by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
Welcome back to another Oscars: What If, our retrospective look at the Oscars!
Alright, so let’s be honest with one another, how many times have you seen Barbie? I mean, it is a certifiable cinematic phenomenon at this point. You see it just once? Twice? Five times?! Five times, wow, I’m impressed. And I don’t blame you, the movie is fantastic. But while it’s fun to talk about the pink wave overtaking the world, we should still take a moment to appreciate some Oscars from years past. 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 Jay Leno debuted on The Tonight Show, Nirvana introduced the world to grunge music with “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” South Africa voted for political reform to end apartheid, a 78-acre building was constructed to be the largest shopping mall in America and was dubbed The Mall of America, and Bill Clinton was elected President of the United States. It is time to examine the films of 1992, celebrated at the Oscars in 1993. 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… Hard Boiled, A League of Their Own, Lethal Weapon, Newsies, Strictly Ballroom
And the winner is… Strictly Ballroom!
There’s going to be a theme, a trend, with this month’s article. That’s because every single category, save one, is incredibly damn close making for a bunch of tight competition. That trend starts here. Because while I’m giving the gold to Strictly Ballroom, you can make a solid argument for so many other options. The intense gunplay of Hard Boiled, the sports acting and dancing interlude in A League of Their Own, the explosions and chases in Lethal Weapon 3, or the constant musical dancing numbers in Newsies, there’s a lot going on here. On any given day, I could go with another choice. But as it stands today, I’m giving it to Baz Luhrmann’s directorial debut with his rebuke of the old ways, and acceptance of change and innovation… in the setting of a ballroom dance competition. It’s hard not to love this one when almost the entire movie showcases excellent dancing techniques from a variety of styles including classic ballroom, tango, flamenco, and more. What’s really great, and what pushes it over the edge, is how inventive the dance is. The movie constantly comes up with new and creative steps, which is understandable given that the whole plot revolves around the idea of innovating versus doing the same thing over and over again. That innovation is front and center throughout this entire flick, and it makes for an exhilarating watch. So in the end, I have to give props to the dance choreography throughout Strictly Ballroom, which is truly special and entertaining.
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… Tim Curry as Hexxus in FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Jonathan Freeman as Jafar in Aladdin, Gilbert Gottfried as Iago in Aladdin, Shuichiro Moriyama as Porco Rosso in Porco Rosso, Robin Williams as Genie in Aladdin
And the winner is… Robin Williams as Genie in Aladdin!
Okay, so I said that there is one category in which the competition wasn’t really close.. this is that category. Robin Williams runs away with this in a landslide, bringing home some much-deserved Oscar gold. Yes, obvious criticism up front, an argument could be made that this is simply Williams doing his schtick which is no different than if he was doing one of his standup routines, but that doesn’t really matter. His passion for the role, the energy that he injects into every scene, and his creativity with the character still makes this absolutely iconic. He delivers the right level of emotion to work with every impactful scene throughout the film as it correlates to Aladdin’s hero’s journey, he gives us an outstanding vocal performance in multiple songs that are still ear worms to this day several decades later, and gives us some of the greatest jokes that we’ve ever seen in animated films — those that work for kids, and those that work on an entirely different level for adults. It is my absolute honor to bestow Williams this much deserved Oscar for Best Voiceover or Motion Capture Performance.
Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast
Given to the best overall ensemble cast performance.
And the nominees are… A Few Good Men, Glengarry Glen Ross, A League of Their Own, Reservoir Dogs, Unforgiven
And the winner is… A League of Their Own!
In the complete opposite vein of Williams absolutely running away with it, let me present to you the closest competition that I’ve ever done in the history of this series. The amount in which I wrestled with this decision is insane. This is the definition of a category, with these particular nominees, in which every single option is valid. Everyone deserves to win, and they’re all screwed over by the fact that they came out in the same year, so only one of them can take home the gold. It’s a damn shame, especially because I love all these movies, and would really like to give each of them the honor. But alas, I’m giving it to A League of Their Own. I love the chemistry we see in a courtroom, in a sales pit, with guns drawn in an abandoned warehouse, or with guns drawn in an old western saloon that we get with all our other nominees, but it’s A League of Their Own that stands above the rest. It’s the display of rivalry in the sisterhood of Geena Davis and Lori Petty. The anti-establishment nature of Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell, and how they clash with everyone else on the team. It’s the small roles like John Lovitz as the scout, Bill Pullman as the husband returning from war, and David Strathairn’s internal battle about the conflict between morality and capitalism. But most of all, it’s about how all of these pieces come together to form one hell of a great picture. It’s about the way these women bounce off one another in the dugout, or the relationships they foster, and so much more that resonates so powerfully. That’s to say nothing of Tom Hanks, who acts his butt off, and goes through one of the biggest character arcs of the movie as an individual, but how that arc affects everyone else around him to change the dynamic of the entire film. Every character seems unique and every relationship truly works because of these astounding performances. On any given day I could give this Oscar to any of these nominees. They all deserve it. But today, I am proud to give it to A League of Their Own.
Best Directorial Debut
Given to the best achievement in direction by a debut directing talent for film.
And the nominees are… David Fincher for Alien 3, Brian Henson for The Muppet Christmas Carol, Ang Lee for Pushing Hands, Baz Luhrmann for Strictly Ballroom, Robert Rodriquez for El Mariachi, Quentin Tarantino for Reservoir Dogs
And the winner is… Quentin Tarantino for Reservoir Dogs!
This was surprisingly close as well! Although it may not seem like it on the surface, because in a lot of people’s eyes Quentin Tarantino should probably run away with this, there’s a lot of high-quality work going on here. But I am going to end up giving it to Tarantino, as I do believe he stands just above the rest. Of course with his unique stylings, distinctive dialogue, utilization of the timeline, and great connection with his cast to pull out tremendous performances, this movie clicks so damn well. Tarantino offers a distinct vision and voice in his very first outing that demands your attention. You go back and watch this film now, and it’s no wonder he went on to have such an illustrious career. From his understanding of character, to the pacing of his story, to the way he sets up a scene in a generic abandoned warehouse, everything is established properly and with such foresight to best service the film as a whole. I’m happy to give this Oscar to Quentin Tarantino for his impeccable work with Reservoir Dogs.
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… Aladdin, Basic Instinct, A Few Good Men, A League of Their Own, Sister Act
And the winner is… A Few Good Men!
I was tied up in knots as to who I was going to give this big award to as well. You have an animated classic with memorable characters, vocal performances, and songs; an erotic thriller (a virtually extinct genre of film by today’s standards) that set the world on fire with one of the most infamous scenes in ‘90s cinema; an empowering film about women during wartime hoisting up a baseball bat as their rivet gun; you even have a heartwarming and entertaining comedy about faith, the gangster life, and music. All of these films captivated audiences in big ways. But I have to give it to A Few Good Men, as it went above and beyond the competition. In terms of box office, Aladdin clearly takes the cake, as it made $217.3 million domestically, and the next closest film was approximately $50 million beneath that. But it was the fifth place flick, A Few Good Men, that really got audiences buzzing. It was the focus of water cooler conversations everywhere, it made “Code Red” a colloquial term, and got people quoting, “You can’t handle the truth!” in everyday conversation. It raked in $141 million at the domestic box office, which is in and of itself no small feat. In total, the movie made $243 million at the worldwide box office. It truly resonated with audiences. This is all the more impressive when you consider that the film is an intense legal drama, and an R-rated one at that, which naturally limits its box office potential. Pretty crazy that the movie did so well under those conditions.
But it wasn’t just a box office success either; oh no. A Few Good Men was also a critically acclaimed film that garnered four different Academy Award nominations, including a Supporting Actor nom for Jack Nicholson and a Best Picture nom overall. Although it didn’t take home the gold for anything it was nominated for, these nominations clearly show how much it was appreciated by critics. I know that an argument could be made here for Aladdin, again, seeing as how it received five nominations, and even took home two wins. But A Few Good Men definitely saw the love in the above the line categories that Aladdin never achieved. I don’t say this to crap all over Aladdin, because I genuinely love that film, and it’s one of my top five favorite Disney Animation Studio features of all time, but I say this to illustrate the difference in praise that critics saw between the films back in when they were released 30 years ago. Even when regarding legacy, A Few Good Men is still considered one of the best legal dramas of all time. A courtroom thriller that grabs your attention and never lets go. It is endlessly rewatchable and relentlessly quotable. I know this could be a controversial article because I had to pick so many favorites over other people’s favorites, but I stand by these decisions, and hope you see where I’m coming from. So with that said, I’m very proud to give A Few Good Men the Best Popular Film Oscar.
Thanks for joining me on another trip down memory lane to see what could’ve been! We got to see one of the greatest courtroom legal thrillers of all time, a Best Picture-winning western with some legendary performances, and one of the most iconic vocal performances of all time. Be sure to come back next month when we look at films like Jurassic Park, The Fugitive, and Schindler’s List. Next time we’ll return for the Oscars of 1994, celebrating the films of 1993!
You can read more from Heath Lynch, and follow him on Letterboxd