Reese, Please

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a long time Reese Witherspoon fan. She’s always come across as gracious, elegant, tasteful, and a refreshing juxtaposition to the Tara Reids of Hollywood. That’s why writing this causes me so much pain. Sometimes, however, someone says something so ridiculously disingenuous that they need to be called out on it. To wit, after receiving her well-deserved Academy Award nomination, Ms. Witherspoon claims, “I was completely surprised.”

Really? Completely surprised? I guess the nomination would have come as a complete shock as you’ve only won the Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden Globe, the New York Film Critics Circle Award, the National Society of Film Critics Award, and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for this role. Given this, how out of character would it be for the Academy to ignore the most consistent award winner since Hilary Swank? Unprecedented.

Granted, Reese did not win the Chicago Film Critics Award (although nominated) - that having gone to Joan Allen for The Upside of Anger. Not to take away from Joan’s award as I think she is supremely talented but Joan was born in Illinois, attended Northern Illinois University, and has her acting roots in Chicago as an ensemble member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ... you see where this is going.

As a first time nominee, I understand Reese didn’t want to appear glib and comment that she knew a nomination was a fait accompli. By the same token, however, she shouldn’t try to tell America that despite winning almost every major and minor acting award this year, she was genuinely surprised by a nomination. There’s a fine line to walk between honest humility and bravado masquerading as false humility.