Tao of Pauly

Is Sideways Star Not Enough of a Star?


Thomas Hayden Church and Paul Giamatti in Sideways

No Giamatti Nomination is an article that appeared on Salon.com. Here's a bit:

So what happened? The answer that makes those close to the underappreciated actor most comfortable is that it was a terribly heavy year for best actor candidates. If Tom Cruise and Javier Bardem and Jim Carrey couldn't make it, how could Giamatti? There is some truth to this theory, while in the supporting actor category, the pickings were so slim that Alan Alda got nominated for playing Alan Alda for roughly 10 minutes. It could also be that he is still too young and not a big enough star to be getting nominations just for being a great actor. As bald as he is, Giamatti is just 37 years old. This didn't stop Jamie Foxx, who is six months younger than Giamatti, with a much shorter resume, from being nominated. But Foxx had "The Role."

"The Role" supersedes all the rules of Oscar history. Playing a legendary musician who likes heroin. Playing a girl who is pretending she is a boy. Being a gorgeous blonde who puts on 40 pounds and some freckly make-up to play a killer lesbian. Cha-ching! Paul Giamatti plays a regular guy who isn't very happy. He doesn't kill anyone. He doesn't have sex on screen. He doesn't shoot up or get sick or wear a wig. He drinks wine, complains a lot and wears ugly shoes. "Sideways" offered the role of his career so far, but it isn't "The Role."

Thanks to Haley for sending me the article. Jamie Foxx probably deserves an Oscar for his performance in Ray, but Paul Giamatti deserved at least a nomination for his stellar work in Sideways. He still makes me laugh over his portrayal of Harvey Pekar in American Splendor.