Critics Choice Awards – This Had Oscar Buzz

283 – Garden State

We’re finally diving into the time capsule that is 2004’s Garden State. The writing and directing debut of Zach Braff, the film stars Braff as a depressed actor who returns to his Jersey home to attend his mother’s funeral. Once there, he reunites with former friends and maybe meets the love of his life (played by Natalie Portman in an urtext manic pixie dream girl mode) who helps him reevaluate his life. The film was a Sundance sensation and unleashed a gangbusters trailer package, igniting the love of young cinephiles, if not the Academy.

This episode, we discuss what about the film has aged poorly and its place in Fox Searchlight’s very busy 2004. We also talk about the film’s incredibly popular and definitive soundtrack, Portman’s performance and career up to her first Oscar nomination, and Jackie Hoffman’s brief performance in the film hilariously singing Lionel Ritchie.

Topics also include the personal stages of life we were in when we first saw the film, how gross it is to share headphones, and Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling winning Best Kiss.

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261 – Hereditary

Happy Halloween, listeners! Naturally, this week we are returning to the shallow well of horror films that made it into the Oscar hunt with a recent highly debated and lauded terrifier. In 2018, Ari Aster made his feature debut at Sundance with Hereditary, the story of a family invaded from within by a demon worshipping cult. Aster’s bizarre vision quickly earned the film a reputation as one of the scariest ever made, but Toni Collette’s performance as a terrified and grieving mother received some career-best notices and feverish hopes that she could crack the Best Actress lineup. As you might expect, Hereditary was simply too much for the Academy.

This episode, we talk about everything that makes the film so divisive and Ari Aster’s whole thing. We also talk about Collette’s career and our favorites in her filmography, the rise of character actress Ann Dowd, and what makes the conversation around “elevated horror” so frustrating.

Topics also include putting the Saturn Awards on notice, coin parties, and the Gotham Awards.

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235 – The Upside of Anger

Every prestige actress overdue for an Oscar deserves her showcase, and after three Oscar nominations in under a decade, Joan Allen got hers written and directed by her The Contender costar Mike Binder. The Upside of Anger cast Allen as a mother of four whose husband suddenly abandons her, and she finds boozy solace with the former baseball player down the street. The actress earned raves for her all-out performance, along with Kevin Costner as her new lover and compatriot. But the film was a spring release and struggled to get arrested in the awards race, despite a Critics Choice nomination and regional critics wins, despite what is largely seen as an uncompetitive Best Actress field.

This episode, we talk about Joan Allen’s three Oscar nominations and other ones we think she should have received. We also talk about Costner in Baseball Kevin mode, the National Board of Review’s 2005 “excellence in filmmaking” lineup, the film’s underwhelming portrait of siblings, and the 2005 Best Actress race.

Topics also include listeners not being able to tell Chris and Joe apart, Allen’s Tony Award and theatre history, and the maligned The Mind of the Married Man.

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214 – Mud (with Roxana Hadadi)

What’s better than movies like this? Guys being dudes! This week, Vulture television critic Roxana Hadadi joins us to return to the McConaissance with Jeff Nichols’ Mud. Matthew McConaughey stars as the film’s eponymous criminal who befriends a young teenager (played by Ty Sheridan) grappling with the death of his town and his parents’ divorce. The film debuted at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival while Nichols’ star was on the rise and McConaughey was mid-ascendancy, but was mildly received on the global stage. When the film was released in stateside theaters the following spring, critics were much more enthusiastic about Nichols’ take on masculinity and myth, but the film was ultimately overshadowed by McConaughey’s other Best Actor bid, Dallas Buyers Club.

This episode, we discuss the filmography of Jeff Nichols, including the divisiveness of Take Shelter’s ending and projects that almost happened. We also get into Sheridan’s career as a young actor, Matt Damon’s macho crypto ad, and the Independent Spirit Awards Robert Altman prize.

Topics also include Chris Pine nearly playing the lead, Taylor Sheridan as Nichols’ tether, and irrational fears of snakes invading our everyday lives.

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