Salma Hayek Makes Room for Oscar

At one time, James Brown was the undisputed Hardest Working Man in Show Business. Brown’s high-voltage stage performances and his longevity were testament to that claim. But that was the last century, a million years ago. This is the 21^st century, an era where the emerging Latino presence in everything from politics, cuisine, art, music, and film cannot be ignored anymore.

It’s also The Age of the Woman; of Wonder Woman; of The Latina Wonder Woman. With that prelude in mind, I humbly submit for consideration Salma Hayek as the new heiress apparent to the updated title: The Hardest Working Woman in Show Business.

Hayek’s acting career began in her native Mexico. She starred in the popular telenovela Teressa and garnered bouquets of critical acclaim in the movie El Callejón de los Milagros, for which she received an Ariel Award nomination. Shortly afterward, Hayek made the inevitable trek to Hollywood and began starring in a dizzying, whirlwind, eclectic, kaleidoscope of films and TV shows. The number and variety of roles Salma Hayek has done would make the heads of the two most ubiquitous actors in Hollywood history; Michael Caine and Gene Hackman, spin like Linda Blair’s in The Exorcist.  Her body of work is too extensive to catalog in this article, so I will focus on a few of my personal favorites.

·         Desperado – Hayek explodes onto the American screen in Robert Rodriquez’s violent, romantic, action / adventure movie. Salma’s chemistry with Antonio Banderas is electric and she proves herself to be a worthy, beautiful and equal partner.

·         From Dusk til Dawn – The Snake Dance scene. ‘nuff said.

·         Fools Rush In – Hayek is charming and authentic in this romantic comedy with Mathew Perry.

·         Frida – Salma doesn’t merely play Frida Kahlo, the legendary Mexican artist and long-time lover of Diego Rivera, she IS Frida. It’s a stunning per performance. She received a Best Actress nomination for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe.

·         Bandidas – An unapologetic “guilty pleasure.” Two gorgeous Latinas, Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz, team up to become pistol-packing, revenge-seeking, Robin Hood-like bank robbers in old Mexico. How great is that?

·         Across the Universe – In a brief, but very memorable cameo, Salma is a sexy, slinky, seductive, cooing, soothing, hypodermic syringe wielding nurse to the classic Beatle tune, Happiness is a Warm Gun.

In addition to the above and many, many other films, Salma Hayek has gained critical recognition and Emmy nominations for her work on such hit TV shows like 30 Rock and Ugly Betty, not to mention her voice-over work on the animated feature Puss ‘n Boots. So, Hayek has done it all; comedy, drama, action / adventure; done it well and done it in a relatively brief period. She’s been working hard at her craft. As the reigning, Hardest Working Woman in Show Business, Salma makes the late, great Godfather of Soul look like your slacker, unemployed, couch potato brother-in-law

Her most recent performance in the film, Beatriz at Dinner, is getting glowing praise and generating lots of Oscar buzz around the industry. Variety reported: “Beatriz at Dinner is a small-scale but elegantly deft squirmfest that features a luminous performance by Salma Hayek. It also has the distinction of being the first dramatic comedy that’s an explicit — and provocative — allegory of the Age of Trump.”

Indeed, an allegory underscored by the fact the Trump-like character, played perfectly on-key by John Lithgow, is confronted by an immigrant Mexican woman. Mexican immigrants were the first group of people, then candidate Trump, trashed at the start of his campaign for the presidency.

This role is a daring departure for the Stella Adler-trained actress. In persona and appearance, Salma Hayek’s’ Beatriz has a child-like, almost saintly demeanor She’s a healer; someone who reveres nature; loves animals and with the purity of her large, sad, innocent eyes, she sees right through Lithgow’s corrupt, Robber Baron character.

Hayek does a lot of her emoting with her expressive yes. She remined me of Maria Falconetti in the silent film classic, The Passion of Joan of Arc. With her short bangs and beatific face, Salma even looks like Maria Falconetti. Like her performance in Frida, Salma Hayek’s bravura turn in Beatriz at Dinner rwil result in several well-deserved and well-earned nominations when the movie industry award season begins.

This is the year all of Salma Hayek’s hard work pays off. This is the year the Academy recognizes her impressive body of work and her poignant performance in Beatriz at Dinner. This is the year Salma will make room on her mantle for Oscar.

Later this year, Salma Hayek also appears in How to Be a Latin Lover and The Hitman’s Bodyguard.