The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1997
1997 is so simple to recap. Titanic. ‘Nuff said. Whether you agree with the decision or not, you can understand why it won. And why James Cameron won Best Director for it (talked about here). Then Jack Nicholson winning Best Actor for As Good as It Gets, makes sense based on his category. Plus, he was so goddamn enjoyable in the role. Then Best Supporting Actor (talked about here) was Robin Williams for Good Will Hunting, and Best Supporting Actress (talked about here) was Kim Basinger for L.A. Confidential. In all, a solid (and diverse) set of choices.
As for this category, it’s one of those ones that is looked at negatively, after the fact. Not that Helen Hunt wasn’t charming and all, it’s just — she beat Judi Dench. Other people would say Helena Bonham Carter, but most people say Judi. It’s a tough call, the category’s not that strong, and there isn’t really a #1 performance. Although, the current result does help perpetuate a nice bit of trivia, which is — all three times Jack Nicholson has won an Oscar (1975, 1983 and here), his female co-star in the film also won Best Actress for the film. And that coincidence might be worth the result. Maybe. I don’t know. I consider this mostly a blank. Does it really matter so much what happened here?
BEST ACTRESS – 1997
And the nominees were…
Helena Bonham Carter, The Wings of the Dove
Julie Christie, Afterglow
Judi Dench, Mrs. Brown
Helen Hunt, As Good As It Gets
Kate Winslet, Titanic (more…)
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