Jean Smart wins Best Actress for Hacks, delivering a witty speech on artist-critic relations.
Jean Smart critics
When Jean Smart stepped onto the stage at the Barker Hangar, she didn’t just give a standard thank-you; she invited the critics into her living room for a humorous, slightly sharp history lesson.
According to the event coverage by Lokmat Times, Smart described the bond between artists and critics as a “love, hate thing over the years,” before launching into a series of punchy historical references.
She famously quoted George Bernard Shaw, noting that a critic is “a man who leaves no turn unstoned.”
The room erupted as she moved on to the “fabulous, late Pauline Kael,” whose scathing reviews were often more popular than her glowing ones.
Smart reminded the audience that Kael’s sharp pen once drove director David Lean to stop making movies for 14 years, while George Roy Hill once penned a letter to her that began with the words, “You miserable…”
Honesty as Respect
The core of Smart’s speech was a pivot from humor to a profound defense of the critic’s role.
She shared a quote emphasizing that a critic’s responsibility is not to protect an artist’s feelings, but to serve the reader and the art form itself.
By maintaining high standards and rigorous honesty, the critic argues that the art being made matters.
Smart thanked the Critics Association specifically for their “appreciation of our little show, Hacks,” acknowledging that their standards made the win more meaningful.
Don’t Fear the Scathing Review
Most actors are told to “never read the reviews.” Smart’s speech suggests a counterintuitive approach: value the honesty.
If a critic is brutally honest, they are engaging with the work as something significant enough to be scrutinized.
A shallow, “nice” review often signals that the work didn’t provoke enough thought to warrant a real opinion. In Smart’s view, the “respect” lies in the standard, not the praise.
While Hacks lost out to The Studio for Best Comedy Series, Smart took a moment to laud her “brilliant” fellow nominees, including Kristen Bell, Natasha Lyonne, and Rose McIver.
Her victory serves as a capstone to a series that has consistently challenged the boundaries of comedy and drama.
Key Takeaways
- Jean Smart won Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks at the 31st Critics Choice Awards.
- She described the artist-critic relationship as a “love-hate thing” using historical anecdotes.
- Smart argued that critics show respect through honesty, which proves that the art “matters.”
- She acknowledged competitors like Kristen Bell and Natasha Lyonne in her “beyond brilliant” nominee class.
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