My Mom’s 2017 Oscar Picks
Welcome to the 5th Annual edition of “My Mom’s Oscar Picks.” Please know that my mother takes this interview very seriously and prepares for it every year by seeing as many of the nominated films as possible. She often tries to talk to me about these films right after she’s seen them but I have to cut her off with “Save it for the blog, ma!” Now, at long last, we can finally rip La La Land to shreds. So, without further ado, please enjoy my Mom’s 2017 Oscar Picks.
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Mom: So, we’re ready to do my interview. But I have some comments.
Me: You have comments before we start?
Mom: Yes. As you know, I enjoy going to the movies tremendously…
Me: I do know this.
Mom: I read the reviews. I choose the movies I want to see and I pay my money. Sometimes I rent them. So I’m a different kind of reviewer, from the people who don’t have to do any of that…
Me: You’re saying you work for it? Unlike professional film critics who are given special opportunities to see all of the films.
Mom: Exactly. When I go to a film, I take it very seriously. And I must admit, every year the films are getting better, there’s a tremendous variety. That’s the positive note. Now, on a negative note: films have become too long.
Me: I agree!
Mom: I think any film that goes over the 2 hour mark is losing the audience. It is not good.
Me: I could not agree more, mother.
Mom: So that’s my comment. We can begin now.
Me: Great! Once again, I want to thank you for joining me for this interview. And I want you to know that your fans have been very anxious. They were worried that perhaps they missed this post…these are just 2 individuals, by the way…
Mom: [laughs loudly] Two people! That’s not bad…
Me: And I assured your 2 fans that they hadn’t missed the post and that we were doing this interview on Saturday…
Mom: [continues laughing]
Me: So every year I like to start the interview with some self disclosure about which nominees we saw and which nominees we didn’t see. As you said, unlike the professionals, we aren’t provided with screeners. That limits what we are able to see and not see.
Mom: Exactly.
Me: I’ll go first. Out of the big categories—Best Picture, Best Actor and Actress, Best Director, etc.—this is what I haven’t seen: Lion, Elle, Jackie, Florence Foster Jenkins, and Nocturnal Animals. These omissions will obviously impact my picks.
Mom: Well, let’s look at Best Picture. I’ve seen every film in that category except Hidden Figures, unfortunately. It has not been On-Demand, you can’t even buy it. I would have gone to see it in the theater, but as you know, I’ve had that awful cold-slash-virus. I just didn’t want to take the chance [of spreading the virus].
Me: And you haven’t seen Elle, right?
Mom: No I did not, and I have a comment about that.
Me: Okay we’ll talk about that…Did you see the Meryl Streep film, Florence Foster Jenkins?
Mom: Ohhhhhh, you can’t miss that! She is…well…
Me: Wait, let’s hold off on talking about acting.
Mom: OK. Go ahead.
Me: This year, instead of starting with what we liked the best, let’s start with what we liked the least out of the Best Picture nominees.
Mom: I do not understand why Arrival was even nominated. It was a “blah” movie.
Me: Really?
Mom: I’ve seen better Sci-Tech [Note: She means “scifi”], horror, scary, weird stuff and I’ve liked them all much more than I liked Arrival…You know I had problems just staying and watching it.
Me: I’m with you. I didn’t love it the way so many other people did. It was an interesting story, certainly not a story I’ve seen before. It was beautifully put together—the sound, the cinematography, were all really lovely—but I agree with you that, at times, I had trouble paying attention to it.
Mom: And then when you finally got to the end and realize what it was about? It was just—in my opinion there’s only one word I can think of: silly.
Me: I’m with you.
Mom: I didn’t care for the whole premise of the thing. It was so silly. I’ve seen better stuff in Star Wars! They were up in that thing, and they go up there, and the arm comes out. I think people who like unusual, not-enjoyable films will like it.
Me: What else didn’t you like out of the Best Picture nominees?
Mom: La La Land.
Me: Oh good, can we get started on La La Land?
Mom: So I certainly wouldn’t say “Don’t go see it.” It was interesting and lovely to watch. The best part of the film was the male lead [Ryan Gosling] because he looked fabulous in his clothes.
Me: He does, Mommy!
Mom: And she [Emma Stone]…was inconsequential.
Me: I’m very confused as to why this movie has so many nominations.
Mom: Me too.
Me: There are two possible explanations. First, Academy voters love stories about Hollywood. They go crazy for movies like this. It’s very nostalgic for old Hollywood. I think the other reason is that we haven’t had a lot of musicals recently and people have forgotten what a musical is supposed to be like. This was not a musical. This was a movie where sometimes the actors would sing and dance.
Mom: I don’t know what the justification was. The best part of the film was Ryan Gosling’s clothes and how he looked in them. It was fascinating to watch, I understand, that the two of them were never really dancers or singers. Is that true?
Me: Ryan Gosling, when he was a child, was a singer and dancer. He did the Mickey Mouse Club.
Mom: Oh! 
Me: But it’s not his thing and I think it showed. I think their dancing was very perfunctory. If I’m gonna watch a musical, I want to see beautiful dancing. I want it to look natural. I don’t want to be thinking, as I’m watching, “I wonder how long it took Ryan Gosling to learn this dance?” You don’t think that when you watch Fred Astaire dance. You don’t wonder about how hard Fred Astaire trained.
Mom: Not even close. Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire…The one scene in La La Land that I will almost consider watching again, the one scene that was phenomenal in the whole film, was the opening scene.
Me: On the bridge? Yes.
Mom: I learned later that that take took two whole days to film. They shut down that freeway. Can you believe that? Can you imagine the people who had to use that?
Me: Yeah I thought the opening number was pretty good. It was a true musical opening: you have the characters hanging out and then all of a sudden they start singing about whats going on, there are all these different people joining in and its very natural. It was a great opening and the film never got back there.
Mom: What was different about that, compared to something from years ago, is that they shot it right there on the bridge. It wasn’t “Make a bridge and then we’re going to film this.” I thought that was fascinating and it’s the best thing I can say about La La Land.
Me: I think we’re in agreement. Lets move on from that. What else didn’t you like?
Mom: I was not impressed at all with Hell or High Water.
Me: I really liked that!
Mom: I didn’t care for it.
Me: I don’t think it was one of the Best Pictures of the year.
Mom: That’s what I mean. I decided to watch it because it was finally available to rent. This is not something I would go to see in the theater. Another nominated movie is Hacksaw Ridge.
Me: I hated that movie.
Mom: If you’re into realism and war movies, then it was phenomenal.
Me: Really?
Mom: Ohhh! Yes.
Me: Mom, I whole-heartedly disagree.
Mom: That’s the way it is.
Me: Hacksaw Ridge was my least favorite out of all the Best Picture nominees.
Mom: Oh I know. I’m not saying it was a favorite. I was surprised that I didn’t have a positive feeling about it. But I started thinking about what it is [Mel Gibson] was trying to do.
Me: The story itself—its based on a true story—is fascinating. There’s this man [Desmond Doss] who saves 75 men during single battle. That’s amazing. Having said that, I found the whole film to be very hokey. I thought it was disjointed. There were portions of the movie that were funny, that were out of place, like Vince Vaughan cracking jokes, I thought that was weird. And I thought [Gibson] got way too grisly. I mean, I like gore…
Mom: I do too…
Me: But I thought he reveled in those dead bodies in a way that I don’t think war films should do. It was almost pornographic. You’d see the rats eating the faces of the dead soldiers. It was too much.
Mom: He was trying to show, as realistically as possible, the way that…
Me: [interrupts] But we know! We all know war is horrible!
Mom: If you will recall, you had a lot of criticism about a film I happened to like very very much…
Me: American Sniper?
Mom: Yes.
Me: I didn’t like American Sniper but it was a better movie than Hacksaw Ridge!
Mom: You felt American Sniper glamorized war and this film [starts laughing] did not glamorize war.
Me: No, it did not. But it was just so gory. And it wasn’t necessary because we all know war is hell. [Note: I read All Quiet on the Western Front in my 7th grade English class]
Mom: Maybe this is another criticism: I don’t think [the Academy] should worry about nominating a certain number of films every year. I think they struggled this year.
Me: I agree!
Mom: Arrival should have never been nominated, you hated Hacksaw Ridge…
Me: Right. Why don’t we transition to what we did like?
Mom: I’m going to tell you the one I think should win and then I’m going to tell you the one that I think probably will win.
Me: Okay.
Mom: The one I think should win is Lion. I thought Lion had everything—where it was filmed, the emotion of the child, the filming of it, incredible! And I’m pretty sure it was filmed somewhere in India. [Note: Nana is correct. Principal photography for Lion was shot in Kolkata, India]. And of course the acting was phenomenal. Dev Patel was just amazing. But the movie that will win? Fences. Because Fences is an August Wilson play, and he’s a superb writer. I’ve seen this play on Open Stage here [in Harrisburg, PA]. It’s always been memorable and of course when you add Denzel Washington and Viola Davis..
Me: They were great.
Mom: Yes. But if I were voting as a [member of the Academy]…
Me: And that’s what I’m asking for here, for the film you liked the best…
Mom: Then it’s Lion.
Me: So this is unfortunate, mom, because both of our Best Picture picks are the one nominee that the other hasn’t seen.
Mom: Awww.
Me: Because my Best Picture pick is Hidden Figures, and I will tell you why. For me, the Best Picture has to hit every note. It has to be well-made, well-acted, it has to have a good script, the story has to be interesting and important. And what I liked about this film is that it told a remarkable story. When I watched this movie I couldn’t believe that I had never heard about these women working at NASA in the 1960s. How did we not know that these women were so important?
Mom: How did that happen?
[Note: How did this happen? The answer is, of course, racism]
Me: So that’s one reason I loved it. The other reason is that the story is told well. The women in the movie are incredibly charming—I don’t think any of them deserve acting an award because no one performance stood out to me. Best Picture winners tend to be inspiring, profound. For me, the movie that I came out of the theater and felt really great about, is Hidden Figures.
Mom: That’s how I felt about Lion. But I am going to see Hidden Figures next week.
Me: You should. And I’m going to see Lion. Let’s move on and talk about two other movies we haven’t talked about much, but that we both liked. The first is Manchester by the Sea.
Mom: Oh yeah.
Me: You liked it, but its not your pick.
Mom: No. Lion, especially, is better. Casey Affleck is not going to get Best Actor. In the beginning [of Awards season], there was a lot of publicity and hype. But it’s never gonna happen this year because, guaranteed, there will be a black actor chosen for Best Actor. I’ll wager you five dollars.
Me: Are you saying that because you think [Denzel Washington] doesn’t deserve it and he’s just going to win because he’s black?
Mom: Well last year, all that hype [she is referring to the 2016 “Oscars So White” campaign] was unwarranted.
Me: It was warranted.
Mom: The only black actor who wasn’t nominated last year but should have been was the guy who was in the Grateful Dead.
Me: What?
Mom: He was a supporting actor in the Grateful Dead.
Me: The Grateful Dead? The band?
Mom: Oh wait, I mean, The Hateful Eight.
Me: Jesus Christ, mom.
Mom: [laughing]
Me: That was Samuel L. Jackson. But I do disagree with you here, mom. Every year, not just last year, the films with the most hype generally have all white casts and directors. So we’re going to have to agree to disagree. But my question to you was about Manchester by the Sea and what you thought of it.
Mom: I enjoyed it. I don’t know that I enjoyed it as much as my friends did. It was a very dark movie.
Me: It was!
Mom: You know I love violence, like Quentin Tarantino violence, but I don’t love realistic violence, like children dying in fires. I get very very upset with stuff like that.
Me: I agree with you on Manchester by the Sea. It was very well done but it was a tough movie to watch. I saw it as part of a double feature with Fences…
Mom: Ohhhh…
Me: I cried—and I’m not exaggerating here—from the halfway point in the film, where we find out what’s happened to the children—until the final frame, I sobbed like a baby. But I did enjoy it. It deserves a Best Picture nomination. I especially like that the story ends—not with Affleck’s character being redeemed and fixed, but with him still broken. He’s just going to live his life.
Mom: It was realistic.
Me: It was so realistic, and I appreciated that. So, good for them. Now let’s talk about Moonlight. Again, I thought this was a beautifully done film, it was a story you don’t hear very often—love stories involving black gay men—it’s not a story that is told by mainstream cinema. I appreciated that. It wasn’t my favorite movie of the year, but I really did like it.
Mom: Oh it was just wonderful. It was my second favorite of the year, after Lion. That was so well done. I’ve never seen a film where 3 different actors play
one role, plus the mother of the boy [Naomie Harris]. She starts out at the beginning as a normal nurse’s aid, and then you see her in the 2nd part, when she gets down into drugs, and then the 3rd part, where she’s older and in that rehab center. She was phenomenal. That’s gonna be a tough one for me to call.
Me: I’m with you. My pick for Best Picture is Hidden Figures, but if I had to pick a second, it would be Moonlight or Manchester by the Sea.
Mom: Oh Moonlight! It was so different! That’s one where you put a star on top for being an unusual film. It was so creative. I don’t know how much is grossed…
Me: Neither do I.
Mom: But it was one of the best.
Me: There we are in agreement. Let’s get into the acting awards. I think it’s gonna come down to two people: Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea and Denzel Washington for Fences.
Mom: And it better not be Ryan Gosling.
Me: I agree. Because I saw Fences and Manchester by the Sea on the same night, I could really compare those two performances. I gotta say, for me, it’s a draw. Both actors gave superb performances and they were very different roles. One was a big, loud man who is always telling stories and is full of bluster [Fences]. The other is this quiet, withdrawn role [Manchester by the Sea]. But I loved both. Who is your pick for Best Actor? Are you just gonna say Dev Patel and bypass the whole system?
Mom: No. Denzel is going to win.
Me: But who do you think did a better job: Casey or Denzel?
Mom: [long pause] They were such different roles. But Denzel showed deep remorse and sadness in his performance, but he also showed how you could be upbeat, to laugh and enjoy a marriage. Casey Affleck was just morose. I’m trying to remember: was there any point when he laughed?
Me: In the flashbacks with the wife and kids.
Mom: I have to give it to Denzel this year.
Me: What about Best Actress? Here I have to confess that I’m very ill-equipped for this category, because I have not seen 3 out of 5 performances.
Mom: I saw all of them but Elle.
Me: My pick is Ruth Negga from Loving. In fact this is a movie that should have been nominated for Best Picture over La La Land and Hacksaw Ridge.
Mom: I didn’t see Elle, so I’m going to say that one.
Me: Tell me why Ruth Negga doesn’t deserve it.
Mom: I just wasn’t moved by her performance.
Me: Didn’t you see her as this quiet Southern girl who is in love and then finds herself at the center of this history-making Civil Rights case? I can’t believe the man who played her husband [Joel Edgerton] wasn’t nominated. He was great, too.
Mom: I kept falling asleep. I watched it when I still wasn’t feeling that well.
Me: I was really moved by the film. Her performance was quiet and sub
tle, but very moving.
Mom: Well, I’m gonna take a stab at something—its never gonna happen—but you really must see Florence Foster Jenkins…Meryl Streep is a genius. There isn’t another actor out there, male or female, who compares. [The Academy] at least nominated her, which she deserves.
Me: But she won’t win. She’s won too many times. She has enough Oscars. They need to just retire her from the Oscars. She can still be in movies, but no more Oscars. It’s not fair. So you’re saying your pick is Meryl Streep?
Mom: No, my pick is Isabelle Huppert in Elle.
Me: Even though it’s the one film you didn’t see?
Mom: Right.
Me: Okay! Moving on to Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Mom: This is a tough one. It’s between Mahershala Ali in Moonlight, and of course, Dev Patel. I’m going with Dev Patel because his performance blew me away.
Me: I’m going to totally blow your mind and go with Lucas Hedges from Manchester by the Sea. The whole time I’m watching the movie I’m asking myself “Who is this kid? Where did he come from?” He was perfect. How about Supporting Actress?
Mom: This is another tough one. Let me tell you who should win: Naomie Harris. I felt furious with her character, but I also felt sympathy for her. But I think Viola Davis will win.
Me: My pick is Viola Davis. I feel like I’ve seen the Naomie Harris character before: the drug-addicted single mom looking for redemption, etc. But Viola Davis’ character was new to me: a late in life marriage to a man she loves but also disagrees with a lot. And maybe it had something to do with the way it was filmed: it really showcased her acting.
Mom: She’s great in anything she’s in.
Me: We’ve covered the major categories but I do have a follow up question for you: are you disappointed that Leonardo Dicaprio wasn’t nominated for anything this year?
Mom: Well, I don’t think he was in anything this year.
Me: That doesn’t matter.
Mom: [laughs]
Me: Any final thoughts?
Mom: I’ve enjoyed watching the films. It gets even more interesting with your chosen field [film professor] because we can have pretty good discussions about this. It’s a joy.
My Mom’s other 2017 Oscar picks:
Cinematography: La La Land
Costume Design: Florence Foster Jenkins
Director: Moonlight
OG Bae of All Time: Leonardo Dicaprio
If you’d like to read my Mom’s previous Oscar Picks, click:
judgmental observer 
February 25, 2017 at 5:42 pm
Great read! Mrs. Klein and daughter make some very good observations. Our tastes do diverge somewhat. Some of my favorites were films you panned. I liked Arrival quite a bit (and am a big fan of French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve). I totally agree with you on Moonlight being a unique and great film. And I *DID* like La La Land!!! But best picture of the year for me was Nocturnal Animals.
February 25, 2017 at 7:36 pm
Count me among one of the two fans! Or maybe that makes three?
February 25, 2017 at 9:01 pm
I always enjoy reading this every year too, even though I’ve seen only like two films this year! This gives me a good idea of which ones I should rent as they come out and what to expect.
February 28, 2017 at 9:48 am
i read her oscar picks last year and returned for this year’s, and i’m definitely staying tuned for her 2018 oscar picks – so that’s one more fan for the list!
March 1, 2017 at 3:39 am
Love all of these. Can’t wait for the 2018 Oscar picks! Also, do I have permission to quote this anytime someone asks my opinion on Arrival? “I think people who like unusual, not-enjoyable films will like it.” So perfectly articulated. I thought Hell or High Water was great, though! Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, humor, tricksters sticking it to the system, slight emotional resonance, very strong dialogue, great pacing. Second favorite of the past year after Moonlight.
March 1, 2017 at 11:50 am
I thought “La La Land” and “Jackie” towered above the rest. It’s a rich world when Stone and Portman inhabit it at the same time.