2006 Oscarama!

What's that smell, America? Why, that's Oscar Fever in the air, and yes, it smells a lot like Kenny Roger's Roasters. It's Oscar Season, pure and simple, and as the big night approaches, we should take a moment to root through the nominees, digging for picks to stick and chick flicks to kick. So without further adieu, let's strap on the hip waders and get down to business!


Brokeback Mountin'
Gay, you have a new name, and it's… not coming to me right now. White guy, kind of good looking. Plays a gay guy in— nevermind. While this one will surely win the gay vote in Hollywood, look for staunch resistance from Hollywood's teaming hoards of fundamentalist Christians. Should be a close one, as "Battles of Civilizations" go.

Carpart
This moving biopic about the squeaky-voiced guy who did the voice for my personal-favorite muppet, Carpart, moved viewers and massive quantities of popcorn, so look for it to get strong support from the popcorn lobby, a powerful ally come Oscar time.

Crash
While undoubtably the best Dave Matthews video ever, Hollywood insiders have a hard time taking a four- minute film seriously as a Best Picture contender. And the complete snub of Dave Matthews in the Best Actor category doesn't bode well for this one's chances. Look for it to lock in the frat vote regardless.

Good Night,
and Fuck Off
The man who was born to be Batman, George "Rosemary's Baby" Clooney, thrilled us once again with this moving tale of the rudest AT&T operator to ever wear the smock. Did you know those guys wore smocks? Neither did I, before this movie. Sometimes they did sound kind of smocked-up when I'd call, but I always chalked it up to a bad connection on my end, since I used to keep my phone in the freezer when not in use, to help preserve freshness. Anyway…

Munch
Sure to lock in the art-freak vote, Marilyn Manson's turn as that freaky screaming guy on the bridge brought a lot of attention to this little film about the Norwegian painter who was terrified of cloaked dudes with butcher knives taunting him over the phone. The film's real triumph was lending gravitas to a character crazy enough to be terrified of a scenario involving a device that wouldn't be invented for several more decades. If the academy doesn't go gay this year, this film could take home the little chiseled naked guy.


Philip Dustin Hoffman
Carpart
I don't know how many hours of old Sesame Streets he had to watch to get the voice right, but PDH has done it again, greasing up the screen with his inimitably slouchy appearance. Seriously, if the next Tenacious D album incorporates Muppet-like backing vocals, I'll know their long-lost third member has finally bellied up to the band.

Terrence Howard
Bustle & Float
Proving once again that it ain't over until the fat lady sings an Annie Lennox song, Terrence Howard, better known as Moe from the old Three Stooges shorts, came out of retirement this year and bitch-slapped his way back into our hearts. I'd call him the front-runner for the award even if he wasn't, because I don't want to get my nose twisted in a wrench.

Heath Ledgbar
Brokeback Mountin'
That's right, I knew his name sounded like a candy bar I don't like. But to my embarrassment I've been calling him Baby Ruth all week. Ledgbar and his fellow screen pirate Skor Gylllenhaall, steamed up gay drive-ins across the country with their startlingly believable portrayal of two straight guys pretending to be gay and cowboys. Considering Ledgbar's redneck background, this was especially impressive, because he likely had to kick his own ass every day at the end of filming.

Youaqueen Phoenix
Wok the Lime
Bringing country superstar Johnny Cash's bizarre mid-career period spent as a troubled Asian cooking show host couldn't have been easy, but it had to have been a cakewalk compared to growing up as a man with a first name like You-a-queen, and Phoenix knocks this one out of the park.

David Straighthair
Good Night, and Fuck Off
Don't know who he is, don't know where he came from, but he can be rude to me on the phone any time. 'Nuff said.


Judi Dench
Mrs. Harry and the Hendersons
Didn't see it, smelt it, and that was enough. Good night and fuck off.

Charlie's Theron
North Country
That Ugandan supermodel with the weirdly-possessive first name stuns the easily- stunned glitterati of Hollywood yet again with her amazing transfor- mation into Oliver North, in this well-starched biopic yawner. Kudos to her, and I can't wait to see her upcoming turn as Grimace in the currently-filming McDonaldland movie. Let's hope she takes a break from filming that one to show up at the Oscars, in character!

Akira Nightly
Pride & Prejuice
Thanks for the traditional gag name nominee, Academy! I'll get back to you as soon as I get the gag.

Felicity Huffman
Transamericairlines
That black chick from the WB show nobody every watched finally gets her shot at the big screen, in a movie nobody watched, either, but they had to nominate her in case she was great. Simple enough.

Reese Witherspieces
Wok the Lime
Illegally Blonde star Reese Witherspieces rocks the cazbah with her thrilling turn as Johnny Cash's loyal wife Whatserpieces, nailing the role right down to her pitch-perfect Asian accent and hilarious "Me so haaawwwny!" catch phrase. Oscar, your new name is Whatserpieces!


George Clooney
Silly Anna
The 'cloon was busy this year, writing, directing, acting, and throwing telephones at the help, but some have argued he was nowhere better than in his make-up heavy role as Anna Nichole Smith's 700-year-old millionaire husband, an oil tycoon obsessed with the age-defying nutritive properties of breast milk. I've seen the movie twice (and some parts more than that) and can say with a blasé confidence that he's got the SBA Oscar wrapped up like a deli sandwich to go.

William Hurt
A History of Violence
Now there's a gag nominee I can get behind!


Michelle Williams
Brokeback Mountin'
There was a chick in this movie? Freaky. Whoever she was gets an Oscar automatically in my book, though they might want to piggyback some kind of make-up award onto this one as well, to be fair.


And that's about all we've got time to cover this week, America. There will surely be some other minor awards, for writing, directing, and catering, but I think we've hit all the biggies. And I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see who takes home the nudie! See you there, in the sense that I'll be watching it on TV and you'll be watching it on TV, too, so in some strange way I'll be seeing you through some kind of Matrix cross- networked brain-mesh wave thing. I don't pretend to understand the science of this. Un

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