Who knows if the Academy will bend its Oscar-qualifying rule about streaming films having to open theatrically seven days prior to streaming launch, and thereby permit Searchlight’s Good Luck to You, Leo Grande to become a Best Picture contender? And, just as importantly, to allow Emma Thompson to launch a Best Actress campaign for her performance as a sex-starved spinster?

The British sex “comedy” (it’s mildly amusing here and there but definitely not “comedic”, trust me) was released on Hulu on 6.17 but became ineligible when the Academy reverted to its pre-pandemic requirements.

Thompson is fine in Leo Grande — she gives a good, pro-level performance that’s fleet and fitting — but it’s too slight of a film to launch an Oscar campaign upon. Honestly? The Thompson hoopla (generated yesterday by Variety‘s Clayton Davis) is basically about her brief full-frontal nude scene, which was acclaimed last June as a plus for the body-positivity movement, particularly as it affects older women.

In short, nominating Thompson for Best Actress would mainly be a political statement — a gesture of support for the idea of all older women leading fuller lives as well as a nod to society’s willingness to regard them as sexual beings despite their advanced years.

Here’s my 1.26.22 review of Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.