Oscar? That’s a laugh

Two of the biggest hits of the year, “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” and “Elf,” were powered by knockout comic acting -- Johnny Depp as a grunge pirate and Will Ferrell as the oversized elf. Their performances, like Bill Murray’s in “Lost in Translation,” Jack Black’s in “School of Rock” and Ellen DeGeneres’ voice work in the animated “Finding Nemo,” excited critics and fans alike. Whether their work can translate into Oscars, however, is another matter entirely. For when it comes to comedies, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, it seems, just hasn’t gotten the joke.

Comic legends such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Danny Kaye and Stan Laurel never won an acting Oscar, and current comedy heavyweights such as Mike Myers, Jim Carrey and Eddie Murphy have been shut out. Still, in a year when laughter ruled at the box office -- six of the 10 top-grossing films so far this year are comedies -- the studios are mounting campaigns for these performances for either the Academy Awards or, at least, the Golden Globes. Variety and the Hollywood Reporter are chock-full of ads promoting comic performances and films along with more serious fare.

The nominations for the Globes, to be announced Thursday by the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., provide the best award hope for most of these performances, because there’s a separate category for comedy. Among the likely contenders for the Globes and possibly the Oscars:

* Murray for his critically acclaimed turn as one of two lost souls in Tokyo who find each other;

* Depp for his over-the-top portrayal of an eccentric pirate captain who’s more Keith Richards than Douglas Fairbanks;

* Farrell for his endearing naif raised by elves, who’s investigating his human roots;

* Black for his renegade rocker posing as a substitute teacher;

* DeGeneres for her regal blue tang with short-term memory loss. (Voice work can qualify an actor for an Oscar, but not for a Golden Globe.)

Jamie Lee Curtis’ zany physical comedy in “Freaky Friday” and Billy Bob Thornton’s alcoholic, anti-”Elf” turn in “Bad Santa” are also worthy of note, maintains Newsweek film critic David Ansen. So is work by New York Film Critics Circle winner Eugene Levy (“A Mighty Wind”) and Bill Nighy (“Love Actually”) in the supporting actor category.

“This year was stronger than usual for comedy,” Ansen says. “But unlike a satire like ‘Network,’ a comedy with ‘heart’ like ‘Moonstruck’ or a socially relevant ‘Dr. Strangelove,’ flat-out comedies almost never get nominated. It’s crazy because Hollywood movies that have endured are more likely to be comedies than dramas. No one’s rushing out to rent ‘The Life of Emile Zola,’ which won, while the great screwball comedies don’t age at all.”

“School of Rock” producer Scott Rudin believes that comic star turns like Black’s get overlooked by the academy because “great comics make it look easy -- and Oscar rewards what looks hard.”

“What Jack did in ‘School of Rock’ was as hard as what Nicole Kidman did in ‘The Hours,’ ” he said, alluding to her Oscar-winning performance in another of his films. “Achieving a looseness, sustaining a buoyancy in a planned medium like ours isn’t easy because movies are stop and start, stop and start. The sheer force of Jack’s talent kept an inanimate object aloft for the full 100 minutes.”

“Pirates of the Caribbean” producer Jerry Bruckheimer is equally high on Depp. “The role was originally written for a mainstream Burt Lancaster type, “ he says. “But Johnny made it his own. Wearing makeup and walking with a stagger, he turned in an extraordinarily daring performance.”

Though Carrey won a Golden Globe for “The Truman Show,” the motion picture academy didn’t even nominate him for best actor. But that’s nothing new for comic performances. Dustin Hoffman was recognized for “Rain Man” rather than “Tootsie,” which many consider his finest work.

“Carrey will get an Oscar only if he plays Dr. Pasteur -- and doesn’t break all the vials,” says Oscar-nominated writer Larry Gelbart (“Oh, God!”, “Tootsie”). “What’s so tough about comedy [is] the voters think the actors are just being themselves on screen. Comedians such as Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Steve Martin and Billy Crystal are asked to host the show, but they’re the ringmasters, not the royalty.”

The supporting actor category, he adds, is easier to crack for comic performances -- just ask Marisa Tomei (who won for 1992’s “My Cousin Vinny”) or Mira Sorvino (who won in ’95 for “Mighty Aphrodite”). “The academy has no problem saying ‘You’re close.... Here’s a cigar,’ ” he observes. “It’s a consolation prize for the filmmakers.”

Very few comedies have won the best picture award -- among them “Annie Hall” and “Shakespeare in Love.” Comic classics such as “Bringing Up Baby,” “Modern Times” and “A Night at the Opera” weren’t nominated for the top prize. Nor was “Some Like It Hot,” the No. 1 film on the American Film Institute’s all-time comedy list, which only won for costume design. And it’s not just male comic actors who haven’t fared well with the Oscars; the best actress field has also been notably devoid of comics. Judy Holliday (“Born Yesterday”), Cher (“Moonstruck”), Diane Keaton (“Annie Hall”) and Gwyneth Paltrow (“Shakespeare in Love”) are among those admitted to the inner sanctum.

Why the resistance to comedy? Observers note that the academy is set up to advance the art form and recognize outstanding achievement -- which means that it takes itself very seriously. The Oscars, therefore, are not just a competition but the academy’s referendum on itself. What kind of year did the industry have? What’s worthy of note? Just as important, what do our choices say about us to the world at large?

Though the musical comedy “Chicago” won last year, sheer entertainment usually takes a back seat to the “epic” (“Ben-Hur,” “Braveheart”) or the “significant” (“Gandhi,” “Driving Miss Daisy”). There’s not necessarily a congruence between the films we love and the films we respect, such as a “Schindler’s List,” says academy president Frank Pierson, who was nominated for co-writing the comedy “Cat Ballou.”

“Ask a bunch of people to place an ‘X’ next to pictures that have made the most significant contribution to the art form. See if the list doesn’t skew toward pictures that say something about the human condition rather than those that entertain. And because fewer comedies are made, there’s a shorter list to select from.”

Still, says “Movie Awards” author Tom O’Neil, even the “notoriously cynical” critics have a sense of humor. The National Society of Film Critics named Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy best actor -- for “All of Me” and “The Nutty Professor,” respectively -- while the New York Film Critics Circle gave Cameron Diaz the best actress prize for the gross-out comedy “There’s Something About Mary.”

“Critics have a better historical sense,” says Ansen. “They realize that comedy is underappreciated -- Preston [Sturges], Ernst Lubitsch never won Oscars [for directing], for example, and they want to turn that around. Physical comedy has been the most glaring omission; not many actors can do that.”

Which may be why Murray stands the best chance of breaking through for his role in “Lost in Translation,” where he delivers the kind of performance to which Oscar voters respond: vulnerable rather than side-splitting. He’s popular with critics groups, from whom the academy takes its lead. (He’s already won best actor from the New York Film Critics Circle.) Whereas “Elf” and “School of Rock” skew too young for the academy (“The average age of the Oscar voter is ‘dead,’ ” says Gelbart), this film has light and dark shadings and the requisite gravitas.

“Translation’s” distributor, Focus Films, is going “whole hog” in search of the gold ring, says co-president David Linde. “Every cent of effort we put into ‘Traffic,’ ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘The Pianist,’ we’re putting into this -- if not more,” Linde said of the $4.5-million film, which has taken in $30 million so far. “It’s not an uphill struggle. The movie has been in theaters 13 weeks -- more than any film in the Top 20. And with the possible exception of ‘Mystic River,’ it’s the best-reviewed film of 2003.”

Should the Oscars have comedy categories like the Globes? The idea isn’t that far-fetched; in fact, the first Oscar presentation, in 1928, included a best director, comedy picture slot. But that only lasted a year. Academy President Pierson said he would oppose such a move.

“I’d resist it because of the time factor; the telecast would go on forever,” he said. “But that shouldn’t be the reason for the decision. I’m opposed to the ‘Golden Globe’ formula because it’s like asking comedies to sit at the children’s table. I wouldn’t put up with that a bit.”

Rudin, who has produced comedies such as “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “In & Out,” doesn’t share his misgivings.

“Being nominated alongside Frank Capra, Ernst Lubitsch, Leo McCarey and Preston Sturges ... that’s the children’s table? If so, I’d love to be seated there. Please, please, invite me.”

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How the odds stack up for these actors

Here’s a look at five of the year’s top comic performances and their chances of winning Golden Globe or Oscar nominations. In alphabetical order they are:

Jack Black (“School of Rock”). Upside: Delivering an inventive, no-holds-barred performance, this real-life musician may never have a better opportunity to display the goods. Downside: Though popular with baby boomers, the movie is a flat-out comedy, lacking the social subtext or satirical edge favored by the academy.

Odds of a Golden Globe nomination: possible. Oscar nomination? Unlikely.

Ellen DeGeneres (“Finding Nemo”). Upside: DeGeneres imbues her perky, dimwitted fish with heart and soul in the year’s top-grossing movie. She’s the relative everyone wants to take care of -- and a surefire source of laughs. Downside: Though eligible to compete for an Oscar, she’s only a voice -- and, as Eddie Murphy learned from the animated “Shrek,” that puts her in a hole.

Odds of a Golden Globe nomination: Ineligible. Oscar nomination? Don’t bet on it.

Johnny Depp (“Pirates of the Caribbean”). Upside: His performance was equal parts bravado and delirium. Never considered a comic actor, he shows us a different aspect of his talent. Downside: The movie, which has grossed close to $650 million worldwide, drew only mixed reviews. When it comes to comic acting awards, Oscar observers say, the picture must be great.

Odds of a Golden Globe nomination: good. Oscar nomination? A longshot.

Will Ferrell (“Elf”). Upside: Playing it “straight,” the actor’s almost infantile take on the role was called “a cheerful combination of Stan Laurel and Tom Hanks in ‘Big’ ” by one critic. Downside: It’s a family holiday movie lacking the weight that worked for comedies in the past.

Odds of a Golden Globe nomination: good. Oscar nomination? Pie in the sky.

Bill Murray (“Lost in Translation”). Upside: Murray’s witty and contained performance is among his best, say the critics, with whom he’s a favorite. Some predict it could bring him the Academy Award he didn’t get for “Rushmore.” Downside: Though the movie is a dramedy, the “Saturday Night Live” veteran is still perceived as a “comic” actor, a breed generally overlooked at Oscar time.

Odds of a Golden Globe nomination: excellent. Oscar nomination? Looks good.