Best Supporting Podcast

Toni Collette gives such a powerhouse performance in Ari Aster's dysfunctional family nightmare "Hereditary" that it's easy to forget the ingenious Ann Dowd as the insidious Joan, luring Annie down the rabbit hole to hell. While we have just as much to say about Toni Collette this week, we zoom in on Dowd's Best Supporting Antichrist, the many parallels to "Rosemary's Baby," "Poltergeist" and even...

We're receiving every Bennet in the country this week as we count down our Top 5 BSA's of "the Keira Knightley" version of "Pride & Prejudice"! We explore the nuances of period pieces that give Colin pause, Emma Thompson's important contributions to the script, so many sweaty bangs, the gruesome twosome of Kitty and Lyddie, and of course all of our favorite performances--from the subtle cattiness...

This long-lost documentary about the original cast album recording of "Company" is finally available, and not only features a smoldering Stephen Sondheim (that smile!), the oddly alluring Donna McKechnie, Pamela Myers struggling to find the "bubi," Beth Howland perfecting the patter, and Barbara Barrie's sunglasses, but the indomitable Elaine Stritch. Proving that some women do still wear hats wit...

While this 2001 absurdist comedy cult classic may work best as stoner cinema, it's full of great performances from a cast of soon-to-be stars. This week, we each pick our 5 nominees for Best Supporting Actor/Actress, with some pleasant surprises on each list, share our own feelings on the summer camp experience, and show much appreciation for Christopher Meloni's wardrobe before fully queening out...

As Doris's cheese-stealing, two kinds of stuffing-making, true blue best friend Roz, Tyne Daly gives a nuanced, hilarious and fully alive performance in 2016's "Hello, My Name is Doris," a quirkily romantic Sally Field vehicle with a couple shakes of absurd humor. To say nothing of Caroline Aaron as gal pal Val, stealing every second she's on screen. These are quintessential BSA's in a somewhat ov...

2017 gave us two very different Best Supporting Actress nominated performances of fairly unsupportive mothers: Laurie Metcalf as Marion in "Lady Bird" and Allison Janney as LaVona in "I, Tonya." This week, we're breaking down what makes these performances so good, similarities and differences between both characters and both movies, the ennui of Sacramento, the hidden motivations of stage moms, th...

With its recent release on Disney+, "Hamilton" reigns as essential quarantine content these days. And while we tend to save most of our queening out for actressing, we gladly made an exception this week to highlight our Top 5 favorite performances, as well as some mixed feelings on one very key performance. We discuss some small but powerful differences between the cast recording and the filmed pr...

We're counting down the Top 5 prettiest, most smartest BSA's of the 1999 cult classic "Drop Dead Gorgeous." But with a stacked cast including Ellen Barkin, Kirstie Alley, Brittany Murphy, Denise Richards, Mindy Sterling, Amy Adams in her debut role, and of course Allison Janney at her finest as Loretta, it's fierce competition for the crown. We talk about the movie's impact on us as gay men, its r...

While the entire cast of "Clue" is stacked with comedic geniuses, this week we're mostly queening out on the women. (What else is new?) From the singing telegram to Mrs. Peacock, the ladies of "Clue" are bringing nuance, zaniness, unpredictability, great screams, fabulous dresses, an occasional no-nonsense toughness and in the case of the Cook, an unforgettably wooden line reading. And all four ma...

While "Poltergeist" is often most well-known for its contributions to pop culture references ("They're here"), it also features a surprisingly emotional story driven by powerful performances from Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight and ESPECIALLY JoBeth Williams. Plus Jerry Goldsmith's amazing score, some kooky quintessential BSA work from Zelda Rubinstein, at least two moments that were reminiscen...

"Private Benjamin" was written for and produced by star Goldie Hawn, but Eileen Brennan steals every one of her scenes in the star vehicle as the vaguely sadistic and largely ridiculous Capt. Doreen Lewis, Judy Benjamin's commanding officer and nemesis. We also get quintessential BSA Mary Kay Place, a birdlike Barbara Barrie, Goldie talking through tears, Craig T Nelson in his prime, a Nancy Meyer...

Dianne Wiest nabs her second Best Supporting Actress Oscar, once again in a Woody Allen vehicle, as a deluded, almost-has been Broadway diva drunk on paint remover in "Bullets Over Broadway." Wiest's vocal work as Helen Sinclair, her navigation of some of the script's best lines, and her ability to pivot emotional extremes on a dime are well-deserved of that year's award, but co-stars and fellow n...

Kim Hunter delivers a grounded, fully realized performance as Stella Kowalski in 1951's A Streetcar Named Desire, providing some of the movie's most haunting and nuanced moments. Alongside powerhouse performances from Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando, Hunter says a monologue's worth with just a slow descent down the stairs and reveals a Stella who isn't afraid to yell back. It's an early demonstrati...

While we appreciated Oscar winner Tilda Swinton's sweaty supporting work in "Michael Clayton," our vote for Best Supporting Actress in 2007 is Amy Ryan as the equally sweaty Southie in "Gone Baby Gone." We queen out on the Boston-ness of it all, including some impeccable local casting as well as strong ensemble work from Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. Email: thebsapod...

While Shelley Winters managed to stand out in an effective ensemble of actors in "The Diary of Anne Frank," beating out Hermione Baddeley's brief appearances in "Room at the Top" (the shortest performance ever nominated) and Thelma Ritter's alcoholic maid in "Pillow Talk," the dual nominations of Susan Kohner and Juanita Moore as tragic mother and daughter in "Imitation of Life" were worthy compet...

"My Left Foot" is teeming with talent, from Daniel Day-Lewis to Fiona Shaw to Hugh O'Connor to Best Supporting Actress Brenda Fricker as Christy Brown's devoted mother. This week, we celebrate the Irishness of it all, the set piece of the Restaurant Scene, Fiona Shaw as Medea, the perils of method acting, and the matriarchs in our own lives. Plus, quality drag content that isn't a competition and...

Geena Davis's overly-mannered Oscar win for the "The Accidental Tourist" is a head scratcher for sure. We're much more excited by the brilliant mix of camp and humanity that fellow nominees Sigourney Weaver and Joan Cusack brought to "Working Girl," as Tess's manipulative gorgon of a boss and fine feathered friend Cyn. We discuss some of our favorite work from both actresses outside this movie, as...

We were so enamored with Ingrid Bergman in "Cactus Flower" that we needed to see what she got her own Best Supporting Actress Oscar for. Well, 1974's "Murder on the Orient Express" is a long haul of a movie, and Bergman's fretful Greta is but a brief stop in the all-star cast of culprits. Perhaps she was right when she said it should have gone to Valentina Cortese instead. Nevertheless, Bergman is...

Goldie Hawn's movie persona was launched with her Oscar-winning turn as Toni in the daffy, stagey "Cactus Flower." While Walter Matthau is miscast as a Lothario of a dentist, we do get a wildly overqualified Ingrid Bergman, emerging as perhaps the true BSA of the movie. (We end up talking more about her much more, but Goldie's goosey charisma and potato chip acting are not to be missed.) Plus: a w...

Judi Dench's Oscar-winning performance as Queen Elizabeth is second only to Beatrice Straight in "Network" for the shortest amount of screen time for a BSA. Despite its cameo size, Dench packs a wallop into those 6 minutes, including a quintessential Oscar moment and a dragtastic reveal. We also queen out this week on Sigourney Weaver, the end of Schitt's Creek, 1995's "The Net," and a musical gif...

Our episode covering the BSA's of The Hours this week should have been, well, a couple of hours! Looks like that upload maybe had some glitches (bit of a Laura Brown birthday cake scenario), so we're uploading this again in full, just in case! Enjoy! From Meryl's unraveling Clarissa Vaughan to Miranda Richardson's fabulous Vanessa Bell to the BSA queen herself, Allison Janney, 2002's "The Hours" i...

This week, we're zooming in on nuanced nominee Marisa Tomei in the slow-burning "In the Bedroom," as well as the powerful performances from Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, and of course, best featured actress Celia Weston! We also digest life in the time of a pandemic, find simple joys in quarantine snacks, give a requisite moment of appreciation for winner Jennifer Connelly, and sing the praises of...

Whoopi's Oscar winning turn as previously-faking-it spiritual medium Oda Mae Brown in "Ghost" is as iconic as her varied career. This week, we channel all our love for Goldberg's comedic genius, but only after a Quarantine Watchlist check-in/rant. (Fans of Carrie Bradshaw, beware.) We also celebrate Demi's tears, Tony Goldwyn's golden glow, and Patrick Swayze's general goodness. Plus: some love fo...

"Shampoo" and its central character of George the horny hairstylist may feel a bit dated today, but it's a great acting showcase for Goldie Hawn as George's charming girlfriend Jill, and certainly for Lee Grant as the ferocious Felicia, earning her an Oscar in a year that really should have gone to any and all of the Women of "Nashville," but that's a whole other episode. We celebrate Grant's best...

Anne Hathaway goes full Fantine to nab the Oscar for 2012's "Les Miserables," and despite the public opinion of her at the time, she earns the accolades. We break down the Hathaway hate as we navigate her career pre and post haircut. We then dive into her veritable Oscar reel of a performance and how it varies from traditional interpretations of the role. Plus, some love for Jacki Weaver, an oppor...