# The 10 Worst Best Picture Winners **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 20, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978 "2011-02-20T04:13:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/81 "2011-02-21T18:39:55Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > The 1995 Kicking and Screaming is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. It’s one of my top five favorite movies of all time, so I guess people’s tastes differ. Man, it’s so good. (Others near the top include _O Brother Where Art Thou?_, _Quiz Show_, _About a Boy_, and _Groundhog Day_, in case you want a list of movies to avoid.) ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/82 "2011-02-21T20:00:04Z")
I thought \*Crash \*(2004) was terrible, but getting upset about the fact that it used the same name as Cronenberg’s film is silly. As **Little Nemo** pointed out, it happens all the time, and the average moviegoer probably has no idea that Cronenberg’s _Crash_ even exists. And–as a Cronenbeg fan–I wouldn’t call his movie a masterpiece. I liked it–found it really interesting and well-made actually–but not a masterpiece. And _Brokeback Mountain_ wouldn’t have been my choice to win in 2004 either. I think it’s another film that people rate too highly because of the message, and not because of the film itself. I thought _Good Night, and Good Luck_ and _Munich_ were both better choices that year. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/83 "2011-02-21T20:07:55Z")
i know it’s fashionable to bash _Crash_, but I thought it was pretty good. _Shakespeare in Love_, _The English Patient_ and _Out of Africa_ all sucked ass. \* Chicago\* too. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/84 "2011-02-21T20:57:24Z")
Forrest Gump and Crash are deeply flawed movies. Accept that people might have simply disliked them not as an affectation or due to ideological blindness, but simply because they found them to be ham-handed and overly sentimental (Gump) or preachy and dumb (Crash). ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/85 "2011-02-21T21:29:25Z")
I think I just realized that (in this thread) I’m been conflating _Crash_ with _Babel_ in my head. Note to self: Brad Pitt was not in _Crash_. I probably would have voted for _Munich_ over _Crash_ but I still think it’s unfairly bashed. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/86 "2011-02-21T21:35:23Z")
> [@Heyoka13](#): > > The amount of overwrought drama in Haggis’ Crash put me off, > > -however- > > the aspect of the camera (and us) being privy to all these intertwined events that the participants themselves were unaware of was fascinating. I think stuff like this goes on all the time (intertwined events) but we remain blissfully unaware in real life. When we do notice a correlation or link, it seems amazing, but its’ not . . . . _Magnolia_ did it better. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/87 "2011-02-21T21:44:31Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > _Magnolia_ did it better. So did _Traffic_. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/88 "2011-02-21T22:36:45Z")
Is it just me, or do a lot of the movies that come up over and over in these conversations tend to fall into the general category of “movies that people think are too girly”? I mean, I don’t think that’s particularly true of _Forrest Gump_ (or _Crash_, as far as I know), but an awful lot of the others seem to be love stories, or slow-paced character-driven dramas, or both. I never see people complaining about, say, _Braveheart_ winning over _Sense and Sensibility_. Oh, and as much as it pains me to say it when it’s the only Shakespeare adaptation that’s ever won, I nominate Laurence Olivier’s _Hamlet_ as one of the worst winners ever. Very visually pretty, but SO not a good version of _Hamlet_. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/89 "2011-02-21T22:52:27Z")
Well, they edited down to a nub, but I liked the performance. His Richard III was better (and one of the best acting performances I’ve seen, and the best Shakespeare performance I’ve seen). ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/90 "2011-02-21T22:55:22Z")
Interesting perspective on the girly movies. I think you’re probably onto something, especially because it’s usually men who discuss these things at length and generate lists. Many of the “great” movies are masculine and action-oriented, like The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, etc. Not that a movie is automatically taken seriously if it has action, but if it’s smart and has good characters it’s more likely to get rated highly as opposed to OK/good if it’s got action in it. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/91 "2011-02-21T22:57:30Z")
I’ll stand by Forrest Gump as a great movie until the day I die. It’s a weird twist, it’s a blockbuster that somehow zillions of people (in my humble opinion, of course) seem to have totally, completely missed the point of. If you’re going to do a list of bad Best Picture choices I think that’s a hard call; I don’t for the life of me understand why anyone would say Shakepeare in Love was a bad choice, for instance, when it was, to my eyes, an absolutely sensational movie. I think the ones where you can make a good, objective case are ones in the past, because it gives us the benefit of the verdict of history to see whether the winner was ill-chosen. It’s kind of hard now to say Crash was a bad choice over Brokeback Mountain; for all we know Brokeback Mountain will, in 10 or 20 years, seem hackneyed and silly and nobody will understand why anyone was upset it didn’t win. Other choices are understandable at the time; people bitch about Annie Hall over Star Wars, but 1. “Annie Hall” was at the time and still is today regarded as a legitimately sensational, original and technically proficient movie, and 2. “Star Wars” isn’t a perfect film. But going back, there are a few that really strike you as being bizarre picks. “Oliver!” is inexplicable, at least to me. Seriously? That was the BEST PICTURE of the year? I’d be shocked if it was the best picture released within six weeks of its premiere. Still, there aren’t many. I’m going back over the winners and for long stretches of time, I think “I might not totally agree with this pick, but it’s not a bad choice. I can’t say the voters really blew it.” Starting with “Oliver!” and working forward there isn’t a choice I can confidently say I know in my heart was absolutely, no doubt about it poor choice until “Chariots of Fire.” That’s 13 years. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/92 "2011-02-21T23:04:50Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Is it just me, or do a lot of the movies that come up over and over in these conversations tend to fall into the general category of “movies that people think are too girly”? I mean, I don’t think that’s particularly true of _Forrest Gump_ (or _Crash_, as far as I know), but an awful lot of the others seem to be love stories, or slow-paced character-driven dramas, or both. I never see people complaining about, say, _Braveheart_ winning over _Sense and Sensibility_. No, it’s not just you - I’ve noticed it too. Reality shows like _John and Kate + 8_ are routinely dismissed as exploitative and staged, but _Pawn Stars_ has its legions of fans here… even though it’s even more exploitative and staged than J+K+8. Musicals are routinely dismissed as unrealistic (“Nobody sings and dances on a whim in real life”) while traditional guy movies are completely given a pass (face it: Nobody gets into shootouts ala _Heat_ or _The Town_ in real life either). And don’t even get into romances, which are universally reviled as being “trite” and “unoriginal” by the very same people who go all apeshit about comic book movies. (The above is totally IMHO. Calls for cites will be ignored.) ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/93 "2011-02-21T23:05:05Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > Well, they edited down to a nub, but I liked the performance. His Richard III was better (and one of the best acting performances I’ve seen, and the best Shakespeare performance I’ve seen). To be fair, film adaptations of Shakespeare are one of the things that bring out my obnoxiously picky side, and I guess Olivier just isn’t my cup of tea. (I did like him in _King Lear_, but he didn’t direct it.) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/94 "2011-02-21T23:45:20Z")
I’d never heard anyone diss _Chariots of Fire_ until this thread. I’m befuddled. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/95 "2011-02-22T00:15:23Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I don’t share the _Crash_-hate that is prevalent here. I don’t know that it was Best Picture good, but it wasn’t dreck. I’m convinced much of the hate is due to the fact that some people desperately wanted _Brokeback Mountain_ to win. Nope, [just plain hated it](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6253743&postcount=23). Brokeback was okay but I was rooting for Munich that year. Though I realize you mentioned later that you may have been conflating it with Babel, which I haven’t seen. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/96 "2011-02-22T01:19:33Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Forrest Gump is my least favorite film ever made. Wow. It’s not that bad. I mean, Twilight has to be worse than that, I should think. I also agree that Out of Africa is horrible. An actively boring, hostile movie that should have not been released without major reshoots and editing. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/97 "2011-02-22T03:49:48Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I feel sorry for the poor sucker who tries to rent a tween vampire romance and ends up with some movie with a couple old guys named Paul Newman and Gene Hackman. 😉 And a naked Reese Witherspoon, let’s not forget. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/98 "2011-02-22T05:33:47Z")
I also hate forrest gump. The problem for me was how Jenny treated Gump. “Hey Gump, let’s get married when I’m about to die and nobody else will touch me because I’ve got AIDS!” I think Jenny is one of the most horrible characters ever made. Good point about Gone with the Wind, but 1939 was a year when any of them could have won. It’s considered possibly the best year in film ever. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/99 "2011-02-22T17:24:19Z")
For all of you Crash haters- 1. If you take out the forced gay sex scene, _Brokeback Mountain_ is reduced to a Montana Travelogue; hardly worth an Oscar mention. 2. Unless you live in Sandpoint, Idaho or Bensonhurst, you can’t tell me that the events in _Crash_ do not happen in your neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![beartato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@beartato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beartato)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/100 "2011-02-22T17:49:54Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Is it just me, or do a lot of the movies that come up over and over in these conversations tend to fall into the general category of “movies that people think are too girly”? I mean, I don’t think that’s particularly true of _Forrest Gump_ (or _Crash_, as far as I know), but an awful lot of the others seem to be love stories, or slow-paced character-driven dramas, or both. I never see people complaining about, say, _Braveheart_ winning over _Sense and Sensibility_. That’s not it, IMO, but it’s _kind of_ it. I disagree with a lot of the Academy’s choices, but it’s not because they’re girly per se, it’s because they’re dreck that middle aged housewives like. It’s kind of the same thing, but not. Look at the last decade and a half of Best Actress winners and tell me that your (hypothetical perhaps) tea-cozy knitting aunt’s favourite actresses aren’t on there. Same with the last fifteen years of Best Picture winners. I think rom-coms are girly, and bad, but people rarely pretend otherwise. I think _Slumdog Millionare_ and \*Crash \*and _A Beautiful Mind_ and \*Shakespeare in Love \*are sappy dreck, and garbage, but people pretend they are good - pretend they are the best film released that entire year, even, that no other film was better. So I think it’s more that mawkish sentimentality that bothers people more than girlyness, once you make the distinction. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978.md?page=6)