Ron Howard’s new drama “Hillbilly Elegy” opens in select theaters this Wednesday November 11th before debuting on Netflix on the 24th. It stars six time Oscar nominee Amy Adams and seven time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close. I’ve dissected Adams’ career in blog form before, but now it’s time to spotlight some of my personal favorite parts of Close’s career:
CRUELLA DE VIL
Long before Disney live-action remakes were commonplace, the Mouse House made a live-action version of the 1961 animated classic “101 Dalmatians” and a 2002 sequel “102 Dalmatians”. Both starred Close as the iconic villain Cruella De Vil. Her work in “101” earned Close a Golden Globe nomination and a new generation of fans. Emma Stone will now portray the character in the new “Cruella” movie that’s coming out sometime in the future. (Exact release dates at this point aren’t worth mentioning because anything can change at any moment.)
MONA SIMPSON
Close first lent her voice to Homer’s mother on “The Simpsons” in 1995. She has appeared in nine other episodes since, including one a year from 2014-2019.
GRANNY
The first movie I ever reviewed was 2006’s “Hoodwinked!”, the animated comedy that twisted-up fairy tales. As Granny, Close gave a voice performance that blended feistiness with heart and soul. And she reprised the role for the not quite as good but still entertaining 2011 sequel “Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil”.
JOAN CASTLEMAN
Sony Pictures Classics debuted “The Wife” at TIFF in 2017 but decided to hold it for nearly an entire year thinking Close would have a better shot at garnering Best Actress attention the NEXT awards season. Their strategy worked, but not completely.
Close won the Best Actress in a Drama Golden Globe before tying with Lady Gaga (“A Star Is Born”) at the Critics Choice Awards. Close then picked-up the SAG and the Independent Spirit Award but lost to Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”) at the BAFTAs. And Colman also took home Best Actress in a Comedy Golden Globe and Critics Choice honors before ultimately winning the Oscar.
Some think Colman earned the Oscar statue because the votes for Close and Gaga split. Maybe it was a “close” race and Colman barely won. Academy members HAD to see “The Favourite” – it was up for 10 awards (with the sole win for Colman). “The Wife”’s only nomination was for Close. Maybe some younger members didn’t even bother seeing it.
Close breathes fire into the role of Joan Castleman, sometimes without even saying a word. It’s similar to what Kevin Costner does in “Let Him Go” (which is in theaters now). Maybe Close will get her Oscars revenge by earning Best Supporting Actress honors for her performance in “Hillbilly Elegy”. We’ll see what happens… in approximately five and a half months.