More Random Oscar Trivia: Me & the Supporting Actress

When I gave some random perspectives on my relationship with the Best Actor Race and Oscar it was essentially a one-shot thing, but Walter suggested I do it for the other categories – so here goes. If the Actor category is the one I’m most often least onboard with Oscar for, the SupportingActress is the one we agree on most. Well, ignoring the past four years. Let’s take a look at my winners over the last 11 years.
         
My Picks (and their highest honours)
2010: Dianne Wiest in Rabbit Hole
2009: Marion Cotillard in Nine (Golden Globe Nomination)
2008: Kate Winslet in The Reader (Won Oscar, Best Actress)
2007: Romola Garai in Atonement
2006: Cate Blanchett in Notes On A Scandal (Oscar Nominated)
2005: Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener (Won Oscar)
2004: Cate Blanchett in The Aviator (Won Oscar)
2003: Marcia Gay Harden in Mystic River (Oscar Nominated)
2002: Julianne Moore in The Hours (Oscar Nominated)
2001: Helen Mirren in Gosford Park (Oscar Nominated)
2000: Marcia Gay Harden in Pollock (Won Oscar)
        
And Oscars pick (and where I ranked them)
2010: Melissa Leo in The Fighter
2009: Mo’Nique in Precious (top 10)
2008: Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (top 5)
2007: Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton (top 10)
2006: Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls
2005: Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener (Personal Pick)
2004: Cate Blanchett in The Aviator (Personal Pick)
2003: Renee Zellweger in (top 5)
2002: Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago (essentially ties with Moore for favourite)
2001: Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful Mind (the film’s weakest link)
2000: Marcia Gay Harden in Pollock (Personal Pick)
        
Three winners actually topped my favourite list, or maybe even four (if you count my personal category choice for Kate Winslet as a win). It could even be five because I flip-flop so constantly between Julianne and Catherine (Catherine is #14 on my list of great performances of the decade, Julianne is #4). My least favourite winner is Jennifer Connelly by a mile, who I deem even more culpable because she beat out a field of great performances (the one-two punch of Mirren/Smith in Gosford Park, Marisa Tomei so poignant in In the Bedroom and luminous Kate in Iris). I’m no big fan of Hudson’s Effie (so much more interested in Anika Noni Rose, there) but I wouldn’t call the performance abysmal. I still can’t completely surrender to Leo’s Alice – but when she hits those good moments (that scene in the car with Bale, egads) it’s just too brilliant for me to hate.
            
Oscar one-ups me by at least having a comedic performance among their citations – have none, the nineties were the time of the comedic supporters like Tomei in My Cousin Vinny, Wiest in Bullets Over Broadway, Goldberg in Ghost or the duo of Dench/Staunton in Shakespeare in Love. Still, the decade did have some significant comedic supporting women – even if they didn’t top my actual list. Running through the decade, I’d go:

2000: Judi Dench in Chocolat
2001: Cate Blanchett in *
2002: Susan Sarandon in Igby Goes Down
2003: Patricia Clarkson in Pieces of April
2004: Sandra Oh in Sideways
2005: Amy Adams in Junebug
2006: Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada*
2007: Michelle Pfeiffer in Hairspray
2008: Penelop Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona*
2009: Mimi Kennedy in In the Loop
2010: Patricia Clarkson in Easy A

What I love most about this subset of a list, is that most of these women are so brilliant playing the dramatic – and they’re just as good playing for laughs (I’m looking ast you Patty, Cate and Susan...and Michelle, Pe, Amy and Judi).
         
(I love the ones with the asterisks most)
            
So, what say you about the supporting women of the last eleven years? How weird are my choices? What about comedic supporting women?