As the awards season lumbers toward the Oscars, you can almost envision what might happen when the Academy Awards are finally given out on February. 25. Forest Whitaker will fumble for words and mumble; Eddie Murphy will robotically deliver his list of industry thanks; Jennifer Hudson will work in a hokey use of the word “dream”; and Helen Mirren will pay tribute to the actual queen. This year’s predictability adds a feeling of déjà vu to what was already a dismal situation. The acceptance speech is a weird hybrid, part private thanks to Mom, Dad and spouses, part professional thanks so agents and managers don’t get mad, and part performance. The speeches have been especially repetitious at this year. And with these four actors heavily favored to win Oscars, what can we hope for?Whitaker, the lead actor in The Last King of Scotland, started his speech to the Broadcast Film Critics Awards with, “Wow - wow,” and apparently hasn’t hired a speechwriter since. He ended with a halting list of thanks to his wife and kids, then: “God. My ancestors.” By the Globes that had morphed into the more graceful, “I want to thank God and the ancestors who let me stand on their shoulders every day” Hudson, who might as well be the only nominee for best supporting actress for Dreamgirls, said at the Golden Globes, “I have always dreamed but never ever this big,” and told the Broadcast Critics, “Thank you all for being a part of my dream.” By SAG, she had stopped dreaming. Accepting his SAG award for supporting actor in Dreamgirls, Murphy finally made a stab at humour before launching into his deadly list from previous awards. While sweeping up awards for playing Elizabeth II in The Queen, Mirren told the Golden Globes audience: “I honestly think this award belongs to her. I think you fell in love with her.” She echoed that at the SAG awards (and repeated what she has said on talk shows). “When I did my costume fittings for The Queen, I walked in and I saw those sensible shoes and those tweed skirts laid out in a row and I cried; I thought, I can’t play anyone who chooses to wear those clothes,” she said. Even witty speeches need to be varied, though. If Sacha Baron Cohen should win an Oscar for best adapted screenplay for “Borat,” it will be his third opportunity to make the same joke. “Thank you to every American in this room who has not sued us.” —CARYN JAMES / The New York Times
