiday release. But the film casts Kevin Costner as the would-be Benjamin Braddock that might become either Aniston’s love interest… or her father. Yeah, you can see why this one ultimately earned its reputation as a reviled misfire.

But the film was also plagued with production woes that saw screenwriter and original director Ted Griffin fired, only to be promptly replaced by Rob Reiner. This episode, we discuss Reiner’s later career of bad and unnoticed movies, Griffin’s career as a noteworthy screenwriter, and frustration around this year’s Oscar telecast.

Topics also include our parents’ viewing habits, Tower Heist, and who is best and least best in the Steel Magnolias ensemble.

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