Thursday, January 22, 2009

Does Heath Ledger's Joker deserve the last laugh?


On the one year anniversary of his passing....Heath Ledger is nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of the joker. Let me be the first to say that I thought he was a great talent with a body of work that started with teeny bopper crap and ended with more meaty roles worthy of his promise as an actor. I do however feel that we shouldn't give him the golden dude just because he's dead....especially when there are other actors on the nominee list whose careers could benefit by winning the best supporting actor nod.


Consider Robert Downey Jr. for a moment. Here is a guy that has fought his own personal battle with drugs and alcohol and lived to tell the tale. His rise back to the creme of the acting crop is feature film worthy itself. Yes, the extreme method actor Kirk Lazarus that he plays in "Tropic Thunder" is ridiculous, but is it more so than a guy playing a comic book character with green hair and messy clown make up?
Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus playing Sgt. Lincoln Osiris
Or what about Josh Brolin? His performance as Dan White in "Milk" gives us an interesting glimpse of the man who in the 70's assassinated gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Surely this insight into a piece of history that many people were perhaps not aware of should be considered when deciding.


Brolin and Sean Penn in "Milk"

4 comments:

  1. WITH ALL DOO RESPECT TO THE GUYS RUNNING FOR THE OSCAR, I THINK THAT HEATH'S PERFORMANCE IS A UNIQUE PSICHOPATH ROLE. HE MANAGED TO DELIVER WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE CRIME MASTERMIND AND AT THE SAME TIME A GUY WHO IS MENTALLY ILL. WITH ALL DO RESPECT TO YOU I THINK THAT YOU SHOULD SEE THE FILM AT LEAST TWO MORE TIMES AND ANALYSE HIS PERFORMANCE ONES AGAIN. BEST WISHES K. NONEVSKI

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  2. I have to agree with markuswelbymd, yes Keith Ledger did a great job as the joker, but there are actors out there who have been through hell and back,or who have went from the top and fallen hard to the group..and worked there way back to the top, those are the actors that honestly deserve the award. As for the other comment, I have seen The Dark Knight alot of times and he does do a good job.. but giving the reward to him cause he died isnt right. Downing Jr is on a role with his movies since Ironman.

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  3. When i said that Heath should have the award i didn't ment that he should get it because he died, but because he did maybe the most amusing psichopath role ever... i agree that u could have your own opinion. Best wishes man.

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  4. If he wins the Oscar it won't be because he died. He is well-deserving of the award.

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