The REEL Addict 

With the Oscar nomination deadlines looming, entertainment magazines, websites, and blogs are a twitter with speculation over what five films will squeeze by and get the coveted Best Picture nod. Though there are no definitive locks like last year (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN), it seems reasonably certain that THE CURIOS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, MILK and FROST/NIXON will find their way into the final five, with several other contenders (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, THE READER, GRAN TORINO, and DOUBT) vying for those final slots.

There’s one more film that seemed like an absolute certainty: Darren Aronofsky’s THE WRESTLER. There’s just one problem. Nobody is talking about it.

Where the heck is the Best Picture Oscar buzz for THE WRESTLER?

Admittedly, I don’t scour every movie related magazine or website, but I’ve checked out enough to say I’ll be damned if I’ve found many sites that take a moment to stop deservedly gushing about Mickey Rourke’s performance (and Oscar chances) to gush about how damn good the actual movie is. After all, anyone who has seen the film should know that there is a co-dependent relationship between the film and Rourke’s performance. Neither would be as good as they are without the other. Further, it’s not that it’s just good, it’s prime Oscar bait with its heartbreaking, dramatic (with a capital “D”) character study, and its echoing of Rourke’s own comeback story.

Still, nobody seems to be talking about it. Just look at Dave Karger (Entertainment Weekly’s “Oscar Watch” blog author and resident Academy Award expert) who not only fails to rank it in his “The Top 8 Best Picture Contenders,” it doesn’t even merit a predictive inclusion on his “National Board of Review: Predict the Top 10” piece.

Entertainment Weekly is certainly the top entertainment magazine in North America, and certainly an Oscar expert, so the fact that they don’t deem it to be even in the Top 10 Contender has me wondering what the heck is going on here?

Is Dave Karger just over-looking it or even forgetting about it? I doubt it, and in that case, I’d kind of be curious to hear his justification for why it wouldn’t get a nod. Is it because THE WRESTLER’s December 25th release date is delaying the buzz? Is the behind-the-scenes comeback story of Mickey Rourke in THE WRESTLER overshadowing the film itself?

Whatever it is, it better get fixed fast, because if a movie this well regarded can’t make it as one of the five Best Picture nominees, I may just finally have to wash my hand of the Academy Awards completely.