The other night, while rapidly absorbing Entertainment Weekly’s breakdown of the Oscars, the similarities between the races for best picture and for the next president of the United States suddenly dawned on me.
While there may be only four major candidates left in the race to November and five best picture nominees, the possibilities for comparison are nevertheless endless. Both winners are almost guaranteed to leave a relatively large stamp on our popular culture either directly (eight years of Bush jokes are finally getting stale) or indirectly (the win last year by the ultraviolent film “The Departed” seems to have influenced this year’s bloody contenders).
First off, the most obvious comparison that comes to mind is between the epic World War II love story “Atonement” and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. “Atonement” was long thought to be the one to beat for the Oscars this Sunday, with its literary pedigree, its label from a small studio known for other recent Academy favorites, its impressive cast and its traditional focus on love rather than violence (“No Country for Old Men”) or deception (“Michael Clayton”).
However, a less than stellar review from the New York Times seemed to be the beginning of the end for “Atonement,” and after New Year’s, “Atonement” officially got pushed to the back burner.
While Clinton did end up with the New York Times endorsement, it was the heart-warming, unexpected “Juno” of the race, Senator Barack Obama, that led to Clinton’s current desperation for votes in offbeat states such as Hawaii, Texas and Ohio. Clinton is a much more conservative candidate than Obama, in light of his youth and inexperience. However, it’s hard to tell whether she can overcome her setbacks better than her film counterpart.
Just as the junior senator from Illinois has become a serious contender after entering the race somewhat unexpectedly, Obama’s film, “Juno,” stole a lot of buzz from “Atonement” with a fresh-faced former stripper for a screenwriter (Diablo Cody) and a relatively young director (Jason Reitman).
While it may seem an odd comparison, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee most closely resembles the throwback thriller and another semi-surprise nominee “Michael Clayton.” I would never say Mike Huckabee, or any of the other candidates for that matter, are half as charismatic as Mr. George Clooney, but the surprise strength of both of these contenders has raised eyebrows near and far. “Michael Clayton” may have been timid at the box office, but was the only film to garner multiple acting nominations.
Huckabee, on the other hand, is also unlikely to become the GOP nomination thanks to John McCain’s primary successes, but after winning states such as West Virginia and Iowa, he has stayed in the race nonetheless.
Finally, Arizona senator and long-time Capitol Hill staple McCain would have to be the “No Country for Old Men” of the bunch. He fairly closely resembles the old traditionalist spirit of lead character Ed Bell (Tommy Lee Jones). Also, both McCain and “No Country for Old Men” were considered far less conventional picks for front-runners, since McCain is fairly moderate on a number of issues while “No Country for Old Men” is much more violent and less character-driven than most past winners.
McCain even resembles the Coen brothers’ apparent affinity for violence with his recent YouTube music sensation “Bomb Iran” (sung to the tune of the Beach Boys’ hit “Barbara Ann”).
Both McCain and the writer-director team of the Coen brothers have come close to glory before. McCain gave current President Bush a run for his money in the 2000 election while the Coens’ film “Fargo” took home the Best Actress Oscar for Frances McDormand as well as the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for the Coens back in 1997.
Unfortunately, the similarities end just short of a companion for the oil tycoon tale “There Will Be Blood.” However, thinking about the unapologetic and ruthless Daniel Plainview, maybe its better this way.
While the winner in both races is still undetermined, the similarities between the candidates in the running to take the ultimate Oscar home and those in the running to call 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. home shows the true spirit and importance of good old-fashioned competition, no matter what you’re fighting for.
If you would vote for Daniel Plainview if he ran for president, e-mail Stanhope at kstanhope@media.ucla.edu.