The 1982 Retro Hollmann Awards, Part One

It's the 1982 Retro Hollmann Awards, celebrating the best in cinema 35 years ago!

For full context, remember to check out the Top Ten, which includes a complete list of the film screened. Also, take a look at the Retro Hollmann Awards Nominations, for a complete list of the nominees.

With the exception of Best Ensemble, which doesn't exist at the Oscars, the categories are presented in the same order as they were at the original 55th Academy Awards on April 11, 1983. Shall we begin?

Best Ensemble

Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
Scott Bushnell

2. Fast Times at Ridgemont High; 3. Eating Raoul; 4. Tootsie; 5. Best Friends

If you want an effective cast, have them do the play first! It worked for Fences, and it worked for Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, which transfers the entire cast from the original Broadway production to the big screen. Smart move for a story about women who've known each other 20 years; there's a real sense that everyone not only knows one another but has for decades. An easy, unmistakable familiarity.

In second, the students and faculty of Ridgemont High. In third, the offbeat assemblage of personalities in Eating Raoul. In fourth, Tootsie's New York showbiz types. In fifth, the families at the center of Best Friends.

Steers and Queers: Supporting Actor, 1982

Louis Gossett, Jr., made history at the 1982 Oscars by becoming both only the second African-American man to win an Academy Award (Sidney Poitier was first) and the first to do so for Best Supporting Actor.

(Ok, can I just point out: no, Susan Sarandon, two of those roles could not have been played by women. Preston does one scene at the end of his film in a dress. Fun "drag race" joke, though.)

Supporting Actors come in many forms and flavors. Here are a few of them, taking into account not just 1982's crop, but also the current batch of nominees for the 2017 film year.

The Movie Thief: Though his on-screen time is relatively brief compared to the rest of the cast, his character is unforgettable, the one you leave thinking about. It also helps if he has a big scene, like a monologue or a musical number. For the latter, take Charles Durning's sidestepping guv'nor in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; for the former, Woody Harrelson's sheriff in Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri.

The Tough Love Father Figure: He's not fighting the protagonist, he's making him/her/them a better person - but he's gonna do it with discipline. When his eyes brim with tears at movie's end, that's the cue for the audience to lose its mind. Take Louis Gossett, Jr.'s, drill sergeant in An Officer and a Gentleman or Willem Dafoe's motel manager in The Florida Project.

The Best Friend: There for the protagonist to connect with the way he/she can't with a romantic partner; also there to help hatch and execute any harebrained schemes alongside the hero/ine. Take John Lithgow's trans bestie to Robin Williams in The World According to Garp or Richard Jenkins' gay bestie to Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water.

The Guy You Can't Trust: A worthy adversary, he's not just the charmer - he's the snake as well. Take James Mason's high-powered defense attorney in The Verdict or Christopher Plummer's megalomaniacal billionaire in All the Money in the World.

The Co-Lead: Well, almost - I mean, you can make the argument. He gets just as juicy an arc - and almost as much screentime - as the supposed protagonist. Hell, the movie ends with him! Take Robert Preston's nightclub singer/manager in Victor/Victoria or Sam Rockwell's dim-witted cop in Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri.


The 1982 contenders, after the jump....