My Bet is on McCarthy

Whew – I finally got it done. My Oscar ballot was completed and sent off to L.A.

I was feeling good about my choices until I received a response back about how “I wasn’t in the Academy,” and how my vote meant nothing because I “wrote one name on the back of a Wendy’s recipient in Smencil,” and how I’m “not Ryan Gosling’s plus one so stop pestering Jason Wu for a free dress.”

Since my opinion obviously matters little to AMPAS, I can reveal today that the name on the Frosty-stained receipt was my vote for Best Supporting Actress – Melissa McCarthy* for her role of Megan in Bridesmaids.

I get it. McCarthy's a long-shot. Comedies and those in comedies don’t really fare well in the highfalutin Oscar world. In fact, Shakespeare in Love has been the only comedy to win Best Picture in 30 years, but it's hardly a film that gives me the giggles.

The truth is, someone playing the role of a randy, potty-mouthed, bowling-shirt-swathed gal who relieves herself in a bathroom sink has some pretty stiff competition in a distinguished Janet McTeer donning Victorian era drag. Yet through incredible character development by screenwriters Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo and McCarthy’s fearless, from-the-heart performance, Megan became the girl crush for women around the world.

I think director Paul Feig said it best in Entertainment Weekly: "The kind of comedy I hate is when it's 'Look at this crazy character who's dumb and let's just laugh at this person.' Melissa never lost the humanity of Megan and played her as someone unabashedly proud of who she is."

Even when surrounded by Rose Byrne’s perfect body and Wiig’s perfect hair, it was Megan we were jealous of. A character who is so comfortable with herself that she can love with her whole heart and say what’s on her mind and not care what people think. If Megan ever had a kid, she wouldn’t be laden with mommy guilt. She’d be scheduling Fight Club play dates so we could put the kibosh on the mommy wars once and for all.

And don’t tell me her “I’m life, Annie, and I’m biting you in the *ss” speech didn’t have you leaping off the coach and swearing to live life to the fullest. If not, you have a cold, cold soul my friend.

So Ms. McCarthy, even if you don’t receive a little gold man on February 26, you still have the heart of a starry-eyed suburban mom. And that’s just as good, right?

*In full disclosure, McCarthy's performance was the only one of the five I saw this year. It's really hard to get a babysitter. Or stay up until 10:00.

By Nicole Plegge, Lifestyle Blogger for SmartParenting