# Least deserved Oscar **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137 "2004-03-13T23:00:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/21 "2004-03-14T04:46:38Z")
Julia Roberts, for _Erin Brockovich_. I said this in another thread, but I just can’t believe that anyone could see both _Erin Brockovich_ and _Requiem for a Dream_ and think that Julia’s performance was more deserving of an Oscar. Just my two cents. Also, I didn’t think Marisa Tomei gave an Oscar-worthy performance in _My Cousin Vinny_. The movie was good and she was good in it – better than most people give her credit for – but I still don’t think she deserved an Oscar for it. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/22 "2004-03-14T04:47:35Z")
I dunno, I liked Forrest Gump and I like it more each time I watch it however. I did like Quiz Show, Pulp Fiction, and The Shawshank Redemption better, however. My pick? Gladiator. I like the movie, hell I own the movie but it should not have won over it’s fellow nominees (except for Erin Brockovich, i dislike this movie something fierce for some reason). Traffic, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Chocolat were better movies (in my opinion of course) as were O Brother Where Art Though, High Fideltiy, and Wonder Boys. ---
**Author:** ![Gotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7bcc69/32.png) [@Gotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotti)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/23 "2004-03-14T05:00:54Z")
Least Deserved Oscar= When they give Oscars to people that do like lighting and crap like that…Best use of gaffers tape? WTF?? Oh and these artsy fartsy films that suck, like crouching tiger hidden dragon…That movie sucked ass when i saw it yet it won all kinds of shit and had great critic acclaim…It was not the most beliveable flic…I mean running in the tree tops???Give me a damn break…and fuckin give KEVIN SMITH an oscar for once ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/24 "2004-03-14T05:18:55Z")
Sigh. Always the same complaints: Forrest Gump sucked, Titanic sucked, wahhh. The worst Oscars ever handed out for major categories were certainly all in the 1950s and 1960s; I could name half a dozen movies, easy, that won Best Picture that weren’t within a mile of Titanic’s quality. “Around the World In Eighty Days”? Holy moly. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/25 "2004-03-14T05:41:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Shakespeare in Love was the most deserving best Oscar choice in the past twenty years; unquestionably the best movie of the year, and possibly the best script ever written for the screen. :eek: but :eek: . _Gentleman’s Agreement_, Best Picture. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Sam\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_H)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/26 "2004-03-14T05:42:34Z")
I second the boo for \*\* Driving Ms. Daisy \*\* and **Crouching Tiger**. Icky little movies both of them. Best screenplay for \*\* Green Card \*\*. Blech. ---
**Author:** ![Ghostwind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Ghostwind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghostwind)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/27 "2004-03-14T06:05:31Z")
Least deserved would be Michael Moore for “Bowling in Columbine”. Not because of the subject matter, but because he admitted to staging several parts of the documentary and engaging in poetic/creative license to generate incidents which were not factual but did contribute to the flow of the story. Pretty much shoots down what a documentary is supposed to be as I understand it, yet he was given the award and promptly made a horse’s hind end fo himself in the acceptance speech. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/28 "2004-03-14T06:37:10Z")
My immediate thought was **Broderick Crawford** , for his role in _All the King’s Men_. He “just played himself,” as was discovered in the movies he made after he won the Oscar. Apparently the character was a perfect fit for the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moo_the_Magic_Cow)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/29 "2004-03-14T06:39:55Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > ROTK for Best Adapted Screenplay. Did the voters actually see the movie? More to the point, did they see _City of God_? I have to admit that, after a lifetime of being shocked and dismayed at some Oscar winners, I was still totally dumbstruck when ROTK won for its screenplay. Naive of me, I suppose. I never thought about this, despite the fact that it’s blatantly obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Astra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@Astra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astra)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/30 "2004-03-14T08:03:43Z")
I’m probably going to be in the minority here, but I cannot understand how Catherine Zeta-Jones won for Chicago. I thought her performance was mediocre. The only place where I thought she did a decent job was the scene in the jail where she is so desperately trying to cling to her old act and impress Roxie. Other than that, she just did a lot of hammy scenery chewing. It was so over the top that it was annoying, at least to me. I enjoyed Chicago, but I really hated her in that role. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/31 "2004-03-14T08:17:31Z")
So it seems that, with few exceptions, every undeserving movie is from the past ten years. 😉 Seriously, is it a matter of recent memories, actual falling quality, more intense campaigning during the season, or something else? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/32 "2004-03-14T08:43:51Z")
**Best Actor:** Gary Cooper’s monotone performance in _Sergeant York_ (1941), which shoved aside Orson Welles’ brilliance in _Citizen Kane_. **Best Actress:** Mary Pickford’s Southern-style ham in _Coquette_ (1929). **Best Supporting Actor:** Walter Brennan in _Kentucky_ (1938), all the make-up and old man mannerisms make him Best Supporting Actor of 1908. **Best Supporting Actress:** Judi Dench in _Shakespeare in Love_ (1998). Half the Oscar was for her elaborate costume, the other half was for determined glaring. Dench is a first-rate actor, but as **UncaStuart** said, that is just too short of a performance. Runner-up: Claire Trevor’s scene chewing as an alcoholic moll in _Key Largo_. **Best Picture:** _The Greatest Show on Earth_ (1952) beat _Singin’ in the Rain_??? ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/33 "2004-03-14T15:18:12Z")
> [@Gotti](#): > > Least Deserved Oscar= When they give Oscars to people that do like lighting and crap like that…Best use of gaffers tape? WTF?? Oh and these artsy fartsy films that suck, like crouching tiger hidden dragon…That movie sucked ass when i saw it yet it won all kinds of shit and had great critic acclaim…It was not the most beliveable flic…I mean running in the tree tops???Give me a damn break…and fuckin give KEVIN SMITH an oscar for once AMEN! I am so glad to see I am not the only person who thinks that one is total garbage! I got the crap beaten out of me in another thread because I opined that the “I will serve under you when you beat me in a fight” was a thinly veiled rape threat! Scenery was pretty tho… couldn’t follow the damned story for anything… fell asleep twice and finally said oh fuck at the nine zillionth run through the treetops. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/34 "2004-03-14T15:26:29Z")
> [@MidnightRadio](#): > > Also, I didn’t think Marisa Tomei gave an Oscar-worthy performance in _My Cousin Vinny_. The movie was good and she was good in it – better than most people give her credit for – but I still don’t think she deserved an Oscar for it. I have long held that the supporting actor Oscars are given n the strength of one scene that stands out in the memory of the voters in a very clear way. Hence, Tomei won for “My biological clock is tickin’ like this (stomp stomp stomp)!” Dame Judi won because she stole the show for her 8 minutes of screen time, Kim Basinger won for the look on her face as she stands in the rain having just been wollomped in the face by Russell Crowe and Kevin Spacey won his supporting Oscar for the crucial and amazing last 10-15 minutes of _The Usual Suspects_. Hence, it’s hard to argue too hard against supporting votes, at least for me. My picks, otherwise, have already been named, so no need to rehash. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/35 "2004-03-14T15:43:16Z")
Just remember another undeserving winner: Paul Lukas, Best Actor, _Watch on the Rhine_, 1943 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/36 "2004-03-14T15:47:59Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Sigh. Always the same complaints: Forrest Gump sucked, Titanic sucked, wahhh. > > The worst Oscars ever handed out for major categories were certainly all in the 1950s and 1960s; I could name half a dozen movies, easy, that won Best Picture that weren’t within a mile of Titanic’s quality. “Around the World In Eighty Days”? Holy moly. Mel Ferrer in _Cyrano de Bergerac._ How did speking.your.lines.like.a.proto.Al.Gore.mean.you.were.a.good.actor? I take that back, Al Gore’s voice work in Futurama showed he could at least give more emphasis than Mel Ferrer. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/37 "2004-03-14T19:12:43Z")
> [@Astra](#): > > I’m probably going to be in the minority here, but I cannot understand how Catherine Zeta-Jones won for Chicago. I thought her performance was mediocre. The only place where I thought she did a decent job was the scene in the jail where she is so desperately trying to cling to her old act and impress Roxie. Other than that, she just did a lot of hammy scenery chewing. It was so over the top that it was annoying, at least to me. I enjoyed Chicago, but I really hated her in that role. I thought Catherine Zeta-Jones was the best thing about the movie. Then again, I didn’t think the movie was that fantastic – reasonably good, but not great. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/38 "2004-03-14T19:20:38Z")
> [@finette6](#): > > This year, Sofia Coppola for Best Orig. Screenplay. > > There were great things about _Lost in Translation_, but the writing sure wasn’t one of them. Word. If anything, the script was the weakest element of the entire film. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/39 "2004-03-14T19:45:44Z")
> [@Mr. Miskatonic](#): > > Mel Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac. How did speking.your.lines.like.a.proto.Al.Gore.mean.you.were.a.good.actor? 😕 Do you mean _ **José** _ Ferrer? I’ve seen _Cyrano de Bergerac_ twice, and that’s not at all how he speaks, leaving aside the question of whether his performance was Oscar-worthy. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137/40 "2004-03-14T19:55:56Z")
This year, Best Song should NOT have gone to the hobbit movie. The movie did not have the best song, by any argument – it was the weakest of the ones performed at the Oscars. Any of the others would have been a better choice, even the Eugene Levy/Catherine O’Hara song, but the best song imnsho is “Scarlet Tide.” T-Bone Burnett (the composer of the song) has done more with soundtracks than anyone lately, renewing interest in Americana and jumpstarting the careers of many deserving singers and musicians. I also would have much preferred Triplets for animated feature – it was far more original than Nemo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/least-deserved-oscar/234137.md?page=3)