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Tuesday, 31 January 2006 |
By Dee-Dum
Edited by shrrshrr
 If you were to wake me up at 2:30 in the morning and ask me, “Quick, what is the most heinous injustice in the entire history of the Emmy awards?” my response would be immediate: the fact that not only did Felicity Huffman not win two Emmy awards for Sports Night, she wasn’t even nominated.
Her portrayal of Dana Whitaker, producer of a cable sports update show called Sports Night, created a character who was quirky, intelligent, sexy, insecure, self-absorbed and most of all funny. Her scenes with her sort-of love interest/best friend Casey McCall were (to use a phrase used on the show) smoky, even though I personally think co-star Peter Krause has all the sex appeal of a dead mackerel.
Alas, when it comes to Emmy nominations, low rated comedies on ABC often get little consideration. Yes, two exceptional actresses won Emmys in the two seasons that Sports Night was on, but (with all due respect to Patricia Heaton and Helen Hunt) Felicity Huffman deserved those statues more than they did.
Ms. Huffman worked fairly infrequently after Sports Night, but she finally got another regular prime time gig when she joined the cast of Desperate Housewives. However, with all the hype surrounding the show’s success, she was overshadowed by Teri Hatcher’s “comeback,” Marcia Cross’ quirkier Martha-wanna-be character, and Nicolette Sheridan’s and Eva Longoria’s looks. Even when she snagged an Emmy nomination, everyone predicted a win for Hatcher, or possibly Cross.
But Ms. Huffman fooled everyone and took home the award. And now she is a likely Oscar nominee after winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama for Transamerica. She plays a pre-op man undergoing a sex change; if she wins she’ll be the second woman to win an Oscar playing a man (Linda Hunt was the first for The Year of Living Dangerously). [Editor’s note: Hilary Swank may also be considered in this category for her win as Best Actress playing Brandon Teena in Boys Don’t Cry.] In a year with a weak Best Actress field (when was the last year with a strong field?), her Golden Globe win almost assures her of a nomination.
She’s probably swimming upstream, given that her film is a quirky “indie” type film not aimed at a wide audience. Plus, Reese Witherspoon’s portrayal of June Carter Cash has created an almost irreversible Oscar buzz. On the other hand, with so many gay-themed films contending for Oscars (Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Breakfast on Pluto) maybe there will be the same sort of synergy that created three African-American winners at the 2002 Oscars (Halle Berry, Denzel Washington and honorary winner Sidney Poitier).
In an industry where almost no one is rewarded for their good work, it is refreshing to see a truly great actress finally get the recognition she deserves. But I am worried - if the Emmy voters start getting things right, can the end of the universe be far behind?
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