I've just watched this beautiful film again and it is staggering that Bette was so over-looked! The minimum she should have recieved was a Oscar Nomination! Bette is one of my favourite actresses, she is a comedy legend and although I love her roles in Hocus Pocus, First Wives Club, Ruthless People etc. there's no denying that she is in a different legue in this picture!
A career best performance from an amazing talent!
You're spot-on on everything you wrote - yet, you know how it goes : Oscars (or even nominations, for that matter) and comedians/comedies do not blend well together. Not to mention that it's not unheared of that "The Academy" is playing a rather dubious role, considering promoting films, careers, etc.
...Who however gives a rat's a$$ about it? Bette WAS divine in this very special film. That's what matters after all.
1988 was a very tough year for Lead Actress-
The nominees were
Glenn Close in "Dangerous Liaisons"
Jodie Foster in "The Accused"
Melanie Griffith in "Working Girl"
Meryl Streep in "A Cry in the Dark"
Sigourney Weaver in "Gorillas in the Mist"
Strong, strong list as you can see. Close was on her fifth nomination and was seen as the frontrunner by many critics, and was in a Best Picture contender- though the film was a very late release, which might have caused her to lose (though it did win 3 Oscars for screenplay, sets and costumes). Streep had the New York Film critics and to this day, "A Cry in the Dark" is considered one of her top roles. Griffith was in a VERY popular movie, won the Comedy Globe and was the "fresh young face" of the lineup- and anything Mike Nichols does looks good to voters. Weaver was a double nominee, for "Working Girl" and the gorilla movie. Finally the winner, Foster, was playing a classic woman's victim role and most agreed she was worthy.
Bette Midler's snub aside, a few other strong performances were overlooked:
Shirley MacLaine in "Madame Sousatzka"- Maclaine actually won the Drama Globe (with Foster and Weaver in a three-way tie); she was probably sixth on many ballots and missed the nod by a nose.
Sally Field in "Punchline"- playing opposite Tom Hanks, Field is amazing as a bored housewife who longs to do standup comedy, and succeeds.
Jamie Lee Curtis in "A Fish Called Wanda"- great comedic role in a great comedy (that won Kevin Kline an Oscar in supporting).
Susan Sarandon in "Bull Durham" - one of the best praised works of Sarandon, but the film only managed a writing nod.
Bette Midler has veen highly recognized. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, won 4 Grammys and 4 Enmys, plus a Tony, which trumps the previous three. It is a shame they don't build performers like her like they use to.
shareNot a lot of performers have her range. Mandy Patinkin & Cyndi Lauper come to mind.
Carpe Noctem!
Well, going to back December 1988 when the film was released, the critical reviews were not good. Even today, RottenTomatoes.com (which uses most reviews from back when they were first written) only has it at 29% (i.e., well into the "rotten" range).
I would say that this film and Home Alone are the two movies with which the critics were most at odds with the general public (which has it at 89% on RT).
Interestingly enough, 1988 was the same year with which the reverse was true for another film: The Accidental Tourist. It got a best picture nod and thumbs "way up" from Ebert & Siskel, yet I don't know a single person who likes it. (I had a teacher tell me she and her husband walked out.)
"Well, for once the rich white man is in control!" C. M. Burns