2012 Calvin Awards: Best Cast
February 14, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The 2012 Calvin goes to the cast of The Help, the 1960s-based race relations film. An almost exclusively female group (blink and you'll miss the majority of the testosterone in the movie), the acting was stellar across the board, bringing to life both the heroines and the villains of Jackson, Mississippi. Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain are receiving the lion's share of the accolades for the film, but it certainly couldn't have had the impact it did without the additional excellent work from Emma Stone, Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ahna O'Reilly and Cicely Tyson. Each performance had its own nuances, and it was critical that the film’s direction bring it all together for the story to have the impact it did. Judging from audience reaction, The Help did have that impact, and we expect people to fondly remember this movie and its outstanding cast for years to come.
The Help won by just a hair, as only four votes separated it from third place. That means that our runner-up, Midnight in Paris, just barely missed out at winning the whole shebang. This Woody Allen joint boasted a top-of-the-line cast, with a central group (playing characters from the present) that included Woody Allen, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, and Kurt Fuller. It’s the character actors who portrayed the group from the 1920s who really make the movie pop, though. Corey Stoll almost steals the show as Ernest Hemingway, and Adrien Brody makes a terrific Salvador Dali. Other “past” performers who had the opportunity to shine were Marion Cotillard (as love interest Adriana), Alison Pill (as Zelda Fitzgerald), Yves Heck (as Cole Porter), Tom Hiddleston (as F. Scott Fitzgerald) and Kathy Bates (as Gertrude Stein).
Bridesmaids finishes in third place, just a hair behind Midnight in Paris. It’s tough to piece together the perfect comedy ensemble group for a film, particularly when much of the dialogue is actually improvised. Kristen Wiig leads the crew, of course, as Annie, the bridesmaid who is resenting every moment of what’s happening to her. She’s ably supported by Maya Rudolph, who plays Annie’s best friend and bride, along with the other bridesmaids – Wendi McLendon Covey, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper and of course Melissa McCarthy, who is over-the-top but hilarious as Megan. We also can’t omit the performances by Chris O’Dowd, who plays Wiig’s love interest, and Jill Clayburgh, in her final role before she passed away.
Next up in fourth is Drive, which features a central performance by Ryan Gosling that’s deserving of all the attention it receives. His supporting players are crucial to the film’s ability to deliver on what it promises, though, particularly because the pacing is…not what you might expect. Carey Mulligan shows once again that she deserves mention amongst the finest young actresses working today, while Albert Brooks has a wholly menacing turn as a gangster (whose true personality emerges very slowly over the course of the film). Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, Oscar Isaac and Christina Hendricks are critical players as well.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 rounds out the top five. Through the eight films that have made up this series, we’ve seen practically a who’s who of British performers. Of course, the focus has always been the kids, who grew up before our very eyes on the big screen. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson make up the core group, of course, but the last film also relied upon fine work from Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy). As for the adult roles, Alan Rickman continued to shine as Snape, while Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter were consistently easy to hate.
Sixth and seventh place go to two films that bear absolutely no resemblance to one another, The Debt and Crazy, Stupid, Love. The Debt had two sets of actors portraying the same characters, the younger version of the group from 1966 and the elder group 30 years later as these events are recounted. The youth set is led by Jessica Chastain, who apparently was trying to star in every movie released in 2011, along with Marton Csokas and Sam Worthington. Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson and Ciaran Hinds portray the “modern-day” versions of the same characters. It’s tough to bridge that gap, and both sets of performers did an outstanding job of it. As for Crazy, Stupid, Love, a fabulous ensemble worked extremely well together to bring us an understated, charming comedy. Steve Carell and Julianne Moore are at the forefront, with Emma Stone, Analeigh Tipton, Jonah Bobo, Marisa Tomei, John Carroll Lynch and Kevin Bacon all featured in supporting turns. Of course, it’s Ryan Gosling once again who delivers a character to remember, as his Jacob Palmer will be memorable for oh so many reasons – and only 10% attributable to his abs!
Our final spots in the top ten go to The Artist, Super 8 and Moneyball. The Artist has a smaller cast, but each person plays their role to perfection. Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo are absolute revelations, but smaller roles for John Goodman, James Cromwell and Missy Pyle are key to the film’s success – not to mention a little dog named Uggie. It’s all about the kids for Super 8, as director JJ Abrams was able to coax fine performances from Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Gabriel Basso, Riley Griffiths and Ryan Lee. Also, Kyle Chandler and Ron Eldard weren’t so bad themselves, even if they are older than 14. Finally, everyone knows how good Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill are in Moneyball, but the film also relies on strong supporting turns from Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright and Chris Pratt.
Just missing out on spots in the top ten were Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, X-Men: First Class, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Attack the Block.
The Calvins: An Introduction
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Album
Best Cast
Best Character
Best Director
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Best Videogame
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture