The Academy Awards are this Sunday, and it seems that Boyhood (viewed as a cinematic masterpiece by many) and Birdman (a pretentious, grating pat-on-the-back) may be the frontrunners for Best Picture. But any sane person with a taste for film knows that the awards very rarely go to the “deserving” ones (goodbye Boyhood, hello Birdman). In fact, there seems to be a tendency for the Oscars to go to some “not-so-great” films, performances, direction, and so on. Here are the worst Oscar winners throughout its history in each of the major categories, from Best Picture to Best Supporting Actress.
| And Worst ‘Best’ Picture goes to… Crash |
The “racism is bad” piece of trash that trumped Brokeback Mountain.
Runners-up:
–Forrest Gump
–The Greatest Show on Earth
–Driving Miss Daisy
–A Beautiful Mind
Runners-up:
–Forrest Gump
–The Greatest Show on Earth
–Driving Miss Daisy
–A Beautiful Mind
| And Worst ‘Best’ Director goes to… Ron Howard for A Beautiful Mind |
The former Happy Days star somehow managed to beat David Lynch and Robert Altman with this dull, lifeless Oscar bait biopic.
Runner-up:
-Robert Zemeckis for Forrest Gump
Runner-up:
-Robert Zemeckis for Forrest Gump
| And Worst ‘Best’ Actor goes to… Roberto Benigni for Life Is Beautiful |
Endlessly mugging it up for the camera in this “so treacly it’ll make you vomit” Holocaust dramedy (yes, that’s a thing).
Runners-up:
-Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman
-Art Carney for Harry and Tonto
-Tom Hanks for Forrest Gump
Runners-up:
-Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman
-Art Carney for Harry and Tonto
-Tom Hanks for Forrest Gump
| And Worst ‘Best’ Actress goes to… Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side |
Sandra Bullock is here to teach us all about racism via old-fashioned views of race relations (but she looks great while doing it).
Runners-up:
-Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love
-Halle Berry for Monster’s Ball
-Helen Hunt for As Good As It Gets
Runners-up:
-Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love
-Halle Berry for Monster’s Ball
-Helen Hunt for As Good As It Gets
| And Worst ‘Best’ Supporting Actor goes to… John Mills for Ryan’s Daughter |
Sorry, playing a mentally impaired man will always be unsavory and in bad taste. Particularly here.
Runner-up:
-Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine
Runner-up:
-Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine
| And Worst ‘Best’ Supporting Actress goes to… Renée Zellweger for Cold Mountain |
That accent though…
Runner-up:
-Marcia Gay Harden for Pollock
Runner-up:
-Marcia Gay Harden for Pollock