Hoo hah!
16 comments February 6th, 2008
Edward Copeland, who runs the Edward Copeland on Film movie blog, conducts a survey each year asking readers to pick the best and worst Oscar winners in various categories. One year it was movies (the best list, with “Casablanca” in the top spot, can be found here; worst list, with “Crash” in the top spot, is here); one year it was actresses (best list, with Vivien Leigh from “Gone With the Wind,” is here; worst list, with Helen Hunt from “As Good As It Gets,” is here); and this year, it’s actors. Marlon Brando takes the top spot on the “best” list for his performance in “On the Waterfront,” and Roberto Benigni takes the top spot on the “worst” list for “Life Is Beautiful.”
Confession: I’ve never seen “Life Is Beautiful” in its entirety, mostly because the scenes I have caught during various stetches of channel surfing made me want to avoid seeing more. But Benigni must be truly awful in “Life Is Beautiful” to beat out the actor who ranked No. 2 on the worst list …
 … Mr. Al Pacino, for “Scent of a Woman.”
To me, this is the worst acting performance I’ve ever seen take the statue. Don’t get me wrong — Pacino can be a great actor. Watch him in “The Godfather” or “The Godfather, Part II” (but not “Godfather Part III,” for god’s sake) and you’ll see a sensitive, talented actor disappearing into a role and finding power in the quiet moments of a performance. Pacino is still capable of that sort of acting — just watch him in “Donnie Brasco” and you’ll catch one of the best performances of the 1990s. But at some point in his career, Al apparently decided to play most of his roles part like they were the “Attica! Attica!” scene from “Dog Day Afternoon” or the “I’m out of order? You’re out of order! This whole court’s out of order!” scene from “And Justice for All.” He became louder, brasher and a much, much worse.
This decline hit rock bottom in 1992’s “Scent of a Woman.” The role — a former soldier who refuses to let his blindness stop him from driving or dancing the tango — would tempt any actor to chew some scenery. With Pacino playing it, it’s a wonder any of Hollywood is still standing.
 And, naturally, it won him the Oscar. A week or so ago, I said on this blog that the academy rarely rewards the most worthy performances/movies. Here’s my proof. A respected actor playing a blind man in a feel-good movie that ended with a big, life-affirming speech (probably the worst scene in the entire film) was just what the Oscar ordered.
 If you want to see who else made Copeland’s list, check out his site. There are some interesting choices in all the categories and smart comments to go with them. And if you want to see a good Al Pacino performance, watch any of the movies I mentioned above. Or “The Insider.” Or “Glengarry Glen Ross.” Or even “The Devil’s Advocate,” which uses Al’s overacting to good effect.
But not “Scent of a Woman. ” Please. Anything but that.
