AN OKAY YEAR AT THE MOVIES 2012 - Week 2: The Perpetual Runner-Up

Even nowadays, it always seems to be the traditional movie that wins the Oscar.  Even when the challenger is a uniquely American story of an American kid who invented the website that revolutionized world culture from an American point of view (The Social Network), the Best Picture Oscar goes to the more traditional underdog-makes-good story of the British king who overcomes his speech impediment.  The same thing will happen this year.  Though the better, more moving, more surprising film of the year is The Descendants, the top Oscar will likely go to The Help.

The Descendants, like much of director Alexander Payne's work, is the story of an unexceptional man who is nonetheless a good person, trying to do the best he can.  George Clooney plays Matt King, a Hawaii lawyer who's actually a rich landowner, but insists that he and his children should work for their money anyway.  However, thanks to his work ethic, he hasn't gotten much of a chance to be a father to his two daughters (Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller).  When his wife goes into a coma after an accident, a ton of responsibility falls into his lap.  When he finds out that his wife was cheating on him, things become tougher.

Clooney channels Jimmy Stewart, proving himself adept at playing an ordinary schmoe with real problems, even as one of the World's Biggest Movie Stars.  The movie also has star-making performances from Woodley and from Nick Krause as her friend Sid, whose job it is to keep her company at the most awkward times.  Robert Forster, Matthew Lillard and Judy Greer are also very good in crucial roles.  Like Payne's previous films Sideways and About Schmidt, The Descendants accompanies complex characters in a story that has no easy solutions.

This is why The Help will likely win the Oscar.  In addition to having more of a clear-cut story arc, it's a Hollywood success story: dumped in August, it became one of the highest-grossing and most-talked-about films of 2011.  The Academy loves surprise success stories: who knew that The Hurt Locker would come from behind and beat out Avatar?

5. Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys (2000): Jan. 10
6. Water for Elephants (2011): Jan. 10
7. The Descendants (2011): Jan. 11
8. The Help (2011): Jan. 13
9. Super 8 (2011): Jan. 13