Thank God Lady Gaga won’t get an Oscar this year

The kick is given. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled this Tuesday, February 8, the list of nominations for the highly anticipated 94th Academy Awards, which will take place on March 27 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. As every year, the announcements had their share of surprises and disappointments: we note the unexpected absences of Alana Haim, superb revelation of the Licorice Pizza by Paul Thomas Anderson, and part of the cast of West Side Story (only Ariana DeBose holds the shock in the Best Supporting Actress category). Another absence of brand, “snubbed” as we say in the jargon of the ceremonies of the Hollywood industry, Lady Gaga. Despite an encouraging nomination for the Golden Globes, she will not join the fight which will oppose Kristen Stewart, Olivia Colman, Jessica Chastain, Nicole Kidman and Penélope Cruz. And it’s not nothing.

Since last summer, when the first images of House of Gucci, the actress and singer was considered the undisputed favorite for the Oscar for best actress. Should we see in his absence a kind of infamy, then? Not really, no. Was there in this affair something of a media frenzy around a star whose aura today exceeds talent? The trail is certainly worth investigating.

Overconfidence

In 2018, after two timid appearances at Robert Rodriguez (Machete Kills in 2013 and Sin City: I killed for her one year later), A Star is Born propelled the one to be called Stefani Germanotta in civilian life to the rank of new darling of Hollywood drama. A true cultural phenomenon, Bradley Cooper’s film allowed the singer, then in a weak period of her musical career, to win a first statuette for her frankly tearful anthem, “Shallow”. She did not collect any prize for her performance but the appointment was made for a future consecration. It will be necessary to wait three years to see it again on the screens thanks to House of Gucci by Ridley Scott. A biopic in the form of an Oscar war machine. Lady Gaga embodies the fallen priestess of the Gucci empire, Patrizia Reggiani, and surrounds herself with a delirious cast (Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons or even Camille Cottin). Release announced for the month of November, ideal positioning for the season of the awards.

Sold as one of the most exciting films of the end of 2021, House of Gucci easily covers its costs (more than 150 million dollars at the world box office for a budget half that) but leaves the stubborn impression, for some of the critics and the public, of a great missed gesture. Too wise, too smooth, too long, and at the same time struck by grotesque flashes (starting with Jared Leto’s performance) which make it neither a sympathetic nor really striking film. The reputation of a feature film is very important for the Oscars, more than its commercial success. Take for example Nightmare Alleythe latest film from Guillermo del Toro, which has just collected four nominations, including one for the Oscar for best film. No one has seen it in the US (discarded by Disney the same week as Spider-Man: No Way Home) but everyone who’s watched it agrees that it’s probably the Mexican filmmaker’s best film. Already forgotten and mocked, House of Gucci will ultimately only fight for the Oscar for best makeup and hairstyles (and will have a hard time dealing with The Eyes of Tammy Faye Where cruella).