Emmy Nomination Analysis: Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series

This award will be announced at the Creative Arts Emmy Ceremony on September 15th.


CATEGORY: Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series

NOMINEES: Joan Cusack for Shameless, Loretta Devine for Grey's Anatomy, Julia Ormond for Mad Men, Martha Plimpton for The Good Wife, Jean Smart for Harry's Law, Uma Thurman for Smash

ANALYSIS: Previously, I had send Devine, Plimpton and Thurman's episodes. I rewatched these episodes first. To begin, Thurman's arc on Smash was pretty good, considering that the show itself did not live up to high expectations. In this particular episode, Thurman's character fights fear of making her stage debut despite being a successful actress, and also begins an affair with the director of the show, whose intentions are not clear. Thurman does a good job of juggling the superior air of an accomplished actress and the terror of resting a musical production on the shoulders of one woman. She doesn't do anything completely outstanding in the episode, but she does a very good job with what she is given (something that could be said for a lot of actors on the show). She's certainly the biggest name in the category and that could help her get some votes. Next, I watched Devine's episode. Let's not forget she is the defending champion in this category so she already has a slight advantage. The storyline, the same one that got her the award last year, is absolutely heartbreaking, and most of that is coming from James Pickens Jr. and Devine's performances. The storyline has a complete start-to-end finish, Devine's character having a few mishaps due to her Alzheimer's, visiting nursing homes, relapsing, but ultimately realizing her illness and asking her husband to be placed in a home. The only problem is the short amount of time she is on screen. She's only really got about three scenes, but they are very powerful, especially the last scene. A repeat is certainly not out of the question for the lone acting nominee for Grey's Anatomy. Finally, I rewatched Plimpton. Her character is one of my favorite guest stars on The Good Wife, a show that is very familiar with recurring characters the audience loves (or loves to hate, as is the case here). Unlike Devine's arc in her tape, Plimpton does not experience any kind of "change of heart," but it doesn't seem to hurt her here. She plays evil like no other, which is why it's surprising that she also plays sweet dimwit so great on Raising Hope (where she was snubbed for a nomination this year). The juggle between the evil, conniving smirk and the loving, adoring mother flips so seamlessly for Plimpton and the final twist in the storyline is right in line with the character. She's got good screen time and she's definitely a contender. Next, I checked out Cusack's tape. The show itself kinda seemed a mess, but I guess an outsider cannot really judge. As far as Cusack goes, this is an excellent tape. She's got range like no other; her big scene is a hilarious wedding toast gone awry, but she has gentler moments toward the end when she recognizes her shortcomings. I find it a little hard to categorize the show as a drama, but she gives a great, memorable performance. As was my question  with Dot-Marie Jones in the Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series analysis, I wonder if the fact that Cusack's performance is comedic will detract from the reaction she'll get from voters. Regardless, she's a frontrunner. I never really got into Mad Men, and from watching Ormond's scenes in her episode, I'm still not sure I see what is so "brilliant" about it. Ormond's character does a whole lot of nothing except hook up with another man, but other than that she just kind of sits around and complains about her daughter. There's no real storyline, so I kind of think she's nominated because of her name, which is a shame. Maybe I'm missing something, but I wasn't very impressed. Ormond does just fine, but the lack of a storyline really kills her chance of winning this award. Finally, I watched Smart's tape. To say this is a "bait tape" is an understatement. It just seems like this episode was written for Smart to win the Emmy. With more than enough screen time, she delivers a handful of powerful monologues with great conviction. She gets to have funny, sarcastic moments, in addition to raw emotional scenes. This was meant to win her an Emmy, and I have a pretty good feeling she'll get it.

WHO SHOULD AND WILL WIN: In a category with actresses who do pretty good jobs, Smart trumps them all with her episode. I think she's got a pretty good grip on the award.

RANKINGS:
1. Jean Smart - Harry's Law
2. Joan Cusack - Shameless
3. Martha Plimpton - The Good Wife
4. Loretta Devine - Grey's Anatomy
5. Uma Thurman - Smash
6. Julia Ormond - Mad Men

Evan