Holiday biopics are the new Oscar fodder

Audiences can always count on big budget spectacles and antiseptic family films around the holidays, but there is another kind of movie that seems to have increasingly come to dominate the gift-giving season: the biopic. The past decade has seen more than its fair share of biographical films released in and around the holidays; character driven pieces like "The Aviator," "Ray," "The Queen," and "The King's Speech." But why are so many notable biopics released around the same time of year? A tiny, golden man named Oscar may hold the answer to that one. In addition to being holiday releases, all of the aforementioned biopics went on to earn nominations come award season.

Unsurprisingly, it appears the studios are following a familiar pattern for holiday 2011. A trio of high profile biopics are all angling for Oscar glory on the strength of their lead performances: "J. Edgar," "My Week with Marilyn," and "The Iron Lady." But how will these films stack up come Oscar night?

Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar" was the first out of the gate. The story of the infamous J. Edgar Hoover left many critics cold, but Leonardo DiCaprio's performance as the titular FBI director was almost universally praised by both viewers and reviewers. Hoover's life story had the makings of a truly compelling film; between his battles against organized crime in the 1930s, his fight against communists (both real and imagined), and his alleged penchant for cross-dressing, Hoover continues to be one of the most divisive figures of the twentieth century. While the movie has been called "cautious," "poorly conceived," and "lumbering" by some critics, "J. Edgar" nevertheless provides a solid stage for DiCaprio to perform on, one which should help him come awards season.

By contrast, Simon Curtis' "My Week with Marilyn" is much lighter fare. The film stars Michelle Williams as screen icon Marilyn Monroe and offers a semi-fictionalized account of Monroe's time in England while filming "The Prince and the Showgirl" opposite Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh). Covering a short period of Monroe's life, the film doesn't exactly qualify as a full-fledged biography per se, but Williams' portrayal of the screen icon offers an interesting look at Monroe. The critics have been almost unanimous in their praise for Williams. Entertainment Weekly has called her performance "a wonder," while Roger Ebert believes a Best Actress nomination is probably likely.

Far and away the most contentious biopic of the year is Phyllida Lloyd's "The Iron Lady." The director of "Mamma Mia!" reteams with Meryl Streep for a decidedly less Abba-filled collaboration: taking on the life and times of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. "Iron Lady" tracks Thatcher's very public rise to power and very private married life through a series of flashbacks. While actual contemporaries of Thatcher have derided Streep's portrayal, the critics seem more impressed by her parliamentary turn. David Rooney of the Hollywood Reporter calls Streep's performance "riveting" and Variety's Leslie Felperin is equally laudatory, but also accuses the film of glossing over some of Thatcher's more controversial politics.

Most studios release biopics like "J. Edgar," "My Week with Marilyn," and "The Iron Lady" during the holiday season not so that audiences will go see them (though public buzz certainly helps), but in the hopes that critics and award-show voters will remember the lead performances come nomination time. The strategy seems to be working.