by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
Welcome back to another Oscars: What If, a retrospective look at the Oscars! It’s the summer blockbuster season! Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is already out here making hundreds of millions of dollars; theaters are booming. But while studios are rolling in piles of cash, we must take a moment to look at movies from our past that didn’t get the full recognition that they deserved from an awards standpoint. Let’s jump right in. As a reminder, with this series we look at categories the Academy should be honoring, but, for one reason or another, they aren’t. Hopefully someday the Academy will do right by these creative talents, but until then we must do the Academy’s job for them. Let’s look back at the year in which Nintendo released the Game Boy, the Battle of the Bay World Series was interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake on live TV, the Chinese Communist Party committed violent atrocities at the Tiananmen Square Protests, and the Cold War ended, bringing on the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is time to examine the films of 1989, celebrated at the Oscars in 1990. Let’s see what could have been!
Best Stunts and Choreography
Given to the best achievement in dance, stunts, related performances, and overall choreography.
And the nominees are… Back to the Future Part II, Batman, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lethal Weapon 2, License to Kill
And the winner is… License to Kill!
James Bond, man. What are you gonna do? They’re one of the best in the game for a reason, and with License to Kill they go to another level. This movie opens with a scene that has one plane hijacking another plane, which was later stolen almost exactly by Christopher Nolan for his opening of The Dark Knight Rises. Later, they then skydive from that plane landing straight into a wedding; it’s insane. Further on, there’s a scene where Bond is water skiing without skis… and he’s being pulled by a seaplane. It’s gnarly. There are scenes with stinger missiles being shot around gasoline tankers with massive explosions, trucks being turned up on their sides, buildings literally exploding, and all the while, there are stunt people flinging their bodies all over the place. This movie goes off the walls in a fun and entertaining way, and you can’t help but be impressed by all the stunt work these people went through. There are individual scenes here, such as the water skiing behind a seaplane, that are better than all the stunts in most other movies. License to Kill absolutely deserves this Oscar.
Best Performance by Voiceover or Motion Capture
Given to the best off screen voice performance, or on screen motion captured performance.
And the nominees are… Jodi Benson as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, Pat Carroll as Ursula in The Little Mermaid, Rei Sakuma as Jiji in Kiki’s Delivery Service, Minami Takayama as Kiki in Kiki’s Delivery Service, Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian in The Little Mermaid
And the winner is… Pat Carroll as Ursula in The Little Mermaid!
This might be a bit contentious, as Benson delivers such a distinct and memorable voice performance. Some of the songs that she gave us are iconic. I mean, the literal plot of the movie is about stealing her very memorable and powerful voice. But it’s Carroll, who gives such a legendary and flamboyant performance with Ursula, that has to take home the gold. She’s mischievous and malicious in the most intriguing way. The spiteful joy that she shows throughout this movie is intoxicating to watch. It’s not even just her regular lines of dialogue, which are dripping with venom, but her singing that’s also extraordinary. A solid argument could be made that “Poor Unfortunate Souls” might be one of the best villain songs in the history of Disney. She knocks it out of the park. Carroll’s take on Ursula is perfect, and she deserves to be rewarded for such effort.
Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast
Given to the best overall ensemble cast performance.
And the nominees are… Dead Poets Society, Do the Right Thing, Glory, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Steel Magnolias
And the winner is… Sex, Lies, and Videotape!
I’m not going to lie: This is undoubtedly the most difficult category I’ve ever done in the history of this series. I had about 10 different movies that I wanted to nominate, and it took me hours to whittle it down to just five. Even now I’m constantly second guessing myself. That’s how tough and tight this category is. But I think in the end I’m going to give it to Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Spike Lee, please forgive me for taking another Oscar away from your all-time masterpiece! All of these ensemble performances are tremendous, but each of them has one performance that sticks out like a sore thumb. One that doesn’t match the quality, energy, and commitment of the others, like, for example, Roger Gueneveur Smith’s Smiley in Do the Right Thing that just doesn’t work. All of these films have this issue… except for Sex, Lies, and Videotape. All four of our leads in this film (Andie MacDowell, James Spader, Peter Gallagher, and Laura San Giacomo) are tremendous. The way each character grows and changes, and the way that their decisions negatively and positively impact each other’s lives, makes for such compounding drama that you can’t look away. They deliver intricate, detailed, and grounded performances that make the film feel so relatable and believable, even if you’ve never had these experiences. Ask me any other day and I might give you a different winner from this list. Honestly, ask me any other day and I might give you an entirely different set of five nominees from this year for this category. But this is where I am today, with Sex, Lies, and Videotape getting the trophy.
Best Directorial Debut
Given to the best achievement in direction by a debut directing talent.
And the nominees are… Kenneth Branagh for Henry V, Cameron Crowe for Say Anything…, Joe Johnston for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jim Sheridan for My Left Foot, Steven Soderbergh for Sex, Lies, and Videotape
And the winner is… Steven Soderbergh for Sex, Lies, and Videotape!
Speaking of Sex, Lies, and Videotape... damn, this movie is so good, and Steven Soderbergh deserves to be recognized for his debut work because of it. I already feel bad not giving this to Kenneth Branagh, who delivers an exquisite and detailed film with Henry V, and Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything… is iconic for its impact on pop culture alone, but the most complete film here, with more to say than anything else in this category, is easily Sex, Lies, and Videotape. The performances throughout are tremendous, and I’ve already awarded them an Oscar as such. The original score is eerie and chilling in the best way. There are in depth themes that will resonate with audiences. But above all else, this movie is incredibly entertaining. It grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go. And it’s not just the surface-level, primal interest in the movie because it’s so erotic; it’s because this narrative, and these characters, tap into the human condition in a way few other films in this category come close. All of these achievements are due to Soderbergh’s direction, and his complete and succinctly executed vision. He deserves this recognition.
Best Popular Film
Given to the best audience supported motion picture that earned a spot as one of the top 25 box office films of the year.
And the nominees are… Back to the future Part II, Batman, Dead Poets Society, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, When Harry Met Sally…
And the winner is… Batman!
My desire to give this to When Harry Met Sally… or Dead Poets Society is so high, you have no idea. But I cannot deny how absolutely impactful Batman was from a popularity standpoint, and how it had a seismic infect effect on the entertainment industry as a whole. In many ways, this film is responsible for the boom in comic book movie popularity. Batman crushed it at the box office, bringing in $251.2 million dollars domestically, and an additional $160.15 million internationally, for a whopping $411.35 million worldwide. This was more than enough for it to be the highest grossing film of the year by a long shot, making about $55 million more domestically than the second place Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which was a sizable difference in ‘89. In fact, this held the record for the highest grossing superhero film of all time until Spider-Man took the crown in 2002. It was the highest grossing DC Comics movie until ‘08’s The Dark Knight. Its legacy is substantial, as it’s still adored by audiences to this day. That’s because, not only did it make a boatload of money, but the movie is also that damn good.
It’s not often that a comic book movie gets nominated for Oscars, especially roughly 25 years ago, yet this actually won an Oscar for art direction well before the MCU was even a twinkle in Disney’s eye. You can thank Tim Burton for that. His tremendous sense of world building and unique artistic eye brought Gotham City to life in a way that very few cities ever do in film. Additionally, Jack Nicholson gave us a role-defining portrayal as the Joker. Although you could make an argument that he has since been surpassed with performances by Heath Ledger or Joaquin Phoenix, this is still one of the most entertaining comic book performances you could see. Michael Keaton’s Batman is still beloved by so many that even now many consider him the definitive onscreen version of the character, and many more are eagerly awaiting his return to the role later this summer in The Flash. There’s great action, fun costumes, many quotable lines, and so much more to love about this movie. It was a critical success that was praised by critics, and it absolutely destroyed the box office. This easily holds up as the Best Popular Film of ’89.
Thanks for joining me on another trip down memory lane to see what could’ve been! We got to see one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time, the advent of Disney’s Renaissance Era, and a superhero movie that changed the blockbuster game, a feat we are still seeing the ramifications of to this day with the overwhelming prevalence of comic book movies. Be sure to come back next month when we look at films like Home Alone, Ghost, and Goodfellas. Next time we’ll return for the Oscars of 1991, celebrating the films of 1990!
You can read more from Heath Lynch, and follow him on Letterboxd