Queen Latifah and that 2003 Oscar Nomination

I was quite surprised when, in 2003, King Queen Latifah was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Matron Mama Morton in Chicago. It was unbelievable, really. She did her job. Nothing more. Her performance was neither great nor Oscar-worthy.

Comments

[johnny wishbone]

short and sweet.. i like it.. i am thinking they gave her that nomination a) to make up for missing her in set it off, c) to make her more "palpable" for the academy and hollywood to push her to the masses and 4)they needed a black face that year

[theblackactor.com]

Yup, Johnny...

I'm thinking (c) and (4); DEFINITELY C! lol

[LaJane Galt]

The supporting nod is almost a default black prize.

[theblackactor.com]

@ LaJane

I think you're prolly right.

[Kimi]

I do agree, love the Queen but didn't think her performance was anything special, she's done better work (Set It Off - altho I'm not convinced the powers that be care about making up for that one). The character itself isn't anything special imho no matter who played it.

Definitely cosign w/Wishbone on (c) & (4).

What was also off the hook (and a diss to all of the other nominees in that category, imho) was Michael Douglas presented the award. When that happened any hope of Latifah winning was lost lol.

The academy may as well just skipped the formalities & had Michael Douglas say straight up "Ya'll know my wife got this, right? Good night!"

[invisiblewoman]

It's funny; I kinda feel that way about her whole one-note career.

[Angela]

I haven't seen "Set It Off" in a while, so I must say I agree with IW. Queen really hasn't done anything besides play a quieter version of Mo'Nique--the sassy, BBW that borders on "Magical Negro" territory. Her performance in "Stranger Than Fiction" (a really good movie) was subdued enough, but in the process, her acting was really wooden and revealed how small her range is as an actor.

[theblackactor.com]

@ IW

I gotta examine her more but from what I've seen, I'm inclined to agree witchu, IW!

@ Angela

I haven't seen that in a while either but I thought she was pretty good in it. [BTW, I tried to leave a comment on your site but I had to sign up for something, blah blah blah, so I was unable to leave the comment.]

LMAO - "quieter version of Mo'nique" ha ha ha. BBW, Magical Negro. LOL

[Orville]

I thought Queen Latifah should of won the Oscar although her role was kind of stereotypical. I definitely believe nepotism was the reason Catherine Zeta Jones won. I thought it was so corny how fake Queen Latifah was when Zeta Jones won she was all smiles and overdoing it.
Some people say this was Queen Latifah's breakthrough performance.

I just felt that Zeta Jones didn't deserve the win there was something false about her performance. Zeta Jones according to the media reports I have read is upset that Hollywood won't pay her $10 million dollars salary. And I agree with the studio executives. Zeta Jones has not proven she is a leading lady at all. Being married to Michael Douglas helped Zeta Jones win that Oscar.

[invisiblewoman]

Angela--that was a GREAT observation ...also, I saw 'Stranger Than Fiction" as well and had forgotten she was in it. Your thoughts on her performance were spot on.

[Concerned Black Filmmaker]

" Her performance was neither great nor Oscar-worthy." -- TheBlackActor

Agreed.

In fact, the producers of "Chicago" should give their Best Picture Oscars to the producers of "The Pianist." Go ROMAN!!!

[theblackactor.com]

@ Concerned

Know what; I never saw that. But I will!

[Concerned Black Filmmaker]

TheBlackActor

Please tell me when you do. I would like to see what you think.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Concerned

I will. :)

[ClubPenguinCheats]

The character itself isn't anything special imho no matter who played it.