1990 Oscar Viewing Project

"It's the nineties, for God's sake," and indeed it is as we encounter our 34th Oscar Viewing Project (see links to the other 33 below).  The Oscar Viewing Project is now in its 2nd third (we'll likely never be below that at this pace, as I try to get through 5-7 of them a year), and we're entering the first year of what my brother & I refer to as our "wilderness period" of movie watching.  I was born in the 1980's, but the movies didn't become my life until the mid-1990's.  This was driven by a series of events, specifically watching my first Oscars at the 1995 ceremony (i.e. the Braveheart Oscars) on repeat after my brother & I taped it, the inclusion of AMC (and eventually TCM) in my parents' cable package, the advent of the AFI 100 Years TV specials, the discovery of Entertainment Weekly at our school library, the opening of a standalone video rental place in my town, my parents letting me watch PG-13 movies, and my mom instituting Tuesday night movies, where she would take my brother & I (regardless of what was showing) to the 7 PM showing (i.e. the G/PG/sometimes PG-13 slot) while my dad had golf night, and so pretty much every week in the summer from roughly 1995 to 1998 we would watch a movie.  This gave me a pretty extensive vernacular with what was going on in the world of movies, and generally meant I had seen 20-30 films from the calendar year by year's end.

From 1990-1994, though, it's a weird spot because these are not "classics" that I had to seek out or have no memory of watching in real-time, but were really when movies were still just a "normal" thing for me, not something I was obsessed with and made my entire personality.  In 1990, I definitely watched at least two movies (The Rescuers Down Under and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) in theaters, and so I have at least some context for this year in real-time, even if the bulk of these movies are me watching them later at home.  By 1995, Oscar-related films like Apollo 13 & Babe I'd seen in movie theaters, and had known they were going to be Oscar nominees beforehand, and so the early 1990's feel like a weird time of catchup for me as a teenager, a feeling that has stretched well into adulthood.

I give you this preamble in part because this is a personal journey of Oscar exploration, and in part because I think it's good context.  The early 1990's are a time where I see some of these movies from a child's eyes (I remember my parents' VHS copies of films like Ghost & Pretty Woman, and secretly watching them when I was too young to understand what they were wholly about), and revisiting them as an adult has shifted some of my perspective on them, but in other ways they are immobile.  As always, to ground you in the films of the year, the domestic Top 10 at the box office in 1990 was:

1. Home Alone

2. Ghost

3. Dances with Wolves

4. Pretty Woman

5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

6. The Hunt for Red October

7. Total Recall

8. Die Hard 2

9. Dick Tracy

10. Kindergarten Cop

I have actually seen all of these movies, and to underline my point about growing up with them, I had seen 70% (save for #7-9) by the time I turned 16.  Honestly, you have to go Another 48 Hours at #14 on the domestic box office list to find a movie I haven't caught from the top box office that year.  While I have seen all of the Oscar nominees below, there are a couple of precursor contenders that I haven't seen yet, namely The Russia House, White Palace, and Q&A that I haven't caught yet, but plan on doing so before we get to the My Ballot.  

But now, it's time to go back to a time when Nelson Mandela was being freed in front of the world, the Hubble telescope was having us reach for the stars, Roseanne Barr was teaching us new ways to never sing on national television, and the entire nation was mourning the loss of Jim Henson.  And of course, let's remember the movies...

Note: For the last time (likely ever) the Visual Effects category was not a competitive category, but instead was given to Total Recall as a special prize.  We'll have a proper category for this when we get to it for the My Ballot with five nominees, and it's worth noting that it's relatively accepted that Dick Tracy, Ghost, and Back to the Future, Part III were shortlisted for this but none of them got nominated (all of which I've seen as well), but I want to note that Total Recall was seen by me for this project, and I generally was impressed with the visual effects, particularly the way that they used makeup effects toward the end of the picture. 

Picture

1. GoodFellas

2. Ghost

3. The Godfather, Part III

4. Dances with Wolves

5. Awakenings

The Lowdown: Let's begin with me saying that 1990 is, collectively, one of the first years I ever saw all five of the Best Picture nominees (I've had this lineup completed since before I graduated high school, which was a while ago), and also a year where (both for Oscar and in general) I don't love the movies themselves as much as others.  The glossy movie star-driven blockbusters that would become the decade's calling card hadn't started yet, and we don't have some of the best prestige work that I enjoyed in the 1980's.  Of these films, it's an easy call for GoodFellas, one of the best films of Martin Scorsese's career.  Ghost ages better with reappraisal, and Godfather 3 is not as bad as its critical reputation allows, but GoodFellas is an easy champion.

Director

1. Martin Scorsese (GoodFellas)

2. Stephen Frears (The Grifters)

3. Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Part III)

4. Barbet Schroder (Reversal of Fortune)

5. Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves)

The Lowdown: It's weird to think about now, but at one point in time Martin Scorsese was basically the Hitchcock or Kubrick of his era-a man who was constantly nominated for Academy Awards but never was able to win any of them.  Meanwhile, I'm giving him his third statue for the OVP (again, links below) for the really incredible way that he upended the gangster flick after decades of hero-worship of it through the Godfather pictures (which of course in this case he competed alongside).  I will also acknowledge I have some respect for Dances with Wolves, but you're going to find out they do not extend to Kevin Costner's involvement in the film (and this ain't its final 5th place finish).

Actor

1. Richard Harris (The Field)

2. Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune)

3. Gerard Depardieu (Cyrano de Bergerac)

4. Robert de Niro (Awakenings)

5. Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves)'

The Lowdown: A very odd lineup, and not a strong one (this isn't Oscar's fault...my My Ballot for 1990 is going to be very weird unless I start discovering some stronger stuff in the upcoming viewings...this is much more a year for actresses).  Oscar went with Jeremy Irons, and honestly this wouldn't be the worst thing that ever happened for the OVP-Irons is a really good actor, one who somehow only got one Oscar nomination despite being in the AMPAS wheelhouse (British, handsome, classy, constantly in prestige fare), but I'm going to go with Harris over him.  Harris's part is a bit more theatrical, but it also has a stronger build, and he's also batting in a lesser movie while still excelling.  The rest, even Robert de Niro, don't really need mention.

Actress

1. Anjelica Huston (The Grifters)

2. Kathy Bates (Misery)

3. Meryl Streep (Postcards from the Edge)

4. Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman)

5. Joanne Woodward (Mr. and Mrs. Bridge)

The Lowdown: While I will own that I'm not inspired by 1990 as a whole, that doesn't mean that I don't have moments, and this is one of the best Best Actress lineups Oscar ever pulled together.  Any of these women would be a winner, and I wouldn't be stunned if my My Ballot looks a lot like this-even Woodward in fifth place is doing a lot of strong work.  I ended up going with Huston over Bates (a controversial choice, I know) not because Bates isn't splendid (one of the best Oscar upsets), but because Huston nails this part so well that I have long been obsessed with it.  The interiority in her work, the way that she nails the animal instinct of that final scene...she's honestly never been better.  I'm aware this means that Bates may never get an OVP statue from me, but...that's why we decide this in a vacuum, and I prefer Huston in a vacuum.

Supporting Actor

1. Joe Pesci (GoodFellas)

2. Andy Garcia (The Godfather, Part III)

3. Bruce Davison (Longtime Companion)

4. Al Pacino (Dick Tracy)

5. Grahame Greene (Dances with Wolves)

The Lowdown: Joe Pesci is one of those truly spectacular actors who rarely works...but when he does, it always felt like an event.  In 1990 you've got him not just nailing the fiery persona behind GoodFellas but also playing the funniest henchmen outside of a DC Comic in Home Alone.  Davison is subtler than I would've expected given the subject matter (his final scene is the best in the movie) and I actually think Andy Garcia brings a hot-headed style to Godfather III (and no, this is not just because I palpitated every time he was onscreen...Andy Garcia in Godfather III was a formative experience for a teenage John watching this on VHS for the first time), but they just aren't in the same hemisphere as what Pesci brings to his doomed mob hitman.

Supporting Actress

1. Whoopi Goldberg (Ghost)

2. Annette Bening (The Grifters)

3. Lorraine Bracco (GoodFellas)

4. Diane Ladd (Wild at Heart)

5. Mary McDonnell (Dances with Wolves)

The Lowdown: While I didn't go with the consensus choice for Best Actress, that won't be the case here.  Whoopi Goldberg owns Ghost, giving us a lesson in comedy, and totally nailing the frequently cliched role of "best friend to the leading lovers" that has long been the bread-and-butter of the romantic genre.  I do really like Annette Bening, particularly the glossy over-her-head feeling she gets the further The Grifters goes (without ever totally telegraphing it), and Lorraine Bracco has strong moments even if she's pitched a little to the hilt in some scenes of GoodFellas, but like Oscar said-this is Whoopi's year.

Foreign Language Film

1. Cyrano de Bergerac (France)

2. The Nasty Girl (Germany)

3. Ju Dou (China)

4. Journey of Hope (Switzerland)

5. Open Doors (Italy)

The Lowdown: For me, this is a pretty tight contest between France & Germany.  I liked elements of Ju Dou, but honestly Raise the Red Lantern a year later leaves a much longer shadow.  Cyrano is more conventional, a space we've gone to before, but this is also my favorite adaptation of Rostand's story, and it doesn't have the not-always-successful narrator tricks of The Nasty Girl, even if the latter has a more compelling story (and honestly, a better lead performance).

Adapted Screenplay

1. GoodFellas

2. The Grifters

3. Reversal of Fortune

4. Dances with Wolves

5. Awakenings

The Lowdown: Adapted Screenplay goes to the crooks, and the two films I pretty much universally love of this bunch: GoodFellas and The Grifters.  There's something wonderful about The Grifters, a movie I find I champion more than most do, as it strips down some of the best elements of the neo-noir (the sex, the deceit, the ability to have a non-Hays Code ending) and creates something that feels fresh and calculating, but I can't deny GoodFellas in the end, the extremely rare screenplay so well-written it even makes the narration work.

Original Screenplay

1. Ghost

2. Metropolitan

3. Avalon

4. Alice

5. Green Card

The Lowdown: A pretty middling field, even if none are objectively bad.  I'm picking Ghost not just because it's the best, but also because it takes a really challenging genre to make without it turning camp or cloying (the romantic drama-fantasy) and really makes it sell (it's also genuinely funny).  Metropolitan is the most sophisticated (I was stunned to find out it's not based on a play or novel), and part of me wants to go with it but I think its ending doesn't work at all, and neither Avalon nor a weak default nomination for Woody Allen really compare to the Unchained Melody of Ghost.

Sound

1. Dances with Wolves

2. Total Recall

3. Days of Thunder

4. The Hunt for Red October

5. Dick Tracy

The Lowdown: We're shifting into the Oscar era for Best Sound where we are very much valuing the big, action-film even over the prestige fare of the giant epic (Dances with Wolves is the only epic in this bunch, and it's not without its battle scenes).  I actually really like what the team does with Dances with Wolves, between the Civil War beginnings to the way that it adds elements of "the last western" realism to the scenes with Costner off finding himself, all while beautifully bringing in that lush John Barry score.  Total Recall and its futuristic & impressive battles would also have been a good idea, but I think I'm ready to give a statue to Oscar's Best Picture winner here.

Sound Editing

1. The Hunt for Red October

2. Total Recall

3. Flatliners

The Lowdown: It's a running joke with Oscar that he tends to, when it was a separate category, always think first of submarine movies when it comes to Sound Effects Editing (look at the history of the category-it pops up way more than you'd think), and to some degree I agree with him.  The water effects, constant claustrophobia, & many buttons & levers of The Hunt for Red October are really done and a large part of what builds the suspense, even if the space age adventures, and especially some of the final scenes in the dying planet of Mars in Total Recall hold their own.

Score

1. Dances with Wolves

2. Home Alone

3. Avalon

4. Ghost

5. Havana

The Lowdown: I feel like a lot of these OVP Score contests from the 1970's through the 2020's is a battle of "to John Williams or not to John Williams" and this is a particularly tough one as I adore the score to Home Alone (and honestly Avalon or Ghost would be a good winner here too...there's only one true dud in this lineup).  But John Barry's score to Dances with Wolves is just a perfect piece of music, and adds the best parts to a movie I really did not care for overall.  It deserves the W.

Original Song

1. "I'm Checking Out" (Postcards from the Edge)

2. "Somewhere in My Memory" (Home Alone)

3. "Sooner or Later" (Dick Tracy)

4. "Blaze of Glory" (Young Guns II)

5. "Promise Me You'll Remember" (The Godfather, Part III)

The Lowdown: You know that line that I said above about how movies have connections to your childhood you can't really escape.  For me, one of the few true memories of childhood, specifically around Christmas, that I need to bring back every year is hearing "Somewhere in My Memory" playing in the background.  It's also a movie that reminds me, more than maybe any other, of my little brother as I know how much he loves Home Alone, which gives it a nostalgic necessity I really cherish.  I'm judging on a scale (and honestly all of these movies are good), and for me "I'm Checking Out" is better (and better-used in the film) so I'm giving it the trophy, but it's tight and you should expect both to end up in the My Ballot.

Art Direction

1. Dick Tracy

2. Hamlet

3. The Godfather, Part III

4. Cyrano de Bergerac

5. Dances with Wolves

The Lowdown: Honestly, a really solid lineup (there are no losers in this bunch, even if I won't repeat all of them with my My Ballot).  I tend to like the Mel Gibson Hamlet more than most (for the record, people turned on this one well before they turned on Gibson), and I think the castles & work here is really beautiful.  But Dick Tracy is so inventive, it's impossible to deny-the comic book lights, the way that it feels at once like it's springing from a dime novel AND a 1940's Hollywood set, despite relatively modern makeup & visual effects surrounding it-and all that color!  Glorious!

Cinematography

1. Dances with Wolves

2. The Godfather, Part III

3. Avalon

4. Dick Tracy

5. Henry & June

The Lowdown: Leave it to those crazy pervs in the Cinematography branch to totally go for a film as banal as Henry & June just because they tastefully shot most of the sex scenes so well.  That random silliness aside, this is really a battle between the increasingly aged & sepia-hued glories of The Godfather, Part III and the gorgeous expanses of Dances with Wolves (points are due for the way that Avalon feels of another time though).  I would not be opposed to giving it to the third Godfather film (and lord knows Gordon Willis deserved a competitive Oscar at some point), but it's hard to argue with the glories of the West.

Costume Design

1. Hamlet

2. Cyrano de Bergerac

3. Dick Tracy

4. Avalon

5. Dances with Wolves

The Lowdown: Hamlet has been cited three times (to date) for Best Costume Design, and like 1948 (see link below), we are giving it the gold medal here (1996's version with Kenneth Branagh is still unseen, but don't worry...we'll get there eventually-every one of these contests I do I become more & more determined to truly finish this project...also fun fact within a fun fact-I have been to Elsinore in my world travels, and thought it was breathtaking).  For me, the biggest competition is the period costuming in Cyrano.  I think some of the comic book costuming in Dick Tracy is a bit silly, and Avalon doesn't stand out, but the gorgeous 17th Century decorations of France were on-par with 14th Century Denmark, but not quite enough to conquer to the monologuing Dane.

Film Editing

1. GoodFellas

2. The Godfather, Part III

3. Dances with Wolves

4. Ghost

5. The Hunt for Red October

The Lowdown: I feel at this point like a broken record-GoodFellas was the best, and somewhere behind it is Godfather III and Ghost.  I will own, given its really rough reputation as a movie, that Godfather III being in second here is no accident.  I think a lot of the problems with it are casting (Sofia Coppola, apologies, but you are the weakest link...and George Hamilton is not a strong substitute for Robert Duvall), but the editing works-we get a really strongly-structured story, one that feels inline with the originals even if it isn't that level of classic (like, say, GoodFellas, which basically invented a new type of editing with its cocaine-inspired manic nature).

Makeup

1. Dick Tracy

2. Edward Scissorhands

3. Cyrano de Bergerac

The Lowdown: It feels weird to end in Makeup, not Visual Effects (I believe this is the only time we'll do this as we're alphabetical and Makeup has been a category for a much shorter time than Visual Effects), but I'm glad we're doing it with two icons of the category.  There are only winners between the garish brilliance of Dick Tracy and the transformative genius of Edward Scissorhands (honestly, Cyrano ain't bad either), but I'm going with Dick Tracy both because there's more characters to be in awe of and because it feels so in-tune with the glorious silliness of a comic strip, rather than needing to take itself too seriously.

Past Oscar Viewing Projects: 1931-32, 1948, 1957, 1964, 1972, 1981, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

Soapdish (1991)

Film: Soapdish (1991)

Stars: Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Robert Downey, Jr., Cathy Moriarty, Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Shue, Teri Hatcher, Carrie Fisher

Director: Michael Hoffman

Oscar History: No nominations

Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

Each month, as part of our 2024 Saturdays with the Stars series, we are looking at the women who were once crowned as "America's Sweethearts" and the careers that inspired that title (and what happened when they eventually lost it to a new generation).  This month, our focus is on Sally Field: click here to learn more about Ms. Field (and why I picked her), and click here for other Saturdays with the Stars articles.

Despite the mammoth success of Steel Magnolias, it was Field's costar Julia Roberts who got the biggest boost coming out of the film (and the cast's only Oscar nomination), and not Field, who would have a bumpy turn in the 1990's.  Though she'd have some leading work (including today's "camp classic" Soapdish), she'd largely spend the coming decade getting increasingly throwaway parts.  Whereas she was once playing Tom Hanks' love interest in Punchline, she was now playing his mother in Forrest Gump.  Indeed, her biggest movies in the 1990's were either playing second banana to male leads with better parts (Forrest Gump, Mrs. Doubtfire) or having to make way for younger actresses as a supporting role (Where the Heart Is, Legally Blonde 2).  You can see a little bit as to why in Soapdish, a film where Field is giving it her all, but the script only cares about her age.

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie is a sendup of the soap opera craze which had dominated the 1980's (it's hard to comprehend now, but at one point everyone in America knew who the main characters on most daytime soap operas were).  Field plays Celeste Talbert, a Susan Lucci-style figure who wins awards, but is deeply unhappy in her personal life, in the opening scenes getting dumped by her married boyfriend.  We also meet David Barnes (Downey), the show's producer, who is sexually obsessed with Montana Moorehead (Moriarty), a young supporting player on the show who won't sleep with him until he makes her the star of the show (and gets rid of Celeste).  This culminates in a series of ruses that just continue to make Celeste more popular, including making her a murderer on the show, bringing back her offscreen/onscreen lover Jeffrey Anderson (Kline), and having her admit that Lori (Shue), a new hire on the show, is actually her real-life daughter.  The movie ends with Lori, David, & Celeste becoming a family on-and-off the camera, and Montana being outed as a transgender woman, and thus becoming unemployable in this universe, as revenge for trying to sabotage Celeste.

The movie's ending has gained a lot of critiques in recent years, and while it's probably not much better than anything else you'd watch from this era in terms of transgender representation (the surprise gender reveal is literally the same stunt pulled in Tootsie, albeit in that movie the character isn't actually transgender, and of course the audience is in on the reveal), but it reads as pretty dated and almost certainly wouldn't be how they'd end the movie today.  

The film is beloved otherwise, though, by gay male audiences who lap up the campiness & humor, which is admittedly quotable, and the actress-heavy cast (I didn't even mention Whoopi Goldberg, Teri Hatcher, Kathy Najimy, & Carrie Fisher are also in the picture).  The movie wasn't a big hit when it was released, and watching it now I kind of see why.  I wanted something more than what we were getting here-it's funny, but given the call sheet it should be funnier.  The jokes should pop more, and it doesn't feel like they're using some of the supporting cast (specifically Downey, Fisher, & Hatcher, all ace comic actors when given the chance) to the fullest extent they could.  Field's role is also a bit "ehh" and underwritten.  She is written as someone who is both angry about being treated as old, and yet spends much of the movie trying to give away her career.  It's as if the audience, even though Field is in her mid-40's and therefore at least a decade away from normal retirement age for a woman in 1991, is being told that the only thing that a woman after 40 can care about is her daughter & making the world better for her, rather than Celeste's own (impressive) career.  Thankfully it doesn't end on that sentiment (Celeste stays on the show), but this is a good reflection of how Hollywood executives seemed to think of Field in the 1990's.

Thankfully she would rebound from this, getting a late-career part as Nora Walker in Brothers & Sisters, a role that would win her an Emmy, and focus on a mother-of-five who decides to get out of her late husband's shadow after she finds out he cheated on her.  She'd start to get the respect she deserved in the 2010's, including a third Oscar nomination (for 2012's Lincoln), a Kennedy Center Honor in 2019, and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2023. 

Everybody's Linking for the Weekend

I am starting this weekend off on the right foot (I have had a weirdly productive week both at work and at home, which rarely happens for me so I plan on continuing the streak into the weekend).  As a result, let's get right into those stories the blog (and hopefully you) missed so far this week!

On Entertainment...

-Listen, I love Aaron Tveit like he's one of the family (and if he's interested, he can meet me at a courthouse and literally become a member of my family, no questions asked), but I have to raise an eyebrow over his casting in Grease.  I know the play has a history of hiring actors that are too old for the roles of high school students, but that's slightly different on Broadway where age has a fifty foot sight gap from actor to audience, and Tveit, while still gorgeous, doesn't look remotely 18.  That being said, he's the only member of this train-wreck of a cast I actually enjoy and who can, you know, act.  Honestly: Vanessa Hudges and (blech) Julianne Hough?  I don't know that you could have picked two actresses that would make me want to see this movie less.

-Legendary actor Omar Sharif died yesterday at the age of 83.  For those of you unfamiliar, you need a crash course in 1960's cinema, as he starred in three classics of the era: Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, and Funny Girl.  While he continued working for decades after that (starring with everyone from Julie Andrews to Anthony Hopkins to Viggo Mortensen), these three films defined his career, as did his position as the first (and so far only) major Egyptian movie star.  I will always love him best for his sole Oscar nominated-turn in Lawrence, a film I spent most of my senior year of college parcelling through for my honors thesis.

-It might be a stretch to call this entertainment, but it does connect to the Blackfish and SeaWorld controversy that has continued to have legs, so I am putting it here.  However you classify it, you must investigate this article about the 103-year-old orca whale that was spotted off the Canadian coast.  The orca's incredible longevity is a huge issue for SeaWorld because the company has long argued that we don't know how long whales generally live, but those in captivity rarely live past their twenties and those born in captivity average to only about 4.5 years of age.  While whales don't usually live this long, female orcas in the wild have double the lifespan of those in captivity, and frequently travel with their families, which is something that they are not allowed in captivity.  The reality of this situation has been clear for years, but SeaWorld needs to close down; their treatment of whales and other marine mammals has gone the way of cigarette commercials and asbestos, and it's time for their business model to reflect as such.

On Politics...

Gov. Charlie Crist (D-FL)

-This article's a little older than I usually allow (I try to just have stuff from the past week), but it's such a fascinating read that I couldn't skip it.  The quite long piece from Vox is about the possibility of Nuclear War, particularly in regard to Vladimir Putin's disdain for NATO, and how that possibility has grown over the past year, and what a World War III situation would look like for the world.  The piece is fascinating in that it rarely sensationalizes (it stays very grounded), but doesn't broach the topic with tepidity, making it both utterly readable and incredibly terrifying, particularly when you compare the divergent opinions that the two major nuclear powers in the world have of the opposite country's leader.

-Politico had a fascinating look at the backlog of judicial appointments in the Senate right now.  I find it truly staggering that this is the least amount of judges that will be approved since 1969 (a 46-year gap!).  I get that the Senate is made up of Republican senators, and they have every right to not allow the president his appointments (advise and consent), but come on-at least advise here.  Give them a no vote if that's what you want, but considering that two dozen courts have declared judicial emergencies based on the number of judges appointed, this is yet another crisis that is wholly preventable.  America voted for Obama twice-it's been six years, get over it.

-In news that I have conflicted feelings regarding, former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is plotting yet another comeback bid.  Crist, who famously ruined his career in 2010 by trying to make a play for the Senate when he could have won the governor's mansion with relative ease (and then been a serious presidential contender in 2012), and then failed to make a go of the Sunshine State's executive mansion in 2014 after switching parties, is apparently looking into a run for the U.S. House now that the 13th congressional district is likely to become more Democratic with the recent court decision mandating that Florida redraw their congressional maps.  On the one hand it's hard to deny that Crist has kept a lot of goodwill in this district (which houses his home in St. Petersburg), but on the other hand I am so tired of Charlie Crist, who seems like a skilled retail politician who cannot sink the basket on Election Day, and wish that someone else would take up the mantle for the Democrats.  It also proves how devastating that 2010 decision was; Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are using the ultimate swing state as a presidential launching ground while Crist might make it into the House minority in 2017.  Oh how the mighty...

Shameless Self-Promotion of the Week...

-I share in JK Rowling's despair over Andy Murray losing to Roger Federer in the Semi-Finals.

YouTube Video of the Week...

-We already talked about Shane Dawson's coming out video, so I'm going to go with this video fresh from the Oscars channel on YouTube of Rosie O'Donnell presenting the short film Oscars at the 1993 awards.  I love this for a number of reasons-you have Whoopi (her first time hosting) and Rosie united decades before The View, you have Rosie in the midst of her brief period as a movie star (she references her soon to be major hit The Flintstones), and Nick Park in a gigantic green bowtie.  Enjoy:

Just One More...

-CNN has been doing a fascinating look at manmade structures that are victim to decay across the world, and this is one of the more interesting ones, highlighting some of the world's most iconic sites that are in jeopardy of fading away..  While not all of them are resulting from climate change, enough of them are that you know my soapbox is nearby if you need a lecture.

Top Ten: Who Should Host the Oscars?

This is a risky post to write this time of year-I was actually almost done with a Kennedy Center Honors predictions list, and then they actually shared who the winners were, making my article a bit moot (I did tackle the Life Achievement Award honors in a slightly different way here).  This may well be the case with the Oscars' host, as the producers have already been announced so it may be only a matter of time before we get to the actual main event.

Still, though, this is about that time of year where everyone starts throwing the names of every comedian, actor, and talk show host under the sun, and I figured I'd pipe in with my two cents in this regard.  Below you will find my top ten theoretical hosts (and co-hosts) that should host this year's Academy Awards.

Note Before We Begin: Tina and Amy are doing the Golden Globes.  We all want them to host the Oscars.  It's not happening until their contract is done with the Globes.  Let it go people.

Another Note Before We Begin: There are four obvious names that could go below that I'm not going to put.  Justin Timberlake is a terrible actor, and hasn't earned the right to host the Oscars yet (and really, who would want that smugness for three hours?).  Neil Patrick Harris can act, but he tends to make the ceremony too much about himself, and that doesn't work on Hollywood's biggest night (see the disaster of Seth MacFarlane)-better for a smaller venue like the Tony Awards.  I have never really liked Conan O'Brien, and I think that would be a Letterman redux if we had him host.  And Jon Stewart isn't listed not because I don't think he'd be great for a third go-around (I think he would), but he's probably more interested in being a nominee this year for Rosewater.

10. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill

If you want to attract the straight male audience, this may be the best way to do so without alienating your core group of women and gay men.  Both of these guys are extremely funny, and while I do wonder what they'd be like in straight stand-up, their SNL episodes are hilarious and that's frequently a great testing water for how someone will do at the Oscars.  Plus, they both are genuine movie stars now and starred in a big hit over the summer-this is a lot better option than Hathaway and Franco a few years ago.

9. Oprah Winfrey

I have genuinely wondered for years what an Oprah telecast would be like for the Oscars.  I know frequently people bring up Meryl as a host, and while I'm sure she'd be flawless (Meryl always is), no one can work a room like Oprah Winfrey.  Frequently people say the host doesn't matter, but I think this would be an interesting twist-Winfrey isn't a comedian, but she can be funny, and is able to instill a gravitas into the ceremony that few others would be able to do (focusing on the movies and the nominees rather than the dresses and the comedic bits).  Plus, she's a Hersholt winner and is wading pretty strongly back into acting-this would be a solid acknowledgement of that.  And if she doesn't host, can we bring back the Barbara Walters interview show and have Oprah host it?

8. Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper

I would list Lawrence solo, but she tends to go into some pretty saucy directions, and would need a straight man (pun not intended, oh you Towleroad-like readers), who clearly would be her frequent costar Cooper.  Cooper is extremely good at impressions, great in late night interviews, and is frequently funny (and of course has sensational chemistry with Lawrence).  Plus, both actors couldn't be hotter right now and this is one of those rare years where neither are actually going to be nominated and they need to promote Serena which finally got a distributor and will be released in the Spring-time to strike?

7. James Corden

I know this is unlikely to happen with the Academy Awards hosted on ABC and Corden now under contract to CBS, but this seems just about right.  He can sing, work a crowd, is comfortable on a stage, and is about ready to be a superstar.  Plus, it's been a while since we had a British host (the last one was Dudley Moore at the 55th Academy Awards over thirty years ago), and considering the country's dominance over the nominees over the Oscars' history, this seems like a bit of a contradiction.

6. Jimmy Kimmel

A far more likely contender to host would be ABC's own late-night host, and I honestly cannot figure out why he hasn't actually been called on to do this yet.  He can play to a room extremely well (see his Emmys, which I thoroughly enjoyed) and unlike Jimmy Fallon he can moderate without bursting into fits of laughter over his own jokes (plus Fallon would have too many skits-I hate too many skits at the Oscars, it makes it feel like we're watching SNL, or worse yet-the Emmys (shudder)).  Kimmel's after-Oscar special is already a staple-why not try it for the full night one year and see what happens?

5. Ellen Degeneres

I mean, if it ain't broke?  Last year's Oscars were extremely well-received and well-rated (the highest-watched in over a decade)-part of that is due to everyone's love of Ellen.  She knows how to be funny without being mean (aside from that cutting Liza Minnelli joke last year), and she knows how to bring both the audience at home and the audience in the theater together (I love that she makes a point of "introducing" certain actors and films to the audience that may not know them during her monologues).  Plus, I've long been a fan of AMPAS having hosts come back multiple times-it gives the ceremony itself some history rather than being a flash-in-the-pan every year.

4. Kevin Hart

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more in-demand or hotter actor right now.  Everything that Kevin Hart seems to do lately is a hit, and he's got legitimate stand-up chops.  I know that his films aren't what you'd consider "Academy-friendly," but let's be honest: for the most part, neither were Billy Crystal's and he's been a huge hit through the years.  Hart would also be a clever way for AMPAS to find a comedian that would cater well to the audience in the theater and to the audience at home (this is what made Billy so successful, as well as Johnny and Bob Hope-you have to have both audiences laughing) and would get those younger viewers that AMPAS is always clamoring to recruit.

3. Melissa McCarthy

I mean, isn't this obvious?  McCarthy is the biggest comedic star on the planet right now, and like Kevin Hart, seems to be able to make money for studios in her sleep.  She's persistently hilarious on SNL and whenever she's at an awards show, managing to make even unfunny material work with her show-business moxie.  Plus, she seems to be someone that everyone in Hollywood is rooting for, and therefore would be able to get some of the biggest stars in the audience in on a couple of her jokes and monologue bits (who doesn't want to see her explain the Scorsese drinking game to Marty himself?).  I would be stunned if her name isn't on the Oscar producers' shortlist already.

2. Louis CK

Numbers 2-4 are on here really because they’re the best mix of edgy and Academy-friendly.  One of the big misses with Seth MacFarlane was that people really don’t want a Comedy Central style roast of all of the people in the Dolby-they don’t want a cringe-worthy set of jokes that seems funny to frat boys and no one else.  They want someone who can gently poke fun at the people in the audience and still not appear toothless.  This is why CK would be near perfect-completely aware of his rising star in the Hollywood food chain, he’d be smart but still able to rib all of the A-listers without biting off the hand that feeds him.

1. Whoopi Goldberg

My brother and I may be the only two people in the world who would put Whoopi at the top of this list, but honestly-Whoopi hosted all of my favorite Oscars.  She knows how to do her homework (she frequently finds herself hitting all of the major movies in a way I’ve never seen a host do except for maybe Hugh Jackman), she’s hilarious and can read a room (she can tell when the monologue needs a softball and isn’t afraid to pitch it), and she’s a great actress.  Honestly-how long are we going to have to wait for her to hit her fifth show out of the park?

Those are my thoughts, but there are infinite possibilities-who are you hoping signs up to host the next Oscars?  Share in the comments!!!

Ranting On...Completing The View

Rosie Perez

This past week, one of our favorite topics of discussion (to catch up read here and here and here) came nearly to a close.  Weeks after Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy announced they were leaving the longtime ABC hit talk show The View and Rosie O'Donnell announced that she would be rejoining the cast, the producers of the show announced two new panelists to the series: Oscar-nominated actress Rosie Perez and former Bush communications chief Nicolle Wallace.  There has been little swirl about who fill out the final slot (but I'm going to start some below so don't you worry), but first, let's get into how these two women shake up the panel.

Overall I'm very excited by both of these players.  Perez is deeply outspoken and is an intensely likable performer, and with over 25 years of working as an actress in Hollywood, she knows everyone and should be able to ask informed questions of former costars.  She is also, it's worth noting, the first Latina to be a panelist on The View, which may help with that key demographic for the show's declining ratings.  While I'm always a little concerned when actresses I enjoy do talk shows (see also Whoopi Goldberg and her lack of movie work in recent years), I do feel this was an overall smart decision.

Nicolle Wallace

I'm thinking the same thing about Wallace, who was a very wise choice for the show's conservative corner.  Elisabeth Hasselbeck has been a lightning rod for the show in recent years, and I suspect that the conservative Wallace will also stir up controversy, particularly if Jeb Bush runs for president (either way, she's going to run to the right of the other three women).  Wallace isn't afraid to have her own opinions, though, and has spoken out against her former boss Sarah Palin (there's a tongue-in-cheek aspect to her selection considering that Palin was also a rumored panelist for the show, and I cannot wait to see Sarah Paulson be interviewed considering that she played Wallace in Game Change).  She's very polished onscreen, extremely smart, and has close friends that can guide her into the talk show circuit (she and Katie Couric are good pals, apparently).  Overall, this is a much better choice than some of the other Republican names (like, say, Ann Coulter) that were being rumored for a position on the panel, and I applaud ABC for going to someone who will hold her own from the Right.

This brings us to the final point about this panel: they're still one short.  I know that The View hasn't had a full-time panelist in years since Barbara didn't come in on Fridays, but I think that's a foolish decision to keep going with guest panelists.  I like it when smart women join in on the Hot Topics session, but by-and-large the guest panelists are either saying something ostentatious to rile up a cohost (Kathy Griffin, Laura Ingraham), or are too afraid to say anything that will hurt the film or book they are promoting.  The View could go a similar way to Walters, where a respected journalist like Ann Curry or Maria Shriver comes in for part of the week to add some journalistic credit to the panel, but I think that's foolish as only Walters should be afforded that privilege (it's her show, after all).  The reality is that people like the chemistry between the women on the panel, and want that day-in-and-day-out.  The show needs to find its groove again, and there's already enough newness now that they don't need to throw it off more so with temporary players.  Talk shows thrive off of consistency and reliable personalities-establish the permanent co-hosts first before you add in new flavors.

That's why I vote that they pick a five-day-a-week final co-host, and it needs to be someone who is younger than their current panel (who are all roughly in the same age group).  And considering that ABC got decidedly hip recently with Dancing with the Stars, I think going into YouTube may be their best bet for a fifth cohost.  For the first time ever for the upcoming season, Bethany Mota, a YouTube personality, will be amongst the cast of DWTS, and considering she got paired with Derek Hough, is expected to perform strongly.  Why not go to the YouTube well to stir up some buzz amongst the younger crowd?  My recommendation would be that they chose 27-year-old Hannah Hart of My Drunk Kitchen.  Hart is funny, smart, and brings a few unique perspectives as a chef, a lesbian, and a comedian that would lend herself well to the panel.  She's likable and opinionated, a combination invaluable to The View, and is the sort of person that has star quality that is being underutilized (and The View could well have a bit hit on their hands).  Honestly-she has an appeal similar to Ellen Degeneres, and we all know that's something you should notice.

Those are my thoughts on the new panelists for the The View and where the series should go with their final panelist-what are yours?  Do you like Perez and Wallace?  Do you think they should hire a fifth host or keep the guest hosts filling that spot?  And do you think someone like Hart would be a great fit for that spot?  Share in the comments!

Emmy Predictions: The Miniseries

This Thursday the Emmy nominations will be announced, and all of the internet will be abuzz over a series of snubs and "how did that get nominated agains?"  More than all other awards shows, the Emmy awards bring out something collectively in the internet that is both exciting (I love when people get into awards shows) and infuriating.  Entertainment Weekly, for example, is at its most annoying during the Emmys, as they will somehow celebrate every single nomination that's just been announced and yet list another thirty people that should have been nominated.  A dirty little secret of awards shows?  Not everyone can get nominated, because there is a finite number of slots available.  That's what makes it an honor just to be nominated.

Anyway, that's my annual diatribe against the Emmy awards.  Since the nominations are this Thursday, I figured now was the perfect time to start predicting, and I wanted to start with the Miniseries/TV Move nominations not because I get a chance to see all of them, but because they feature movie stars, and potential future EGOT winners.  These are always my favorite parts of the telecast because you get to see cinematic stars whom Oscar hasn't courted in a while come forward and get some rewards.  Without further adieu, then, let's start discussing them.  Below I'll number the predictions from most to least likely to score a nomination.

Miniseries

1. Fargo
2. American Horror Story: Coven
3. Luther
4. The White Queen
5. Dancing on the Edge

The Lowdown: The really stunning thing about this category (aside from the fact that it exists again-miniseries and TV movie no longer are competing against each other) is that HBO has absolutely no horse in this race.  With True Detective competing in the Best Drama Series category, HBO has no candidates to run, so instead this is a PBS/BBC and FX dominated field.  I still don't 100% get how Luther gets to qualify here since by all normal accounts it's an actual, regular TV series, but it seems it's eligible so I say it's in.  The only real names that could show up that aren't on this list are The Hollow Crown (which seems old hat and doesn't seem to have garnered a lot of goodwill...plus it's pretty old, even by Emmy standards) and Bonnie and Clyde (which came and went with little fanfare).
The Winner?: Predicting winners before you even have the nominees is a fool's errand, and I normally don't do it, but I figured that in the miniseries/movie categories, at least, you can make some solid guesses.  Fargo seems to have sucked up most of the buzz in this field, and without an HBO juggernaut to stop it, should be the victor, giving the Coen Brothers a great chance to add an E to their EGOT chances.

TV Movie

1. The Normal Heart
2. The Trip to Bountiful
3. Sherlock: His Last Vow
4. Killing Kennedy
5. Clear History

The Lowdown: The top three seem near certain-they have that right mix of prestige, star quality, and press that the Emmys require in a category like this.  However, this isn't a three-wide field, and so I have to dig a little deeper.  There is no part of my body that doesn't hate myself for predicting an adaptation of a Bill O'Reilly book in this category, but Killing Kennedy has enough press and this isn't a particularly robust field for TV Movie category.  The final nomination could go to Lifetime's A Day Late and a Dollar Short or yet another BBC adaptation with Burton and Taylor, but both of those films seem more likely to land their lead actresses nominations than get in the top prize.  Instead I am guessing that HBO, with no pony in Miniseries, doubles down here and gets the final nomination with Clear History.
The Winner?: A closer field than Miniseries, the top three on this list all have arguments to lend toward themselves.  The Normal Heart is HBO and will almost certainly lead the nominations, though it's reviews were hardly universally positive and Ryan Murphy doesn't usually sail at the Emmys.  The Trip to Bountiful is a very tiny production and essentially just a filmed play.  And Sherlock: His Last Vow is one of a series (and Cumberbatch is coming back for another film, as was just announced).  At this point The Normal Heart seems the victor, but that could change if it gets a frostier than anticipated reception from the Emmys, or if one of these other films over-performs.

Actor (TV Movie/Miniseries)

1. Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo)
2. Mark Ruffalo (The Normal Heart)
3. Martin Freeman (Fargo)
4. Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes: His Last Vow)
5. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Dancing on the Edge)

The Lowdown: This is essentially a six-man race for five slots.  With the exception of Ruffalo and Thornton, any of the remaining three could fall to Idris Elba in Luther, but I just can't quite pin whom it would be.  Freeman is the main lead in the biggest contender of the year, Cumberbatch is a burgeoning movie star who is probably not long for television, and Ejiofor was just the lead in the Oscar Best Picture nominee.  Ejiofor's film is the smallest of the bunch, arguably smaller than Luther, and is probably the most vulnerable, but I think Elba is going to be one of those snubs everyone complains about.
The Winner?: I cannot help but think that, after years in the cinematic wilderness, Billy Bob will be welcomed back with open arms and not only an Emmy, but a Golden Globe and SAG Award later this year for his critically-acclaimed work in Fargo.  He seems more Emmy's speed than Ruffalo, and Fargo has to win an acting trophy somewhere.

Actress (TV Movie/Miniseries)

1. Cicely Tyson (The Trip to Bountiful)
2. Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Coven)
3. Helena Bonham Carter (Burton and Taylor)
4. Rebecca Ferguson (The White Queen)
5. Whoopi Goldberg (A Day Late and a Dollar Short)

The Lowdown: Of all six races, this one certainly seems to be the most competitive.  In addition to the five women above, you could easily make a case for Sarah Paulson (coming off of both a major role in the Best Picture winner and back-to-back Emmy nominations) and Minnie Driver (it may be Lifetime, but the Emmys could want to celebrate her recent success on About a Boy as well).  I am skipping them both in favor of Ferguson (who is the title character in her film) and Goldberg (who is a much bigger star than either of these two), but honestly any combination of these four women for those final two slots would make sense.
The Winner?: None of these women have that obvious contender vibe that usually comes with a winner here.  Claire Danes, Kate Winslet, and Julianne Moore all had a stampede through the awards shows aura to them, but that's not the case here.  I sort of wonder if they'll go repeat (Lange again?) or prestige (Tyson winning for the role that won her a Tony).  This is one of those categories I'm going to wait and see which of the final four women get in (Ferguson could theoretically pull a Kelly MacDonald and win here).

Supporting Actor (TV Movie/Miniseries)

1. Matt Bomer (The Normal Heart)
2. Martin Freeman (Sherlock: His Last Vow)
3. Jim Parsons (The Normal Heart)
4. John Goodman (Dancing on the Edge)
5. Frank Langella (Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight)

The Lowdown: The biggest question with TV Movie and Miniseries acting categories is usually whether the Emmys are going to favor their big stars or over-nominate their favorite films.  This can lead to a situation like Mildred Pierce where EVERYBODY gets nominated or one where we see favorite names like Goodman and Langella.  At the moment I'm favoring the big name theory (with Alfred Molina in Return to Zero just out of reach), but if they go the smaller name route, you could see Denis O'Hare in American Horror Story or especially Colin Hanks in Fargo get nominations.  Colin's father Tom has won five Emmy Awards in his career, but has never even been nominated for acting on television, so this could be the place where he actually one-ups his pops on the awards circuit.
The Winner?: It feels like Bomer will be the victor here-he's got a showy role, and more importantly, is a television staple that hasn't received much awards-love throughout his long career on cable.  This would be a great way to reward a solid TV player, and a gay actor playing a gay part (classy!).

Supporting Actress (TV Movie/Miniseries)

1. Julia Roberts (The Normal Heart)
2. Kathy Bates (American Horror Story: Coven)
3. Ellen Burstyn (Flowers in the Attic)
4. Alison Tolman (Fargo)
5. Jacqueline Bisset (Dancing on the Edge)

The Lowdown: Acceptance speeches matter more than you would expect during the run-up of an awards season, and Bisset's famously awful one at the Globes makes me wonder if she'll get skipped entirely at the Emmy Awards (she's near certain to lose, even though she's an icon who has never won an Emmy).  I'm keeping her in for now, though, because that Globe win was still a win, and she is very famous.  Most of her competition is set in stone: Roberts "slumming it" in television is a guarantee for a nomination (and likely a win), and the Emmys can never get enough of Kathy Bates or Ellen Burstyn so they're also nominated.  Tolman's role is integral to Fargo and though she's not as famous as her potential competitors I think that should be enough.  Other names that could take out either Tolman or Bisset include Angela Bassett in Coven or Janet McTeer in The White Queen, though I'm intrigued to see if the push to get Audra McDonald nominated for The Sound of Music will pay off. McDonald was easily voted best-in-show in her film and the movie itself was a HUGE ratings hit, even if it was critically-lambasted.  Will Emmy want to acknowledge one of the biggest events of the television year, particularly since it was on network television?  We'll see, but this is its only shot at a high-profile nomination.
The Winner?: At this point Roberts is the clear on-paper frontrunner, though part of me feels a little bit like this is a leader who could get toppled.  If Alison Tolman manages a nomination (not even close to a certainty), she feels like the sort of supporting player who would get enough "Should Wins" from the press to actually translate into a surprise win.  Emmy skipped Roberts once before for Guest Actress at the peak of her fame to go with a character actress (Debra Monk)-could history be repeating?

And those are my Miniseries/TV Movie predictions.  We'll hit Drama and Comedy later this week before the Thursday announcement, but in the meantime-what do you think will be nominated for Miniseries/TV Movie?  Who are you rooting for?  Share in the comments!

Five Ways to Fix The View

As longtime readers of this blog may remember, I was once a HUGE fan of The View.  However, because of my moral objections to Jenny McCarthy's anti-vaccine crusade, I couldn't find a way to watch the show once she came in to replace Joy Behar.  With this past week's announcement that both McCarthy and longtime panelist Sherri Shepherd were both leaving the series, I figured it was time for me to reevaluate my View embargo, but considering the mess that it's been left in (only Whoopi Goldberg is left as a permanent member of the panel), I think it is my duty to first provide a bit of advice to the show that clearly needs it after a rough season.  Here are five ways I think Bill and Barbara (or whomever-it seems even Bill Geddie may be removed from the show at this point) can fix a show that was once appointment viewing on daytime television but has since become a mess.

1. Get the Show Back to Current Events

The reason The View initially came into being was because Barbara Walters wanted a cross-section of American women to discuss the major issues of the day.  In the earlier days of the show, smart, successful women like Meredith Vierra, Star Jones, and Barbara Walters would discuss serious issues affecting the nation.  In a landscape of cooking segments and softball interviews with random feel good newsmakers that day, it's refreshing to see a group of smart people discussing serious issues onscreen.  The show has lost that edge though, particularly with Walters leaving.  Even when Elisabeth Hasselbeck was on the show, there was a counterpoint to the show and she and Joy could have a debate.  Now there's not enough intellectual heft to the topics that are discussed, with more focus being put on Kim Kardashian's nuptials than what the President is doing in the Ukraine.  We're not asking for Morning Joe or Fox and Friends here, but the balance toward pop culture has gotten seriously out-of-hand.

2. Figure Out a Way to Maintain a Panel

This is what the show desperately needs more than anything-a panel of women that will stick around for a while.  The show lives and dies off of chemistry between the panelists, both the positive (Hasselbeck/Shepherd, Walters/Behar) and the negative (O'Donnell/Hasselbeck, Jones/Walters), but you need a panel of women that we can count on every week.  It's ridiculous that nearly a year has passed since Elisabeth Hasselbeck left the show and there isn't a permanent replacement for her on the panel.  Now there are four openings-the show would be smart to just roll out several people come this autumn. And while I'm not going to spend a lot of time picking who those women should be, I will say...

3. Hire Katie Couric

She can still do whatever it is she's doing at Yahoo (speaking of which-what is going on at Yahoo...though that may be fodder for a different article), but the show needs a respected journalistic heavyweight on the show to fill Walters' shoes, and Couric, coming off of a failed talk show, would be the perfect option.  She's great in an interview, can work with both hardball and softball news segments, and like Walters, can come on the show 3-4 days a week to balance the rest of the schedule.  She's under contract to ABC News still-this isn't that hard of an option to make.  Plus, it would give The View a new major name and who wouldn't want to see Couric get involved in major debates?  Walters still managed to put her two cents in without risking journalistic neutrality, why can't Couric?

4. Hire Some New Names

On the opposite end, the show should take this opportunity to bring in some new names.  I've heard Bethenny Frankel as an option, but that just seems to be a retread of other talk shows (plus, it ruins my Couric option if they hire another recent failed talk show host), and Frankel doesn't add any new elements.  Think of someone like Michael Strahan, who was a breath of fresh air after years of Regis Philbin, and has become the unlikely face of morning television.  There's something to be said for America discovering a new talent or personality, and provided that they have the ability to interview without completely becoming the story (no one wants someone completely ostentatious that will just grab headlines for the sake of it, but instead perhaps grab headlines for their opinions), then this is a great idea.

5. You Need an Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Much has been made about how the show needs a Latina (this is true, for the record, though not really the point I'm making here), but what the show truly needs is a new conservative voice.  What made Elisabeth Hasselbeck so perfect for the show (yes, I said perfect, and I'll stand behind that) is that she wasn't a conservative host that was going to completely alienate the audience in a way that Ann Coulter or Laura Ingraham might have.  She held views that the rest of the panel (and quite frankly, the bulk of the audience) likely disagreed with, but she made up for it by both A) coming at her views from a very genuine place and B) holding her own in an argument.  Much was made of her arguments with Rosie, but she boned up on her credentials in the years that followed and frequently made fairly sound arguments amidst the "too good for the room" snark that sometimes came from Whoopi or Joy.  You need that counterpoint to have decent arguments on the air, and you need someone who can maintain likability in the harshest of circumstances.  Perhaps go with a former politician or political analyst to keep the panel savvy?  Worth a thought.

And those are my suggestions on how ABC can make The View just a little stronger.  What are yours?  How would you fix this show?  What do you think will happen next for the panel/series?  Share in the comments!