I think Bill Murray deserved an oscar for "Big Ern" in Kingpin. Maybe it was the timing of when I saw it, but some of the improv pieces he did with Harrelson cut deeper and redefined where comedy could go. The Wes Anderson stuff that followed helps to sell Kingpin as a coming attraction for Murray's best years (so far) Ymmv
I was thinking the same thing to myself the other day as I was watching Kingpin probably for the 100th time. I looked up the Best Supporting Actor nominees for 1996, and the only two that I thought could have even a slim chance of competing with Bill Murray were William H. Macy in Fargo and Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry McGuire.
To me, Big Ern is one of the greatest characters ever, and quite possibly Bill's best performance (Steve Zissou is right up there and The Life Aquatic is one of my favorite movies). It's straight up wrong that this performance is so underrated and overlooked. The fact that he got shined by the Academy shows the hypocrisy of Hollywood.
Comments
I think Bill Murray deserved an oscar for "Big Ern" in Kingpin. Maybe it was the timing of when I saw it, but some of the improv pieces he did with Harrelson cut deeper and redefined where comedy could go. The Wes Anderson stuff that followed helps to sell Kingpin as a coming attraction for Murray's best years (so far) Ymmv
I was thinking the same thing to myself the other day as I was watching Kingpin probably for the 100th time. I looked up the Best Supporting Actor nominees for 1996, and the only two that I thought could have even a slim chance of competing with Bill Murray were William H. Macy in Fargo and Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry McGuire.
To me, Big Ern is one of the greatest characters ever, and quite possibly Bill's best performance (Steve Zissou is right up there and The Life Aquatic is one of my favorite movies). It's straight up wrong that this performance is so underrated and overlooked. The fact that he got shined by the Academy shows the hypocrisy of Hollywood.