Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009

Supporting Actress

Mo'Nique, Precious, Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (16)
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air (4)
Samantha Morton, The Messenger (1)

The wrinkle here is that Mo'Nique — whose day jobs are stand-up comic and TV host, and who gives the kind of smoldering performance the Academy loves to reward — is a brassy, unpredictable sort, and has not endeared herself to the industry. Her acceptance speech could be part Moms Mabley, part Hugo Chávez.