Should there be an Academy Award for Best Comedic Performance?
 

It seems like comics get no Oscar love until they switch genres (Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, to name a few). Should comedies or comedic performances somehow be incorporated into the academy awards? I think YES! Comparing their performances against other actors in serious roles seems like comparing apples to oranges.

They're hard to define though. Is Little Miss Sunshine a comedy to compete against Wedding Crashers or is it a dramedy that kinda inbetween?

Can you name 10 great comedic male & female (5 per) leading performances from the past year that were overlooked? I can't.

I voted no, and it's not because comedic performances don't deserve a place at the Oscars. They do, but right in the same catergory as dramatic roles. It just so happens that the dramatic actor wins. Johnny Depp was nominated as Jack Sparrow, and that was definitely a comedic performace. Alan Arkin is nominated this year, once again in a comedic performance

Most of all, the last thing I want is four more oscar catgories. We'd have to have female comedic, and then supporting for both. What's the guarnatee that we'll even get enough good performances in the current categories category?

I voted no, but I feel that comedic actors should get more nominations for Best/Best Supporting Actor. Most actors will tell you if you succeed at comedic performances, drama is easy.

It isn't that they have no place at the oscars, they shouldn't be held to a different standard. A single, compiled Actor category is plentiful.

No, just no

No.

A fine performance is a fine performance: comedic, dramatic or other.

Well, the idea is for one award, regardless of male/female, lead/supporting.

I don't know. I agree that it shouldn't matter, but it would be interesting.

No.

The Best Actor category should recognize the five best performances of the year regardless of genre.

Steve Carell, for instance, should have gotten a Best Actor nom in 2006. He was certainly as deserving as the other nominees even though his role was comedic.

If a comic performance is good enough, it'll get nominated in the acting catergories. They don't need to go Golden globes and have seperate catergories, it de-powers the prestige of being nominated. Comedic performers just don't show the same depth that dramatic actors do, that's why they're overlooked. When they can act better, they can come back for a nom.

hell no.

There's no Best Dramatic Performance either. Johnny Depp was nominated for Pirates. Unfortunately, Roberto Benigni won for Life is Beautiful, which was a comedic performance. Albeit nowhere near as good as Ian McKellen's performance in Gods and Monsters. I believe Tom Hanks was nominated for Big, and I'd consider that a comedy.

NO.

Acting is acting. Once you start breaking it down, we could end up with dozens of categories, which may boost some Hollywood egos, but would dilute whatever value an Academy Award might have.

<i>"The nominees for the best performance as the victim of a serial killer are ......"</i>

...and the categories could go forth and multiply

Tom Hanks = Forrest Gump
Kevin Spacey = American Beauty
Jack Nicholson = As Good As It Gets
Helen Hunt = As Good As It Gets
Cuba Gooding Jr. = Jerry Maguire
Jack Palance = City Slickers
Kevin Kline = A Fish Called Wanda
Gweneth Paltrow = Shakespeare In Love
Judi Dench = Shakespeare In Love
Whoopi Goldberg = Ghost
Cher = Moonstruck
Olympia Dukakis = Moonstruck


I'm probably forgetting some, but those are all recent winners in performances that were mostly comedic...and I didn't even mention comedic performances in dramas, such as Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man.