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The year 1970 ends a decade, at least as we move in reverse through the years, but we are still in the same era of Hollywood. The so-called “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls” era probably goes back to, say, 1967, or at least 1969, when Midnight Cowboy won Best Picture as an X-rated (now R-rated, to be fair) film. Here are my retroactive film awards for 1970, capping another decade.
Best Supporting Actress: Goldie Hawn, There’s a Girl in My Soup
This was the first year where I felt the fact there were fewer films in the mix, and where landing on award winners was tough. I’ll keep at it, though, because there are some good years left to come. Additionally, one of the bigger films of the years, and the most critically-acclaimed films, are dude heavy. Hawn was basically at the forefront of the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” movement with a film like this, and she was great at this type of role, so I wanted to give her some love.
Best Supporting Actor: Peter Boyle, Joe
While Joe is the titular character, he is definitely in a supporting role. Joe is the guy that the lead actor’s character runs into and changes his life, for the worse. If you think of Boyle as the dad from Everybody Loves Raymond or the monster from Young Frankenstein, check out this film. He plays a hateful man whose hate turns to violence, bringing the protagonist down with him.
Best Actress: Carrie Snodgrass, Diary of a Mad Housewife
Honestly, I couldn’t tell you another Snodgrass role. I don’t know if I have seen her in anything else. Let me look it up…nope! Never even seen her on TV. Diary of a Mad Housewife is her defining role, but not everybody even gets one of those. Snodgrass won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar for her first credited film role. That probably feels weird, in hindsight.
Best Actor: Elliott Gould, MASH
George C. Scott won Best Actor for Patton, but he refused to accept the award. He hated these awards. Now he’s dead, so I could feel free to give him an award, but I didn’t. MASH is a tricky watch now. It’s aggressively nihilistic about its depiction of life at this particular MASH unit. The sexism is casual and not condemned by the film, and even as somebody who doesn’t need all poor behavior in a film tut-tutted, it feels uncomfortable. That’s probably the point, given that this is a Robert Altman film. In the end, though, Gould is one of my all-time favorite actors, and he stands out in this ensemble piece. He wins for me here.
Best Film: Joe
Patton won Best Picture, and it is quite good. Joe, though, hits better for me. It’s cynical, but in a way I can appreciate. The movie captures the same ennui as MASH, but in a way that is more palatable, and with more thrust to it. I don’t love it, but the film sits well with me as Best Picture of 1970.
