One of my favorite categories at The Calvins is Best Character. We’re not restrictive in our voting for this award. Everyone has their own criteria and things they would/wouldn’t vote for. For example, I won’t vote for a character that’s been a part of previous films unless the latest iteration is dramatically better than all previous showings.

Other people vote for Spider-Man and Batman whenever they possibly can. I’m not judging. I think that’s fantastic. This category is the ultimate in, “Love what you love!” This year, with arguably one exception, all of the nominations are “new” characters in that they’ve never been seen in a film before. Which one won? Read on…

I don’t think I’m spoiling anything when I say that BlacKkKlansman will have a strong presence at The Calvins this year. It can’t do any better than it has with Best Character, though. It wins the category for its portrayal of a very real person, Ron Stallworth. This magnificent human being learned that the KKK wanted to start a local chapter, and so he signed up. The catch is that he is African-American, thereby someone the KKK doesn’t like.

Stallworth played these racist morons for the suckers that they were, and BlacKkKlansman brilliantly shows off how many ways that he did it. The entire film feels fiction and even satire. We know that it’s a real story, though. This knowledge only makes us admire Stallworth more. He’s the hero we need in these strange times, and he comfortably anchors a wonderful film with his nobility and mischievousness.

Depending on perspective, Best Character was either a three-person or five-person race. It was a nail-biter and a photo finish. The final ballot actually flipped the outcome of the award. I say this to demonstrate how much we love our entire top five, especially our second choice in the category.

Shuri from Black Panther is everything that her brother is not. He’s a brooding, conflicted character who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. She’s confident and carefree, a jokester who loves her family, her home, and her tech toys. When she’s onscreen, she shines a radiant light across Wakanda. Black Panther is a spectacular movie, and I’ll fight anyone who disagrees on the point that Shuri is the best part of it.

I’m not one to tell Hollywood that it deserves a pat on the back because, well, Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby and Leslie Moonves and Woody Allen and…you get the point. Still, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that Hollywood did much better with inclusiveness in calendar 2018. Our top three characters this year and five out of our top six are all ones who would have historically not seen the light of day. #OscarsSoWhite is based in truth.

I’m not sure how much of the quality of this year’s characters is a direct reaction to that criticism. It’s noteworthy, though. Our third selection, Cleo from Roma, is a housemaid effectively living in a Boston marriage. While Cleo supports her boss and helps in raising the woman’s four children, she also experiences her own highs and lows. Cleo falls in love for the first time, gets pregnant, survives a shootout, and goes through eventful trips to the hospital and beach. The film is a demonstration of the triumph of ordinary people over the everyday struggles of life, and Cleo’s determination is inspirational.

Our staff clearly loves everyone who hangs out in Wakanda, even the ones trying to nuke the place. Our other top five selections are Killmonger and Thanos, the villains in Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. These characters are two of the best comic book big bads ever. Killmonger’s failure to belong drives him to the brink of madness, and he swan dives off that particular ledge. Thanos has a vision for a better tomorrow, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to Make Infinity Great Again. You know, he has a few parallels with…ah, I’m probably imagining it. The point is that it was a good year to be a bad guy.

Sixth and seventh place go to more nerd-friendly characters. Miles Morales relieves the world of its recurring horror of seeing Peter Parker getting bitten by a radioactive spider. Morales is the rare superhero with living parents, and his family dynamics are remarkably warm…for the most part. Parzival from Ready Player One is less fortunate in the parenting department, but he does get to live Teenage Me’s dream of playing videogames for a living…and to save the world from the evils of corporate America. I’m not saying that I love this character, but I will admit that I have two different Parzival shirts.

Our final selections this year are incredibly different characters. Erin Bell from Destroyer is either a good guy seeking justice or a bad guy seeking redemption. Even after the film’s over, you won’t be sure which one is true. Rachel Chu is an impossibly great person who still ends up in way over her head when she meets her boyfriend’s family for the first time in Crazy Rich Asians. Finally, Kayla Day’s greatest claim to fame in Eighth Grade is that she’s the Most Quiet student in her class. Through videos and time capsules, she goes on a voyage of self-discovery that’s bittersweet but quite winning.

The characters who didn’t quite earn a spot this year but we still love are Jack-Jack from The Incredibles 2, Gwen Stacy from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Ally Maine from A Star Is Born, Peter from Deadpool 2, and Janet Armstrong from First Man.

2019 Calvin Awards
Calvins Intro
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Cast
Best Character
Best Director
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture

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