The McCarthy-Heigl Effect

[Joined: Jan 1st, 1970 Topics: 151 Posts: 2360 View Predictions]

#228180

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[FNLFan89 Joined: Nov 3rd, 2010 Topics: 17 Posts: 1407 View Predictions]

#228182

Kyle Chandler had Super 8 out this summer (but it probably didn’t help him as much as Bridesmaids helped McCarthy)

Julie Bowen had Jumping the Broom and Horrible Bosses out this summer (but once again, not to the same extent as McCarthy) 

Maggie Smith had Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows, Part 2 out this summer (but she was winning, no matter what)

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[Richard LeBeau Joined: May 22nd, 2011 Topics: 6 Posts: 332 View Predictions]

#228183

I can’t explain why McCarthy won, but I don’t think the “Bridesmaids” argument makes sense.  That film was first and foremost a showcase for the comic brilliance of Kristen Wiig as an actress and writer, so if Emmy voters loved it enough to give McCarthy a win they surely would have loved it enough to give Wiig a win.  

 

Anyway, some actors that may have actually been helped by film buzz:

– Helen Hunt’s 3rd win, which came less than 6 months after she won the Oscar for As Good As It Gets

– Cloris Leachman’s 1st win, which came after she won the Oscar for The Last Picture Show

– Michael J. Fox’s profile was definitely raised by his starring turn in Back to the Future, which came just as his three year domination of the Lead Actor category started

– The year Meryl Streep won for Holocaust came after she burst onto the scene with Manhattan, Julia, The Seduction of Joe Tynan and as she was gaining her first serious attention for The Deer Hunter.

– Holly Hunter’s turn in The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleading Murdering Mom won the Emmy the same year she starred in The Piano and The Firm, for which she would receive double Oscar nominations in early 1994.  

 

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[BenitoDelicias Joined: Nov 3rd, 2010 Topics: 8 Posts: 5175 View Predictions]

#228184

The thing with McCarthy is that she was very much one of the top things people discussed in a very discussed and loved movie over the summer. The success of this movie pretty much stretched from before the nominations to right around the voting period. And McCarthy was always in the discussion. But the thing is that most people don’t realize that she actually sent in a good tape. A similar tape to Poehler’s in which she outdid her in every way except that she has one of the worst shows in television right now. But she was great in her tape, regardless of crappy writers, crappy co-stars and so on.

 

Bowen was in a very successful movie that featured her for about 5 minutes total and nobody cared about her character or her performance. She was in another movie that nobody saw. That was all tape and show. Same with Kyle Chandler, decent tape, loved show, final season. His movie was very popular but did anybody really love it, talked about it or even talked about him?

 

McCarthy’s win was all tape with a bunch of Bridesmaids success, even if some people believe that nobody from the voting section of her category watched the movie.

 

I understand why some people like to toss out this theory because Kristen Wiig didn’t win, but that was a category she never had a chance to win, she sent a so-so tape that also had a co-nominee in it, featured more heavily than she was, coupled with her own 1 hour dramatic/comedic tape. No matter how much she put herself into Bridesmaids and came out winning , her tape did not. Plus there’s the whole “SNL performers in supporting categories” which we’ll never know if it’s going to work or not. Bridemaids-wise, McCarthy always had the better shot. And Rose Byrne probably would’ve too.

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[Joined: Jan 1st, 1970 Topics: 151 Posts: 2360 View Predictions]

#228185

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[Tony Ruiz Joined: Nov 5th, 2010 Topics: 30 Posts: 860 View Predictions]

#228186

I think McCarthy got NOMINATED because of Bridesmaids…but she sent in a wonderful tape that was just funnier than Poehler’s or Linney’s.  The movie helped get her the nomination, but the win came from the tape.  

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[Joined: Jan 1st, 1970 Topics: 151 Posts: 2360 View Predictions]

#228187

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[BenitoDelicias Joined: Nov 3rd, 2010 Topics: 8 Posts: 5175 View Predictions]

#228188

I’m not saying McCarthy is better than Poehler, or that Poehler isn’t a great actress or anything like that.

Tape isn’t always “performance” “funniest” “best actress than…”. The tape as a whole was better and as evidenced by the win, more effective than Poehler’s.

Flu Season was everbody’s choice from the moment it aired to the moment it was announced as Poehler’s official tape. And then…we saw it again. Super short screentime, very much spread through the whole episode, too many storylines, no focus on Poehler’s, instead on everybody’s flu and McCarthy had a similar tape. Under the influence of medication. McCarthy was in it more than anybody else (except Linney), she was hilarious in a very multicamera, CBS, old people, traditional sitcom kind of way. And Poehler just wasn’t that funny. And again, I adore both women, I’ll put Amy over Melissa any day, and if Parks and Rec is my #1 comedy of the year, Mike & Molly isn’t even on that list. But is what it is.

My choice for the win was Plimpton, by the way.

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[Joined: Jan 1st, 1970 Topics: 151 Posts: 2360 View Predictions]

#228189

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[BenitoDelicias Joined: Nov 3rd, 2010 Topics: 8 Posts: 5175 View Predictions]

#228190

Again, never said she wasn’t a good actress, I think she’s excellent. I edited my post with an “OR THAT” on the first line, in case it seemed like I said she wasn’t good.

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[eastwest Joined: Jun 6th, 2011 Topics: 127 Posts: 4221 View Predictions]

#228191

This is definitly a factor that will be in the mythical record books of us analyzing these things. I totally agree w/OperaJunky that she was nominated b/c of the film. I think it’s a combination of the film and the voters “maybe” liking her tape. While I didn’t agree w/the win, I love Melissa McCarthy and am happy for her.

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[BTN Joined: Oct 11th, 2010 Topics: 6 Posts: 1292 View Predictions]

#228192

Voters would have to have liked Melissa McCarthy so much in bridesmaids if they even saw Bridesmaids to say she deserves an Emmy for it and think that she was so good all the other nominees were completely irrelevent and their work was irrelvent because McCarthy was funny in Bridesmaids? People who hate and don’t watch Mike & Molly are just not right. When I saw Flu season I did not compare it to McCarthy even though I thought that was hilarious. I thought  people would be turned off by the hate of Mike & Molly but Emmy voters nominated her and voted for her for Mike & Molly. I do not see how voters love of Bridesmaids would have survived so many stages-If they even saw Bridesmaids!

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[True Tenor Joined: Nov 5th, 2010 Topics: 1 Posts: 222 View Predictions]

#228193

As much as I am absolutely annoyed by this win, I am not sure if I can buy into this argument. Namely, because of talented actors like Steve Carell and Jon Hamm who have had successful films prior to nods but still didn’t win. 

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[GoMe91 Joined: Sep 25th, 2011 Topics: 3 Posts: 1256 View Predictions]

#228194

My first post here!

 

Yeah, I don’t believe this argument. Crazy Stupid Love was a very popular movie, so why didn’t Steve Carell win for his last season of the Office? And, c’mon, Kristen Wiig got plenty of praise both her performance and script…why didn’t she win?

 

I figure, if voters loved McCarthy enough to give her a nomination despite 0 buzz and hype, then I think it’s perfectly plausible for them to love her enough to give her a win. Sometimes, I believe, they just want to roo for the underdog. I wish they gave that type of treatment to Courtney Cox or Sarah Silverman but whatevs. I don’t like Mike and Molly, but I’m happy she won…

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[Joined: Jan 1st, 1970 Topics: 168 Posts: 7960 View Predictions]

#228195

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