Being the Ricardos - 3 nominations

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Nicole Kidman

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Javier Bardem

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role J.K. Simmons

Being the Ricardos imagines a week in the life of Lucy and Desi Arnaz while producing their top-rated hit show, "I Love Lucy."  We see how a Cuban and a woman owned and operated their show, exercised their incredible power, and navigated the racism and sexism of the time.  Alongside this plot, we see a marriage in trouble over cheating rumors, and an embattled Lucy with a past affiliation with the Communist party.  All the while, fretting over every minor comedic detail, we also see how Lucy Arnaz crafted the Lucy Ricardo persona down to the tiniest detail.  In fact, I most believed Kidman as Lucy Ricardo and less as Lucy Arnaz, and I'm wondering if that's because I watched her shows as a child and so thorough fused the two in my mind.  Kidman's reproduction of the Lucy Ricardo voice is impressive. Honestly, I'm a little shocked that Nina Arianda was never in the mix for an Oscar nomination, so beautifully and convincingly playing Vivian Vance in the film.  I found her performance more believable and on point than even Javier Bardem's, whose nomination is my least favorite of the Leading Actor category.

I'm an ardent Sorkenite and his writing style gets me every time.  I thought Being the Ricardos was a truly entertaining film.  Do I consider it Oscars great?  Meh, maybe not.  Do I consider it a fun film for a Saturday night great?  You bet I do.  And that's all the "'splainin'" I got to do.

 

WHIPLASH - 5 nominations

Best Picture - Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, David Lancaster
Actor in a Supporting Role - J.K. Simmons
Film Editing - Tom Cross
Sound Mixing - Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, Thomas Curley
Adapted Screenplay - Damien Chazelle

By now, most people know the basic premise of the film, Whiplash.  An ambitious, driven young drummer, Andrew, played by Miles Teller gets into a highly selective music school, and then is taken into the elite jazz band led by a teacher who is a ruthless bully (J.K. Simmons).  There is nothing Andrew won't do to please his teacher, and he will stop at nothing to become a great musician.  He is driven by the same unflinching focus that one sees in Olympic athletes, who train 8 hours a day to achieve their dreams - he does nothing in the world save practicing the drums.  His father (played sweetly by Paul Reiser) doesn't understand his son's drive, and is troubled by seeing his son hurt.  The teacher, Fletcher, is manipulative, abusive (mentally and physically), and believes himself to be working for the good of the students - though it is unclear why his tactics have been allowed or overlooked by the school.

This film pushed a lot of buttons for me - bullying in any form is very hard for me to take, and I have seen ruthless bullies in the workplace who go unchecked for one reason or another.  J.K. Simmons took this character to the extreme, supported no doubt by the excellent screenplay that built his back story.  It is hard to believe that any one person could be so ruthless all the time, and yet Simmons manages to convince us that his one-note personality is authentic.  He has his own undaunted eyes on his own prize, and there is a certain parallel between him and his student in that they both have greatness on their minds.  There is something about this film and determination to succeed that is inspiring.

As I have shared in prior posts, films with lots of music, especially complicated rhythmic music are perfect candidates for technical awards like editing and sound mixing.  The difficulty rating on these kinds of achievements is very high, and in this case, it was done flawlessly.

This is a hard film to watch, so I recommend being thoughtful about whether this is the kind of film that is for you.  If you do choose to see it, I believe you will not regret it, it is superb.  Just make sure you go out for ice cream afterward for a palate cleanse.