What's the dumbest Oscar win?

[FunBobbyMucha]

What movie, actor, or actress won the little gold man while you sat in your living room saying "WTF?!?"

I remember finding Michael Douglas' win for "Wall Street" absolutely arid, and thinking "Is that really as good as it got this year?" There were probably several I could think of for the 80's, a decade where by and large movies sucked. Ditto the forgettable gal who won for that POS "My Cousin Vinnie."

It could be because of an off-year, a neglected favorite, or the politics of high school popularity (Hello, Nicole!), but what's your choice?

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

1. Titantic, the worst movie ever made!!!

[bigwillq]

38. Agree especially with such good films

in my opinion like Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential and Boogie Nights in the same year

[Parrcrow]

2. John Wayne in True Grit

Beat out Jon Voigt and Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy

[skypilot]

3. Kim Basinger...

...in "LA Confidential". That was a role that any young up and coming starlet could have played and there was nothing special about the way she played it. A complete waste of an Oscar.

[trackfan]

47. I agree 100%

She was in about 2 scenes!

[CanuckAmok]

63. Hollywood loves Hollywood!

They fall all over any movie about the movie biz, or about the city of Hollywood. Masturbation.

[WoodrowFan]

4. Oliver! for best picture (1968?) WTF!!! (NT)

[Selwynn]

69. I loved that movie (nt)

[ronnykmarshall]

5. Glenda Jackson

"A Touch Of Class", beat Barbra Streisand for "The Way We Were".

The fact that Richard Burton never won an Oscar is a crock.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

52. WHO!?

[FunBobbyMucha]

6. I forgot to add "Chariots of Fire"

and I shared Trey and Matt's rage when "Blame Canada" lost to that excretable Phil Collins song.

[TrogL]

7. Linda Blair in the Exorcist

The stunt double did all the acting and never got credit.

[Parrcrow]

9. she didn't win (n/t)

[ronnykmarshall]

15. Tatum O'Neil won.

[HuckleB]

8. Forrest Gump, the movie. And Tom Hanks. best actor, for Forrest Gump.

Absolutely ridiculous.

[populistmom]

16. Perhaps, but ForrestGump is simply an irresistable sweetheart.

the DU version anyway

;) Still missing you!!!

[Jack Rabbit]

65. That's gotta be it

First runner up: Rocky.

[DiverDave]

10. 1999

When the Sixth Sense lost out to American Beauty.

I'll tell ya, the sixth sense knocked my socks off, I still get spooked when I open my basement door (before I turn the light on)

American beauty just made no sense to me.
Made me feel a bit uneasy, maybe it was too close to home?
I don't know. But I think Best Movies Winners should move us, be memorable.
The Sixth Sense was that for me.

[Archae]

11. Best picture, "Rocky??!!??"

:wtf:

[BurtWorm]

14. What?! Rocky and Bullwinkle won for Best Picture?!

That's fantastic! There is justice in the world!

[terrya]

25. Especially since "Rocky" beat out "Network" as Best Picture.

That was disgusting, IMO.

Terry

[terrya]

12. "Gladiator", Best Picture?? Russell Crowe...Best Actor?? I think not.

I barely remember this movie.

Russell Crowe SHOULD have won Best Actor for "A Beautiful Mind"

Terry

[Anaxamander]

44. I'll second "Gladiator" and raise you...

"A Beautiful Mind."

The Best Pictures should have gone to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "The Royal Tenenbaums," respectively. </ed>

[HuckleB]

13. 2000: Gladiator wins best picture over "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"?

WTF!

[CanuckAmok]

64. Gladiator was barely a Movie of the Week...

it sucked, and Russell Crowe looks like he's melting, as usual.

[Cooley Hurd]

17. The forgettable gal who won for that POS "My Cousin Vinnie."

You mean Marisa Tomei?


...nothing "forgettable" about her!

[populistmom]

18. Marissa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny

:wtf:

[arwalden]

28. Oh I Disagree... She Was Brilliant.

I've always been disappointed that comedies are frequently overlooked when it comes to best actor awards.

I love dramas, adventures, mysteries, period pieces, AND comedies as well.

You're not alone in your feelings that she didn't "deserve" the Oscar... but many folks who feel that way probably are influenced by the fact that the comedy script for My Cousin Vinny was a bit slapstick-ish and predictable.

-- Allen

[geniph]

40. That's why I wish

the Oscars would separate the awards for comedies and dramas the way the Golden Globes do.

[Archae]

19. 2003 "Best documentary"

"Bowling For Columbine"

:wtf:

[HuckleB]

20. I'll second that.

It doesn't even compare to Moore's own "Roger and Me." And "Winged Migration" was simply one of the most amazing films of all time. It was robbed!

[Archae]

33. Absolutely.

However you feel about Moore, "Winged Migration" was simply a better movie.

[Bertha Venation]

21. Marisa Tomei, forgettable?

Hardly. I was surprised at that win, but damn, she is a good actress, and she played the hell out of that role.

[Bertha Venation]

22. Cher, "Moonstruck"

My god, didn't a single godforsaken member of the vaunted Academy see "Fatal Attraction" that year?!

[ronnykmarshall]

23. *GASP*

Moonstruck is my all time favorite movie. Cher was great in it.

Gimme back my chili rice recipe! :silly:

[Bertha Venation]

26. NO! But...

...if you're good I'll use some ipecac and give you back your chili rice. ;)

I didn't say Cher was bad. She was great. But IMO Glenn Close was better that year.

Cher should've won for "Silkwood" (frankly I don't even remember if she was nominated; if she wasn't, she should've been).

Yes, I do quite firmly believe in The Consolation Oscar. Whoopi got one, too; because it was a consolation prize for "The Color Purple" doesn't mean she wasn't good in "Ghost."

[ronnykmarshall]

32. She was nominated for "Silkwood"

She was robbed of a nomination for "Mask".

[indigo32]

49. Hey Roni

I LOVE Moonstruck too.
that final scene is brilliant.

[Dookus]

24. oh there's plenty of travesties....

Alfred Hitchcock never won for directing.

But the one that pisses me off most is still Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love) winning over Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth). UGH!

[indigo32]

50. agreed

"But the one that pisses me off most is still Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love) winning over Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth). UGH!"

No kidding... Gwyneth Paltrow plays one character only. Cate Blanchette rocks.

[Dookus]

70. well it's not even that

Cate is more versatile (though she certainly is). Just compare the two roles.

Gwyneth, whom I don't like much, WAS in fact, very very good in Shakespeare. But Cate Blanchett was transcendent - there's not a moment where she's on screen where you can look at anything else but her face. It was an amazing role, played to perfection.

[Beaker]

27. Annie Hall over Star Wars for "Best Achievement in Motion Pictures"

i.e. best picture.
I'm a big woody allen film, and annie hall is definitely one of his best, but c'mon- Star Wars was by far a greater "achievement" for the industry- I really thought Lucas deserved it.

[Beaker]

29. Peter O'Toole is the best actor to never win an Oscar.

i know that it's not the category, but i just wanted to get that in.

[terrya]

31. "Lawrence of Arabia", "The Lion in Winter", "My Favorite Year"...

3 films I can think of that O'Toole should have won Best Actor.

A great actor.

Terry

[Touchdown]

30. Anybody who says American Beauty didn't deserve it...

is a Magnolia fan.:puke:...except my Sixth Sense buddy up there.;-)

AB was brilliant, intelligent, and insightful. Gagnolia was trite, obvious, pedantic, and a masturbation exercise from a self important, pretentious bag of wind.

[Dookus]

34. hey!

I loved BOTH Magnolia and American Beauty! Two of my favorite movies of recent years.

[Touchdown]

36. Great. You have true taste.

and then you don't.;-)

[ronnykmarshall]

35. Magnola

With your discription, it's fitting that Tom Cruise was in that film.

[HuckleB]

48. Well, actually, Magnolia wasn't up against AB.

Still, "The Insider" was a far etter choice than AB's stereotyping blather, and the best movie of the year, "Being John Malkovich" wasn't even nominated, which is an Oscar crime for the ages.

[Touchdown]

54. True, but Mag fans say their celluloid root canal was "robbed"

...out of a nomination. :eyes:

The Insider was good, but preachy, and BJM was a matter of taste. I didn't care for it, although I could recognize the imagination involved.

[HuckleB]

57. You liked AB, but you think "The Insider" was preachy?

Sorry, just found that interesting. And, sorry, but I'll take a viewing of Magnolia over AB any day of the week. AB has to be one of them most overrated movies of all time.

But, again, "Being John Malkovich" should have ruled that year.

[bigwillq]

37. Forrest Gump over

Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Quiz Show, Ed Wood, do I need to go on??

[geniph]

39. Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan

Shakespeare in Love was a pleasant little movie. It was not a better movie than Saving Private Ryan. :eyes:

[bigwillq]

46. Agree with you on that one

SPR blew me away on so many levels. One of the few times I liked Tom Hanks. He should've won for SPR then for FG and Philadelphia

[salin]

56. and wins lead actress over the brilliant portrayal in 'Elizabeth'?

light weight oscar best movie and light weight role for lead actress.

[fujiyama]

66. Definetely agree...

and how the hell did Chicago win last year?

[Selwynn]

71. I think SIL was every bit equal, and I'm glad it won.

I love that movie - far more than saving private ryan.

[LynneSin]

41. Anything related to that damn boat Titantic

nuff said!!

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

42. I will second that !

[Az]

43. Out of Africa beating the Color Purple

Still wiped out by that one.

[mndemocrat_29]

45. Just some

Dances With Wolves, Helen Hunt, Robin Williams, Ron Howard, and Russell Crowe.

[LynneSin]

51. ooooo - Helen Hunt was a baaaaaaaad choice

she was acting opposite of Jack Nicholson who can make the worse of actresses look talented. My mother could have done Helen's role and won an Academy Award.

Seriously, what has Ms. Hunt done lately

:shrug:

[YellowRubberDuckie]

53. Ron Howard was a bad choice?! HUH!?

Please explain yourself?
Duckie

[Kickin_Donkey]

55. Silence of the Lambs ...

for Best Picture.

It was OK, but Best Picture? I think not.

[bigwillq]

60. Who do you think should've won that year?

My only other choice would be Thelma and Louise and maybe Bugsy

[Dookus]

68. heheh..

Silence of the Lambs deserved it. It's a classic already.

It's one of only three movies ever to win:

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress


I'll let the other trivia buffs figure out the other two.

[Dover]

58. You mean the Golden Globe?

Best wins: C. Theron for Monster...and Bill Murray for Lost in Translation.

[stanwyck]

59. Didn't Fatal Attraction win for BP?

I could be wrong...but I believe it did. I need to do the research. It must have beaten a more deserving film.

[Bertha Venation]

61. No.

I'm putting my memory on the line, though, because on my shitty dial-up connection I can't get any of the pertinent databases open. I think "Moonstruck" won best picture.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

62. Julie Andrews won Best Actress for

Mary Poppins.

I was in junior high at the time, but I said, "Huh?"

It was explained as a Consolation Oscar in a sense, because a lot of people in Hollywood felt that she should have gotten the role of Eliza Doolittle (which she had created on Broadway) in My Fair Lady. In addition, Julie had NOT won the Oscar the previous year for The Sound of Music, and a lot of middle Americans (like most of my relatives) absolutely worshipped The Sound of Music and were indignant when the wrong Julie--Julie Christie--won (for Darling) that year.

[CShine]

67. Gaaawwwwd, there are just to many to name. The Oscars SUCK.