Why ‘Little Women’ Should Win Best Picture

The Academy Awards are coming up Sunday, and if Little Women wins Best Picture it will make history.  There's one reason why I think it will beat Joker, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Irishman, and all the other Best Picture nominees.

Hollywood is a little bored with itself.  Ha!  What I mean is, it's always looking for a fresh start and the next big idea, and this is the Best Picture winner that screams relevance.  Women are rising up and inspiring each other now more than ever, and with all of the headlines in the past couple of years about male-dominated movies, Me Too, and the gender pay gap, a movie that's driven by women would be just the thing to prove Hollywood is embracing the movement.

Little Women had a budget of $40 million, and after this past weekend, it had reached $96 million in the US and nearly $150 million worldwide.  It's had success, but maybe more importantly, it's inspiring to everyday girls like me.  The sisters were strong even though the cards were stacked against them and they had to deal with inferiority, disadvantage, disease, doubt, and discrimination.  Maybe we can set career and family goals a little easier these days because women like the March sisters blazed the trail.

Vanity Fair said this is "the third movie in the history of the Academy that has been nominated [for best picture] that has been written, directed, and produced by women."  The others were 2010’s Winter’s Bone and 1993’s The Piano, and neither of those won the big award.  The third time would truly be the charm for Little Women, and while it's making history it would probably open doors for more female-driven movies.

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I sure hope it wins.  It made me laugh and cry, and want to be Saoirse Ronan.  She's nominated for lead actress, and the movie has six Academy Award nominations in all.  There's nothing wrong with male-driven movies and I love a bunch of those too, but Little Women just strikes me as one that winning really suits this year.

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES:

Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once upon a Time...in Hollywood
Parasite

The Academy Awards will air live this Sunday, February 9th on ABC.