It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment when liking our leaders became more important than respecting them. I am no expert on politics, but I have always gauged that moment to have occurred in 1992, when then-candidate Bill Clinton answered a question from the audience during a campaign appearance about whether he wore boxers or briefs. Later, President George H.W. Bush refused to answer the same question, believing his underwear to be none of anybody’s business. He was right, of course, but he lost the election anyway. Clinton went on to become a two-term president, and Bush went home to Kennebunkport to write books that no one reads. The “underwear” question seemed to be a game-changer in American politics; from then on, if you wanted to run for office, you’d better be willing to drop your pants.

In “The Queen,” Stephen Frears’ penetrating look at the British royal family and their reaction to the death of Lady Diana, the central question is, “Can a leader in the modern media era lead without surrendering her dignity and privacy?”

When Lady Diana dies in a car crash, the Royal Family chooses to mourn her loss privately. They refuse to make public appearances, to fly the palace flag at half-mast, or otherwise to join the people in mourning Britain’s most beloved public figure. This reserved tone is at odds with an emotional eulogy given by Prime Minister Tony Blair (played with confident poise by Michael Sheen) in which he dubs Diana the “People’s Princess.” Even leaders from other countries such as Clinton and Nelson Mandela appear on British television to express their grief. When the Royals don’t join the chorus, their people (and the tabloids) accuse them of being cold, out of touch and even heartless.

The strength of this amazing film stems from Frears’ refusal to take sides or to embrace an easy answer. Queen Elizabeth is no stuffed shirt, devoid of feeling for her former daughter-in-law. She desperately loves her people and her country, but feels that the Royal Family’s worth stems from their reserve, their unflagging resolve in the face of all challenges and tragedies. By “letting the people in” and becoming yet another head of state crying for the cameras, Queen Elizabeth fears that she will diminish the crown in the eyes of her people. Indeed, she points out that the car crash that led to Lady Diana’s death was caused, in part, by pugnacious journalists who felt entitled to photograph and document her every move; Lady Diana had encouraged the people and the press to come in close and then had died for it.

But, lest you think that the film is a bone dry meditation on leadership and the mass media, I should add that “The Queen” is also immensely entertaining. It’s a crackling good political thriller, reminiscent of “All the President’s Men” or the criminally-underrated “Thirteen Days.”

And the performances are first-rate.

While the Queen struggles to decide what is best for her country, her son Prince Charles (Alex Jennings) is looking out for number one. As the man who married Lady Diana and then publicly took up with Camilla Parker Bowles, Charles fears that he will bear the brunt of the people’s mounting rage. He urges his mother to give the people what they want, an outward expression of grief, regardless of what it may do to the Monarchy.

Blair also feels that the Queen should make a public statement. He is adept at reading the political tea leaves and senses that the people’s outrage over the Queen’s perceived apathy may boil over and result in the end of the Monarchy. The Queen demurs, believing (or is it hoping?) that the whole thing is merely a tempest in a tea pot.

On the other hand, Crown Prince Phillip, played by James Cromwell with a truly wonderful, “Let them eat cake” arrogance, pushes the Queen in the other direction, insisting that any display of emotion is beneath the dignity of the Royals.

Helen Mirren’s performance as a queen in crisis is magnetic. Her Queen Elizabeth is a person, not an institution, an essentially shy woman who never wanted to be ruler in the first place. As a resut, the Queen considers her life to be one of stifling obligation, not privilege, while Lady Diana, to the Queen’s mind, is her polar opposite, a peacock who fled the Royal Family (and all its attendant duties) to cavort with celebrities and the idle rich. The Queen’s inability to understand Lady Diana’s appeal hinders her ability to understand her people.

Until one day, when Queen Elizabeth, while driving in the countryside, comes upon a magnificent stag, standing majestically atop a hill… Its pure beauty overwhelms her. Cracks of anguish appear in her normally cool façade as she realizes, in a lightning bolt moment, why her people were so transfixed by Lady Diana. Grace and loveliness are immensely inspiring, even if put to no grand purpose.

A great scene. A great performance. A great film.

Greeting and salutations movie lovers! This article represents the first of an ongoing column looking back at past years in film. While the focus, of course, will be on Oscar-nominated films, we will also take a glance back at further interesting endeavors from Hollywood and beyond. These will include forgotten gems, overrated riffraff, and flat-out embarrassments to the flat screen. As usual, this column will probably generate a few squabbles here and there, but your comments, blessings and general disaccord are always welcomed and encouraged. The years will be tossed around at random, and so the first week will tee off with one of the most controversial Oscar races of all time, 1998. That’s right, Words vs. War, The Bard vs. The Battle, and Disney vs. Dreamworks.

1998 was a year for some truly rotten movies. Topping the dump are such atrocious releases as: “Blues Brothers 2000,” “Playing by Heart,” “Hi-Life,” “Holy Man,” “Jack Frost,” “54,” “Krippendorf’s Tribe,” “Lost in Space,” “Snake Eyes,” “Soldier,” “BASEketball,” and the biggest flop of them all, “Godzilla.” There was your usual teen drudge, “Can’t Hardly Wait,” “Urban Legend” and “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.” Eddie Murphy did his thing in “Doctor Dolittle,” and Harrison Ford, fresh off of his box-office smash “Air Force One” (1997), began his decent into choosing bad scripts with “Six Days, Seven Nights.”

Rising talents showcased their abilities in “Dark City” (Jennifer Connelly), “Clay Pigeons” (Joaquin Phoenix, Vince Vaughn), and “The Opposite of Sex” (Christina Ricci). “Rounders” predicted the massive pop-culture poker phenomenon, and “The Siege” siphoned a pre-911 terrorism foreboding. Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore mugged for the camera in their popular audience pleasers “The Waterboy,” “The Wedding Singer,” and “Ever After.” Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan updated their “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993) cute-meet with “You’ve Got Mail,” and the Star Trek crew beamed up for their 9th motion picture, “Insurrection.” Chinese superstars Chow-Yun Fat and Jackie Chan introduced their acting and martial arts skills (respectively, of course) to Americans, in “The Replacement Killers” and “Rush Hour.” Sex continued to be a major screen icon with John Waters’ graphic shots of nudity and pubic hair in “Pecker,” and Kevin Bacon sandwiched rather nicely between “Wild Things” sex-pots Denise Richards and Neve Campbell.

There were also some underrated flicks amongst the legion of clunkers. The Coen brothers’ all-time tribute to slackers, “The Big Lebowski,” has reached a certain cult status (powdered white russian, anyone?) and has inched its way into the IMDB’s top 200. Tony Scott’s “Enemy of the State” foreshadowed the paranoia of post-911 technology going too far. Alas, the brightest forgotten gem from 1998 was a little bittersweet movie entitled “Simon Birch.” From a book written by Oscar winner John Irving (The Cider House Rules), the movie and characters have wisdom well beyond their years, as the highly watchable Ian Michael Smith challenges the “adult” world of sex and religion. Roger Ebert called the movie a “film so direct and engaging that cynicism wilts in its sunny spirit,” while Leonard Maltin labeled it a “well-made tearjerker.” The sensational supporting cast includes David Strathairn, Ashley Judd, Oliver Platt, and a serious Jim Carrey.

Speaking of a serious Jim Carrey, there were also several Oscar-nominated films worth mentioning from 1998, namely “The Truman Show.” Nominated for 6 Golden Globes including Best Picture, “The Truman Show” has become known as one of the most snubbed movies of all time. Peter Weir, a six-time Oscar nominee (winning none of them — future Thalberg/Lifetime Achievement award?), was nominated for Best Director, but Jim Carrey, who won the Golden Globe for Best Actor, was mysteriously MIA when it came to the Academy Awards. In fact, just like his oft-slighted director, he has been nominated a whopping six times for Golden Globes, yet nil for the Oscars — most notably “Man in the Moon” (1999) and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004). Will the arcane Academy ever recognize Carrey’s extraordinary acting ability, or will they continue to fancy him as pure, rubbery shtick?

Other Oscar-nominated films that are worth another viewing include Disney’s trio of underrated family pictures: “Mulan,” “Mighty Joe Young,” and “A Bug’s Life.” Speaking of the latter, 1998 was definitely the year of the studio copycat duels, namely Disney vs. Dreamworks. The superior “A Bug’s Life” vs. the clever “Antz,” as well as the stupendously awful “Armageddon” (four Oscar noms!) vs. the not much better “Deep Impact” (I’ll believe Morgan Freeman as the first African-American president over Tea Leoni, well…acting, any day). Alas, both studios certainly filled theaters as well as their own pockets. “Babe’s” (1995) triumphant return from Best Picture Land didn’t have the same (insert Miss Piggy-type joke here) with “Pig in the City,” while audiences either loved or hated the beautiful and imaginative “What Dreams May Come.” Nothing, however, was more so than (excuse the obvious tie-in) “Life Is Beautiful,” Roberto Benigni’s teary, childlike fable about the Holocaust. Nominated for seven Oscars including Best Picture, who can forget Benigni’s tour-de-force acceptance (we won’t call it a speech)…uh…spectacular? Should I dare ask what he has done since? To add to the love it/hate it motif, Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line” garnered seven Oscar noms including Best Picture, and offered a poetic, literary view into the horrific W.W.II consciousness (and war in general). Which brings us to the main event: “Saving Private Ryan” (IMDB rating 8.4) vs. “Shakespeare in Love” (IMDB rating 7.4).

“Ryan”, with eleven nominations, was one of those shoo-in event movies that no one questioned about winning the Best Picture honor. In fact, it was the most obvious front-runner since — oh…since that boat movie the previous year. People came out of the theaters feeling like they truly went through Hell and back again. In fact, most war veterans wept from the grueling realism of the battle sequences, including my hardened 80 year old uncle who earned a purple heart in Iwo Jima. Spielberg’s vision was truly unforgettable, and it deservedly earned him his second Best Director Oscar. And the winner for Best Picture is (Spielberg and company adjust their ties)…”Shakespeare in Love?!” Granted, the art direction, screenplay and costume Oscars were well deserved, but a better motion picture experience than “Ryan?’ On retrospect, “Shakespeare” was certainly a well-made, pleasing period piece that most Academy voters would lick there chops over, but attendees, forecasters, and viewers were shocked and appalled that something so fluffy and ultimately forgettable could beat the greatest war film of all time.

But then again, “Saving Private Ryan” didn’t have Ben Affleck.

Welcome to those of you visiting the site for the first time from the 9rules network. Dave and I started OscarFrenzy a little over a year ago to bring our on-going Oscar conversation online.

If you are here for the first time, a brief introduction is in order. OscarFrenzy is a website dedicated to predicting the Academy Awards. Using statistical analysis, insider information, and historical Academy Award trends and traditions, our experts give you the edge in forecasting the biggest races of the year. In the last few months, we have expanded our focus and started offering movie reviews. Ryan joined OscarFrenzy in September and serves as our resident movie critic. Lee, our newest writer, just posted his first article today.

If you are a regular OscarFrenzy reader and curious about 9rules, here’s an explanation from the 9rules About page:

9rules is a community of the best weblogs in the world on a variety of topics. We started 9rules to give passionate writers more exposure and to help readers find great blogs on their favorite subjects. It’s difficult to find sites worth returning to, so 9rules brings together the very best of the independent web all under one roof.