I never saw Norbit and for that I am eternally grateful as I remember I was in Los Angeles for the 300, Zodiac and Wild Hogs press junkets and it was all anyone was talking about. How Eddie Murphy was going to lose his Oscar for Dreamgirls as a result of how bad the film was and blah, blah, blah… I was wide-eyed just taking it all in. I mean, how could a supposedly great performance in one movie be tainted by a bad movie?
Murphy was nominated for his performance as James ‘Thunder’ Early in Dreamgirls, but didn’t ultimately win, and many attributed it to Norbit as Alan Arkin took home the award in 2007 for Little Miss Sunshine. However, considering the film itself wasn’t nominated for Best Picture is it any real surprise Murphy didn’t end up winning? On top of that, are the Oscars really that petty? I know everyone loves to give the Academy a hard time, but come on.
All that said, a friend asked me recently if I thought the upcoming Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson team-up in Bride Wars could potentially be Anne Hathaway’s Norbit? I brushed it off, saying it seemed people sloughed off Murphy for Norbit not only because it was bad, but because it was apparently offensively bad. Again, I am reporting on what I have been told, but apparently some overweight girl is harpooned in it… am I warm here?
Then I got to thinking (trouble, I know). Bride Wars obviously won’t be offensive and it may not necessarily be bad, but it could be perceived as a sign Hathaway perhaps hasn’t shed that Princess Diaries mold she seemed to fit? The mold Rachel Getting Married and Get Smart to some extent seemed to shed. A mold not prone to excite the Academy. But wait, there’s more…
Rachel Getting Married is a Sony Pictures Classics release and in October Sony Pictures released, but hid from EVERYONE, another Hathaway starrer called Passengers in which she starred with such high-profile names as Patrick Wilson, David Morse, Andre Braugher and even Dianne Wiest. The film was buried by Sony to the tune of $292,437 at the box after 2 weeks and 125 theaters and a 21% RottenTomatoes rating from the 19 reviews counted. Was Sony trying to hide a bad film to protect their Oscar-destined star? Perhaps there is something to this “guilty be association” theory.
Obviously this is all speculation, but if the Academy is so petty as to snub Eddie Murphy for an Oscar – a theory a lot of people subscribe to – what would make anyone think Hathaway’s bounce back to a harmless matrimonial rom-com would be any different for an actress trying to prove she is all grown up?
Here’s the other thing, what is Hathaway competing for? A nomination or a win? I certainly won’t be surprised if she ends up winning and I am still torn as I piece together my Golden Globe predictions as to whether I am going to predict her or Meryl Streep to win. After all, if anyone is going to get the ball rolling Hathaway’s way in that department won’t it be the HFPA? I mean… along with SAG they did give Eddie Murphy the win…
Personally I still don’t think it will matter and think Hathaway could ride Globe and SAG wins to an Oscar win if the wind blows the right direction. However, you weigh in below and let me know what you think.
