LEAST deserving Best Actress Winner - 1990s edition
So we move into the 1990s with our weekly poll to determine the least deserving winner of the BA Oscar.
As a poster on the previous thread pointed out, we're moving a little away from roles which would traditionally have been rewarded and see more popular acts winning, plus the rise of overt campaigning at The Oscars in general.
Nevertheless, please clear your mind of who else was nominated (or not nominated!) and only judge from the 10 listed here - which single performance is the least impressive to you?
As always, please add your thoughts to the comments below..
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 30 | June 8, 2023 4:56 PM
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There’s no apostrophe in Howards End.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | May 30, 2023 9:52 PM
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Sorry R1 I knew I'd make a mistake somewhere. At least it isn't as egregious as misspelling "Katharine" Hepburn in a previous poll!
by Anonymous | reply 2 | May 30, 2023 11:09 PM
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Some people think Swank in Boys Don't Cry was less deserving than Helen Hunt?
by Anonymous | reply 3 | May 30, 2023 11:10 PM
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Gwyneth Paltrow by a country mile.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | May 30, 2023 11:33 PM
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It's amazing that Hunt was nominated, let alone won. Like Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook."
by Anonymous | reply 5 | May 30, 2023 11:54 PM
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How exactly did Helen Hunt win? Her performance is so pedestrian. Did she have some big scene I'm forgetting? Not like the movie was a masterpiece either.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | May 30, 2023 11:55 PM
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Kathy Bates won the previous poll for MOST deserving winner btw
by Anonymous | reply 7 | May 31, 2023 9:34 PM
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Gwyneth deserved it more than Helen. Hunt was up against four British actresses (Winslet for Titanic, Dench for Mrs Brown, Julie Christie for Afterglow and Helena Bonham Carter for Wings of the Dove), so maybe there was a vote-splitting situation there? Pretty sorry group of nominees overall -- who remembers any of those movies besides Titanic?). I'd call Winslet the most deserving.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | May 31, 2023 9:54 PM
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R8, Julie Christie was my choice that year. She was magnificent.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | May 31, 2023 9:55 PM
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I don't think Helen Hunt should have won, R6, but she had a couple of big scenes. She gets to yell at Jack Nicholson several times, she panics over her son's health problems, and she gets to curse out HMOs.
She plays the most sympathetic and relatable character out of the five nominees by far, so even though it's the least interesting performance nominated that year, it still makes total sense why Oscar voters would choose her.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | May 31, 2023 10:16 PM
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Haven't seen Afterglow R9, will have to watch it.
R10 I take your points and they make sense, I guess compared to the other 9 winners of the 90s Helen's performance just seems quite straightforward and plain
by Anonymous | reply 11 | May 31, 2023 11:22 PM
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I think Helen also benefited from having been in the industry from a very young age, like Jodie Foster.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | May 31, 2023 11:26 PM
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Helen Hunt or Jessica Lange.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | June 1, 2023 12:27 AM
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They started out with very worthy winners til about halfway through, then I disagree with some such as McDormand, Hunt, Paltrow
by Anonymous | reply 14 | June 1, 2023 6:07 AM
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Sarandon was a career award and the weakest of the 5 nominations. She shouldn’t have even been nominated for a tv movie that has been completely forgotten.
Julianne Moore, Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Isabelle Huppert and of course Kathy Bates for Dolores were all more worthy of recognition.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | June 7, 2023 10:35 PM
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Sarandon is very good in Dead Man Walking, but it was a career award and happened because she had the right competition. Meryl and Emma already had Oscars (and Emma was guaranteed to take home the Screenplay award), while Academy voters were probably hesitant to give an Oscar to Elisabeth Shue or Sharon Stone.
It does seem unfair that one of the weakest Best Actress lineups in history was followed by such a stacked year. The performances that R16 mentioned all could have been far more competitive the year before.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | June 7, 2023 11:04 PM
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Should have won:
Bates
Foster
Thompson
Bassett
Lange (or Moore/Kidman is Safe or To Die For were released earlier)
Streep
Watson
Dench
Montenegro
Swanky
by Anonymous | reply 18 | June 8, 2023 8:34 AM
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Hunt, Foster and Paltrow…troika of Oscar mediocrity.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | June 8, 2023 10:42 AM
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Goop. Should have been Fernanda Montenegro.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | June 8, 2023 10:48 AM
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Paltrow was great in Shakespeare In Love. She played Viola perfectly. A star making performance.
No, it wasn't a performance like Fernanda Montenegro in Central Station but it was a great performance in a great film that has held up well.
Yes she became insufferable very quickly but she deserved award recognition for Shakespeare In Love.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | June 8, 2023 11:05 AM
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I watched "Blue Sky" not too long ago.
While I begrudge Jessica Lange nothing in this world, it is a bad movie.
And she isn't very good in it.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | June 8, 2023 11:12 AM
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I loved Helen Hunt in "Mad About You," but she was horrible in "As Good as it Gets." Her Brooklyn accent came and went, she looked about as much like a working class single mom waitress as Princess Diana, and I didn't buy for a second that a character like hers would be remotely interested in a character like Nicholson's.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | June 8, 2023 11:13 AM
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Helen Hunt's best acting was in "Six Sessions" as a sex surrogate. Brave performance with a lot of empathy. AnnE beat her with her shaved head
by Anonymous | reply 24 | June 8, 2023 11:30 AM
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The answer is Helen Hunt. Looking back, Winslet in titanic is the iconic performance.
Paltrow is excellent in SIL. Star performance. Like Julia Roberts in Erin Brokovitch, hate for the actress clouds judgement.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | June 8, 2023 1:47 PM
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I guess a good guide might be thinking what your top 20 performances of the 90s might be from an Actress. Unfortunately Jessica Lange & Helen Hunt don't make it in for me. Paltrow was really good so I didn't choose her as least deserving even though I don't think she should have won
by Anonymous | reply 26 | June 8, 2023 1:53 PM
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If I could change nominates by one year backwards of forwards I would think the following were deserving
Kathy Bates, Misery
Jodie Foster, Silence Of The Lambs
Emma Thompson, Remains Of The Day (1 year forward)
Angela Bassett, What's Love Got To Do With It
Stockard Channing, Six Degrees Of Separation (1 year later)
Sharon Stone, Casino
Meryl Streep, Bridges of Madison County (1 year later, also for Marvin's Room)
Helena Bonham Carter, The Wings Of The Dove
Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station
Hillary Swank, Boys Don't Cry
by Anonymous | reply 27 | June 8, 2023 3:01 PM
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If I could move movies from their release year:
Bates
Foster
Thompson
Bassett
Kidman - To Die For
Streep
Watson
Moore - Safe
Montenegro
Swank
by Anonymous | reply 28 | June 8, 2023 3:19 PM
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How DARE you! NOBODY deserved that Oscar more than moi! Not even that old Brazilian bitch!
I sucked Harvey Weinstein's hideous, deformed toothpick dick for that Oscar! More than once!!!!
by Anonymous | reply 29 | June 8, 2023 3:35 PM
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If we can just move movies to a different release year, then I'll say that in 1994 the Oscar for Best Actress should have gone to Gena Rowlands for "A Woman Under the Influence."
by Anonymous | reply 30 | June 8, 2023 4:56 PM
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