Today, Christian Bale, Joaquin Phoenix, Adam Driver, Antonio Banderas, Leonardo DiCaprio, and others were put on notice. If you want to win the Best Actor Oscar in this year’s race, you’re going to have to go through John Travolta.
Now, you may be asking yourself, “But what film did John Travolta release in 2019 that would have him in contention for a Best Actor trophy?” Well, clearly, you forgot about “The Fanatic.” While my review of the film was, uh, less-than-favorable, it appears that Travolta has begun his campaign for an Oscar nomination, with a For Your Consideration ad being noticed on social media.
If you skipped “The Fanatic” (and you can’t be blamed for doing that), then you missed a performance that is surely something to behold. It’s likely that when you watch the film, specifically Travolta’s work in the thriller, and either think that he’s a committed actor that gave it his all or he’s completely mocking film fans and mentally ill people with a comically bad, over-the-top performance.
One thing’s for sure, however. Compared to the actors listed above, who turned in some of the best work of their careers in 2019, Travolta doesn’t stand a chance. But you have to admire the sheer guts it takes to honestly think that your role in the Fred Durst-directed film is up there on the same level as Phoenix in “Joker” or Driver in “Marriage Story.”
Who knows? Maybe I’m blinded by my complete dislike of “The Fanatic” and can’t recognize quality acting from nonsense? We’ll have to find out as the awards organizations begin releasing their nominations in the months to come. Perhaps John Travolta will scratch the back of his ear and smell it while ordering a strawberry milkshake (with real ice cream) to celebrate.
If you’re wanting to skip renting the film, take a look at bits of Travolta’s performance below:
OMFG TRAVOLTA IS RUNNING FYC ADS FOR THE FANATIC (the movie with a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes). I swear to god this is not a bit. People made jokes about him doing this for Gotti last year and he actually did it asghfkj pic.twitter.com/RtPRVbeQBa
— Will Mavity (@mavericksmovies) November 13, 2019