hollywood
by tim parks
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION THE WHO, THE WHY AND THE NOT-SO-GAY OF THIS YEAR’S OSCARS
ith the Sunday, March 27 date of the 94th annual Academy Awards looming large, akin to the Gay Super Bowl, some questions arise, aside from who will win. First, will this year’s telecast be better than last year’s tepid attempt to stage the annual ceremony during COVID-19. It sucked, and not in a good way, mmmkay? Will a return to having hosts — Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall — help streamline that endeavor? But the biggest one seems to be “where’s my gays?” There’s a lack of LGBTQ inclusion, save for the amazing Flee, nominated in three categories: Best Animated Feature, International Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature. There’s Ariana DeBose’s historic nomination as the first queer person of color nominated for an acting award in West Side Story. And bisexual actress Kristen Stewart is up for her portrayal of Princess Diana in Spencer, along with the not quite Brokeback Mountain aspects of The Power of the Dog as Best Picture. But that’s all folks. Still, there are plenty of reasons to tune into ABC and watch who will snatch them trophies. Here’s a look at this year’s for your consideration nominees.
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PICTURE IT, HOLLYWOOD 2022
I imagined CODA was about two independent people who must learn to rely on each and be “codapendent” during Ireland’s Great Potato Famine. Rather, I was pleasantly surprised at the unexpected delight of a movie. I figured since it dealt with a hearing young woman (Emilia Jones) with deaf parents and brother (Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur and Daniel Durant), that it might be on the heavier side of things. However, while there is a lot of heart, there is also laugh-out-loud humor in the tale of underdog Grace trying to decide between her dreams of being a singer or remaining as the bridge that links her family to the world of the hearing. Streaming on Apple TV+. The divisive Don’t Look Up was a film that people either loved or hated; I was in the former category about the political spin doctoring
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www.rage.lgbt | MARCH 2022
about a comet on course to destroy Earth. Add in some jabs at contemporary culture, coupled with unnominated performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Cate Blanchett, and you have what some consider an Oscar dark house in the running. Streaming on Netflix. Dune has three S’s going for it: scope, spectacle and sandworms that look like bungholes. While none of its hot male cast of Timothée Chalamet, Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac and Josh Brolin were nominated, the film is light years ahead of the much-derided 1984 effort. On demand. King Richard is the cinematic antithesis of star Will Smith’s alter ego of The Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff’s first hit song, circa 1988, “Parent’s Just Don’t Understand,” as it chronicles the determined father of tennis royalty Venus and Serena Williams going to great lengths, along with his wife (Aunjanue Ellis) to make sure that is the end game for their family. On demand. Guillermo Del Toro’s stylish film noir Nightmare Alley was a box office failure for some strange reason. The moody and visual remake of the 1947 film stars Bradley Cooper as a drifter who happens upon a carnival and learns a new skill set as a mentalist, guided by David Strathairn and Toni Collette. But he heads for greener pastures with carnival performer Rooney Mara and
