Now that Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom has been more widely seen and the buzz has really started to grow, it moves into the top spot this month. The makeup and hairstyling of the titular character is so intrinsically linked to her persona and Viola Davis’ performance. That’s the kind of work the Academy loves to reward, as we’ve seen with wins for films like Frida and La Vie en Rose.
A new entry joins the top five this month in Bill & Ted Face the Music, which features a cavalcade of prosthetic makeup and hairstyling to create the varying looks of its two titular characters. It’s been some time since the Academy acknowledged comedic films in this category, but they have shown a penchant for it in the past (Norbit, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, Click). Whether they acknowledge two such films in the same year might damage the chances of Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm.
Keep an eye on Pinocchio. While the film clearly won’t be a contender elsewhere, its fantastical makeup and hairstyling could win the Academy over. We saw voters pick an elaborate fantasy film last year with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and it could easily happen again this year. Whether a distributor as small as Roadside Attractions can mount a successful nomination campaign is another story.
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING PREDICTIONS:
1. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
2. Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix)
3. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (Warner Bros.)
4. Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios)
5. Bill & Ted Face the Music (Orion Pictures)
MAJOR CONTENDERS:
Emma. (Focus Features)
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (20th Century Studios)
Mank (Netflix)
Mulan (Disney)
News of the World (Universal Pictures)
The Personal History of David Copperfield (Searchlight Pictures)
Pinocchio (Roadside Attractions)
The Prom (Netflix)
The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Hulu)
The Witches (HBO Max)