Friday, March 29, 2024

Oscars: Brendan Fraser and “The Whale” Were Snubbed by Spirit Awards, Freaking Out Film Twitter

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This is hilarious.

I don’t think much of the Spirit Awards, but they did something right for once: they iced out a movie highly touted by bloggers which I didn’t like at all.

The movie is “The Whale” and the star is Brendan Fraser. For some reason, bloggers on Twitter who cover Hollywood just went nuts over this movie. They loved it, and they started promoting Fraser as the next winner of the Oscars’ best actor.

I reviewed “The Whale” finally and found Fraser to be just fine, certainly his best work, although that’s not saying much since his older films were largely teen fare or “The Mummy.” But he is very moving in “The Whale” and deserves a nomination.

The movie, however, I thought was emotionally manipulative and wore itself out. Fraser’s 600 pound character is doomed from the start, so he has no story arc except downward. It was a bit much. (My inappropriate comment is that I’ve been skipping dessert ever since.)

Will the movie and Fraser be nominated for Oscars? Maybe. But the Spirit Awards voters or committees obviously didn’t like it. They just snubbed the whole thing. I’m surprised. I thought it was perfect for them. Very weighty. This is one time I agree with them. But I do think the Oscars will rescue Fraser and the screenplay, despite my not caring for it. In the end, the Academy will probably not even think about the Spirit Awards, which is just right.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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