This movie is currently streaming on Netflix Instant until tomorrow, January 1, 2012.
It is a send-up of Hollywood, particularly the Academy Awards, and the political machinations and emotional drama that is inherent in receiving a nomination and perhaps the coveted award. In this instance, Marilyn Hack (Catherine O'Hara), Victor Alan Miller (Harry Shearer), and Callie Webb (Parker Posey), all actors in a small (quite dreadful) independent film, hear through random comments (a blogger, a morning d.j., a Hollywood gossip show) that they are Oscar contenders. The film shows how one comment, if repeated enough, can create a buzz that then is perceived as reality.
I really loved Catherine O'Hara's performance in this movie. She plays an older actress, someone who's actually quite shy with memory problems and a grandiose sense of her dramatic ability. She becomes completely unglued in this process. This is a denouement explored with gusto. It's a really compelling performance, one that I think should have been recognized by the Academy. It's something really to see.
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