None of the other nominees ever had a chance. I could star in a biopic about Harvey Fierstein and win the Oscar. After all, Tom Hanks rode that unicorn to a statue, in his most inept, scenery-chewing role. He had a much finer performance in “The Green Mile” and was ignored.
I thought Hanks did well in most of his other movies, I especially liked Castaway and Perdition, the latter was a surprise.
The only reason Penn received such a loud ovation is because the audience is aware that the queer movies will win the awards and therefore most of the audience is comprised of fags and lesbians, which includes the majority of actors and actresses from what I can see anymore.