10 Biggest Oscar Flubs of the last 10 years

Today is the day. Oscar Day. Where a bunch of people will go home unhappy and a few will get the glory. Sure, it's an honor to be nominated but everybody wants to win. As Patton said: "Americans love a winner"...unless that winner was undeserving.

I'm looking back at the last 10 years a giving out failing grades to the Academy for giving out awards to people who did not deserve them. Clearly, they were deserving enough to get this far but it hit the fan when these people won. I'll start from 10 years ago (meaning the awards given out for the 2002 movies) and work my way up.


2002: Chicago for Best Picture - This is a perfect example for how to stage a musical for film. It's as simple as that. I think everyone thought that win Moulin Rouge! being nominated the year before that the Hollywood Musical was back...and it was....this year. It took another 10 years for another musical (Les Miserables) to be nominated.

What should have won?  The Pianist. It was the Best Acted (Adrien Brody), Best Directed (Roman Polanski), and Best Written (Ronald Harwood) film of the year.

2003: Renee Zellwegger for Best Supporting Actress - I view this as a "Hey she was nominated a few years in a row, let's give her this one". Cold Mountain is boring and not very good. And no, I'm not just picking on Renee Zellwegger with my first two picks. They just were the wrong winners.

Who Should have won? Shohreh Agdashloo. Did they even see House of Sand and Fog? Clearly they did since Ben Kingsley also received a well deserved nod but she is the clear winner here in a emotionally demanding performance.

2004: Cate Blanchett for Best Supporting Actress - My mom's favourite actress is Katharine Hepburn so this one might sting but essentially this role is mimicry at it's finest. Sure, she gets the mannerisms down and the speech but the role does nothing for me. This is Old Hollywood saying "Oh, we love Kate Hepburn. Wasn't she great? By association Cate Blanchett is great too." She is a great actress (see Notes On A Scandal if you don't believe me) but this role is not one that should have won.

Who should have won? Virginia Madsen. When she talks about how a bottle of wine is alive and looks right into Paul Giamatti's eyes and into his soul and in that moment they click, I knew this was the clear winner. She is emotionally complicated and sophisticated and deserved to win.

2005: Crash for Best Picture - I was going to go against the grain here and say Philip Seymour Hoffman here, but after writing out a few lines I just couldn't go through with it because he was terrific in Capote. This is a divisive film and extremely heavy-handed in it's message and took advantage of the Angelenos who were voting that year.

What should have won? Brokeback Mountain. Plain and simple. It was the clear winner until Crash somehow pulled off the upset I mean look at Jack Nicholson's epxression here. He's just as surprised as everyone else. I liked Crash, but it wasn't the best film from this year.

2006: Jennifer Hudson for Best Supporting Actress -You might begin to think I have it out for Best Supporting Actresses, but I don't. They just are wrong most of the time. Here is not an exception. Jennifer Hudson CANNOT ACT, she can sing - damn can she sing, but she is not an actress by any stretch of the imagination. She reads her lines as if it were a book report and there is not emotional connection with her when times get tough for her character. Dreamgirls isn't that good either - save for Eddie Murphy but this is a real crime.

Who should have won? Abigail Breslin. Little Miss Sunshine is a fantastic movie and to see this little girl struggle with her family and ultimately be the glue that holds them together is just icing on the cake...and her final dance is hysterical.

2007: The Golden Compass for Best Visual Effects -Sure the polar bear looks good but it was fairly generic CG and really wasn't all that good, actually. It's almost cheesy and considering this is the same VFX house that did Life of Pi (which is a phenomenal film, and filled with great effects) you have to wonder what went wrong here?

What should have won? Transformers. It's GIANT FIGHTING ROBOTS! WTF is wrong with these people?!

2008: Sean Penn for Best Actor - I screamed at my TV when this happened. Honest to God. I did not find Milk to be a good movie at all nor did I find this performance to be very good. It was rather pedestrian and boring.

Who should have won? Mickey Rourke. The Wrestler was one of the best films of 2008 and this is one of the best performances of the decade...and it didn't win. It's a shame because as Randy the Ram, Rourke delivers a complex performance about a man down on his luck trying to change but ultimately cannot fight fate and wants to go out his way, even if it means he may not make it. A power and moving performance that should have been recognized.

2009: Mo'Nique for Best Supporting Actress & Precious for Best Adapted Screenplay - I'm pulling double duty here because I just did not find this film to be very good. Sure it's depressing, but depressing movies can be good (Winter's Bone). It's just this performance was too over-the-top and Mo'Nique's insistence to not show up for things unless she got paid just rubbed me the wrong way. This is the same woman from Soul Plane. The writing is also not something to write home about - mainly that's because I didn't care for this film.

Who/What should have won? Vera Farmiga or Anna Kendrick. Both would have been better choices as their characters were fleshed out and developed. Up In The Air for Best Adapted Screenplay. Well written, crisp dialogue that just really really worked.

2010: Alice in Wonderland for Best Art Direction - I didn't see the appeal with this film when it came out. I skipped it in theatres and waited for DVD. I fell asleep and finished it the next day. I didn't care for it nor did I care for this award. It's really just the same Tim Burton zany designs with spirals of color and wacky furniture design. Not interested.

What should have won? Inception. Constructing a set that movies in a circular motion while actors are in/on it performing  a fight sequence should merit an award. That, and they built the Japanese castle and decorated the hell out of it - as well as all of the other set pieces.

2011: Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady and The Iron Lady for Best Makeup - This is a case of "She hasn't won in X amount of years, let's give it to her". It's also a case of "She got lost in that role thanks to the makeup, they deserve to win as well". Nope. Neither were deserving.

Who/What should have won? Viola Davis and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Viola Davis delivers a powerful performance that is nothing short of amazing. To borrow and alter a line from her character: "[She] is smart. [She] is kind. [She] is important". Harry Potter's makeup is nothing short of amazing. I mean they turned people into goblins, Ralph Fiennes into Voldemort, and brought a myriad of other creatures to life with a few prosthetics and color (OK, maybe more than a few).

Looking back on my list I notice I have a problem with the Academy's selection of women winners. I don't think they get it right - at least within these last 10 years. They seem to miss the mark - at least that's how I have viewed them over the years. But hey, at least their is a debate over the winners. If they were all uniformly loved then it would not be interesting at all. These 'misses' make it more interesting and open up the floor for conversation about the merit of each film. Here's to the next 10 years.