The Best and Worst of 1989

Not directly related, but it's my all-time favorite awards image.

Courtesy Vanity Fair

Well, here we are folks. The present end of The Films of 1989. 

There were several movies I didn’t get around to seeing and I hope to correct a few oversights when I assemble my inevitable book, but I feel confident enough to give my Best and Worst Awards.

Please Note: These nominations were given for a variety of reasons, including personal preference, overall quality of work, overall quality or inefficiency of a performance or character itself and conduct while making the movie.

Best Picture

Born on the Fourth of July; Driving Miss Daisy; Do the Right Thing; My Left Foot; sex, lies and videotape

Also Notable

The Abyss; Batman; Crimes and Misdemeanors; Drugstore Cowboy; Henry V; License to Kill; The Little Mermaid; Parenthood; The War of the Roses; When Harry Met Sally …

Movies I Missed

Dead Poets Society, Enemies, A Love Story; Jesus of Montreal

Worst Picture

The Adventures of Milo and Otis; Fat Man and Little Boy, Fletch Lives; Kickboxer; Lethal Weapon 2; Loverboy, Harlem Nights, She-Devil; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier; Teen Witch

Best Actor

Kenneth Branagh, Henry V; Tom Cruise, Born on the Fourth of July; Matt Dillon, Drugstore Cowboy Daniel Day-Lewis, My Left Foot; Morgan Freeman, Lean on Me and Driving Miss Daisy

Also Notable

Jeff Bridges, The Fabulous Baker Boys; John Candy, Uncle Buck; John Cusack, Say Anything …; Michael Douglas, The War of the Roses; Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; Michael Keaton, Batman; Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing; John Neville, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen Al Pacino, Sea of Love; James Spader, sex, lies and videotape

Honorable Mention

Bart, The Bear

Performances I Didn’t See

Lothaire Bluteau, Jesus of Montreal; Jack Lemmon, Dad; Robin Williams, Dead Poets Society

Worst Actor

Chevy Chase, Fletch Lives; Robert Lindsay, Bert Rigby, You’re a Fool; Dale Midkiff, Pet Sematary; Eddie Murphy, Harlem Nights; William Shatner, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Best Actress

Kelly Lynch, Drugstore Cowboy; Andie MacDowell, sex, lies and videotape; Michelle Pfeiffer, The Fabulous Baker Boys; Jessica Tandy, Driving Miss Daisy; Kathleen Turner, The War of the Roses

Also Notable

Ellen Barkin, Sea of Love; Jodi Benson, The Little Mermaid; Pauline Collins, Shirley Valentine; Geena Davis, Earth Girls Are Easy; Sally Field, Steel Magnolias; Shelley Long, Troop Beverly Hills; Isabella Rossellini, Cousins; Meg Ryan, When Harry Met Sally …; Winona Ryder, Heathers; Ione Skye, Say Anything … and The Rachel Papers

Performances I Didn’t See

Isabelle Adjani, Camille Claudel; Jessica Lange, Music Box; Liv Ullmann, The Rose Garden

Worst Actress

Roseanne Barr, She-Devil; Robyn Lively, Teen Witch; Heather McComb, New York Stories; Bernadette Peters, Slaves of New York; Meryl Streep, She-Devil

Best Supporting Actor

Dan Ackroyd, Driving Miss Daisy; Danny Aiello, Do the Right Thing; Beau Bridges, The Fabulous Baker Boys; Martin Landau, Crimes and Misdemeanors; Denzel Washington, Glory

Also Notable

Alan Alda, Crimes and Misdemeanors; Sean Connery, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; Peter Gallagher, sex, lies and videotape; John Goodman, Sea of Love and Always; Fred Gwynne, Pet Sematary; Bruno Kirby, When Harry Met Sally …; John Mahoney, Say Anything; Ray McAnally, My Left Foot; Jack Nicholson, Batman; Randy Quaid, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Performances I Didn’t See

Marlon Brando, A Dry White Season; Ed Harris, Jacknife; Bruce Willis, In Country

Worst Supporting Actor

Dennis Alexio, Kickboxer; Adam Coleman Howard, Slaves of New York; Michael Lerner, Harlem Nights; Laurence Luckinbill, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier; Paul Newman, Fat Man and Little Boy

Best Supporting Actress

Julie Brown, Earth Girls Are Easy; Brenda Fricker, My Left Foot; Julia Roberts, Steel Magnolias; Laura San Giacomo, sex, lies and videotape; Dianne Wiest, Parenthood

Also Notable

Part Carroll, The Little Mermaid; Mia Farrow, Crimes and Misdemeanors; Carrie Fisher, When Harry Met Sally …; Heather Graham, Drugstore Cowboy; Anjelica Huston, Crimes and Misdemeanors; Shirley MacLaine, Steel Magnolias; Amy Madigan, Field of Dreams and Uncle Buck; Sarah Polley, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen; Mae Questel, New York Stories and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation; Sean Young, Cousins

Honorable Mention

Douce, The Bear

Performances I Didn’t See

Bridget Fonda, Scandal; Anjelica Huston, Enemies, A Love Story; Lena Olin, Enemies, A Love Story

Worst Supporting Actress

Bonnie Bedelia, Fat Man and Little Boy; Mia Farrow, New York Stories; Carrie Fisher, The 'Burbs and Loverboy; Linda Hunt, She-Devil; Catherine Mary Stewart, Weekend at Bernie’s

Best Ensemble

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen; Apartment Zero; The Big Picture; Crimes and Misdemeanors Do the Right Thing, Heathers; Mystery Train; Parenthood; Say Anything ...; Steel Magnolias

Honorable Mention

Roger & Me

Best Direction

Bruce Beresford, Driving Miss Daisy; Kenneth Branagh, Henry V; Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing; Steven Soderbergh, sex, lies and videotape; Oliver Stone, Born on the Fourth of July

Also Notable

Danny DeVito, The War of the Roses; Terry Gilliam, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen; Ron Howard, Parenthood; Rob Reiner, When Harry Met Sally …; Gus Van Sant, Drugstore Cowboy

Worst Direction

James Cameron, The Abyss; Masanori Hata, The Adventures of Milo and Otis; Eddie Murphy, Harlem Nights; Susan Seidelman, She-Devil; William Shatner, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Best Screenplay

Woody Allen, Crimes and Misdemeanors; Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally …; Steve Kloves, The Fabulous Baker Boys; Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing; Steven Soderbergh, sex, lies and videotape

Also Notable

Jeffrey Boam and Tom Stoppard, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; James Cameron, The Abyss; Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel, Parenthood; Terry Gilliam & Charles McKeown, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen; Christopher Guest, Michael Warhol & Michael McKean, The Big Picture; John Hughes, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation; Jim Jarmusch, Mystery Train; Willy Russell, Shirley Valentine; Gus Van Sant & Daniel Yost, Drugstore Cowboy; Daniel Waters, Heathers

Worst Screenplay

Tama Janowitz, Slaves of New York; Roland Joffe and Bruce Robinson, Fat Man and Little Boy; David Loughery, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier; Robin Menken and Vernon Zimmerman, Teen Witch; Eddie Murphy, Harlem Nights; Harold Ramis & Dan Aykroyd, Ghostbusters II; Carl Reiner Bert Rigby, You’re a Fool; Robin Schiff and Tom Ropelewski & Leslie Dixon, Loverboy; Michael Schiffer, Lean on Me; Barry Strugatz & Mark R. Burns, She-Devil

Dishonorable Mention

Francis Ford & Sofia Coppola, "Life Without Zoë,” New York Stories

Best Song

“In Time,” Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

“After All,” Chances Are (I didn’t actually see the film)

“Make It Big,” Troop Beverly Hills

“I Like Boys,” Teen Witch

“Partyman,” Batman

“UHF,” UHF

“The Whites of Their Eyes,” The Big Picture

“Non Nobis, Domine,” Henry V

“Part of Your World,” The Little Mermaid

“Under the Sea,” The Little Mermaid

Starting this weekend, please join me for The Films of 1985. We’ll be doing a catch up week, then ideally weekend-only postings. I begin with Blood Simple.