You MUST give back that Oscar! It's a wrap....

Well, I've given you my "top five" choices for the most unjustly- awarded Academy Awards in Oscar history.  Narrowing the list down to just five choices was certainly a challenge, as there are so many worthy (or is it "unworthy"?) others.  So I thought we'd have a brief wrap-up of a few other choices that might be considered prime candidates for the "honors".  I expect this year that we may have a few more contenders, too!  See you on Sunday, February 27!  I'll be "live-blogging" during the show, if you care to join me...hope to see you here!:

And they are, in no particular order:

Best Actress, 1998:  Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love.  It's become almost an accepted fact that most people, for one reason or another, simply can't stand her.  Whether it's for her on-screen or her off-screen persona--or perhaps a little bit of both--is hard to tell.  Hers was selected over Cate Blanchett's incandescent performance in Elizabeth.  Fourteen years ago, the Gwyneth-bashing hadn't really begun yet in full.  Could her Oscar-win have been the springboard?  Who knows.  Her performance wasn't bad--merely a bit of fluff in which she played the "pants-role" (disguised as a man) as well as the female love interest of Joseph Fiennes (whatever happened to him?). It was a clever-enough film, but rather instantly forgettable.  And Paltrow?  She was...good-ish.  But "Best Actress"?  Over Cate Blanchett?  WRONG CHOICE, FOLKS!  The Oscar REALLY goes to: 
Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth

Best Supporting Actress, 1998: Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love.  We all love Dame Judi Dench. She never fails to steal every scene she's in, including her very few scenes Shakespeare in Love, in which she has what amounts to a cameo role as Queen Elizabeth I.  Her performance, in total, amounts to less than 8 minutes of screen time.  Clearly her win for this miniscule part was a sop for having lost the previous year for Mrs. Brown (to Helen Hunt....grrr.... see part 3).  Since the "Best Supporting" awards are so often given for reasons other than the winning performance itself (overall career achievement, encouragement of a new performer, etc.), the award should have been given to a wonderful actress, much overshadowed by her loudmouth sister, who gave a touching and skilled performance that year--and had never won an Oscar (and, sadly, never would). 
And the Oscar REALLY goes to: 

Lynn Redgrave for Gods and Monsters.





Best Supporting Actor 1997: Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting.  With the possible exception of Dead Poet's Society, I've never seen Robin Williams in a dramatic film where I found his characterization believable, including this one.  He comes across as either strait-jacketed or medicated.  He's a brilliant comedian.  Oscar-worthy dramatic actor?  Not in my book.  And the Oscar REALLY goes to: 

Anthony Hopkins in Amistad.



Best Supporting Actress, 1995:  Mira Sorvino,  Mighty Aphrodite.  There has long been an Academy tradition of handing this award to new, young actresses, as sort of a "welcome" to the industry.  Some (Meryl Streep, Kramer vs. Kramer; Jessica Lange, Tootsie) went on to fulfill the voters' "show of faith" and proved their Oscar worthiness in a long series of other fine performances.  Others (Miyoshi Umeki, Sayonara; Marlee Matlin, Children of a Lesser God; Tatum O'Neal, Paper Moon) watched their careers fizzle almost as soon as the Oscar hit the mantle.  Perhaps most emblematic of that sub-category of "Best Supporting Actress" winners is Mira Sorvino--a selection that continues to baffle Oscar historians.  It's not that she was "bad," per se...but how can one say that her cartoonish portrayal of a nasal, brain-dead hooker (in one of Woody Allen's most forgettable films) was the supreme acting achievement of the entire year?  Surely Joan Allen's chilly portrayal of the icy, broken Pat Nixon displayed acting talent in spades.  Was Mira Sorvino really better than Joan Allen?  No...she was not. 
And the Oscar REALLY goes to: 
Joan Allen in Nixon.  Incidentally,  Marisa Tomei gets unfairly lumped in this category of undeserving Best Supporting Actress winner, I think.  In 1992, her win for her hilarious performance in My Cousin Vinny has held up through the years and has proven to be, indeed, worthy of much praise.  She has also subsequently given several memorable performances, such as In the Bedroom.



Best Actress, 1940:  Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle
Boy, was this one a head-scratcher!  The four other nominees gave performances that remain to this day in the "classic" category.  Ginger, er, not so much:

• Bette Davis in The Letter
• Joan Fontaine in Rebecca
• Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story
• Martha Scott Our Town

It's almost anti-American to knock the darling Ginger Rogers, but I find this film pretty much unwatchable.  Seeing her do her cutesy, little-girl routine makes me very, very nervous.  I really couldn't find an adequate explanation of how on earth she won the Oscar that year.  A true Oscar mystery. 
And the Oscar REALLY goes to: 
 Joan Fontaine in Rebecca.


Best Actress, 1947:  Loretta Young in The Farmer’s Daughter
(see above).  Another 1940's Oscar puzzlement.  Loretta Young was a stalwart, hard-working Hollywood veteran who had been making films since she was 12 years old.  And there were very few lovelier actresses than her.  But her phony-baloney Swedish accent was certainly not the thing for which Oscars should be given.  The most deserving performance that year lost out as it was in a little-seen, little-understood film called Mourning Becomes Electra.  The lead actress gives a "take-no-prisoners," full-out performance that was certainly leagues ahead of the Farmer's Daughter fluff.  I think viewers/voters were simply put-off/confused by the title and stayed away from it.  And the Oscar REALLY goes to:

Rosalind Russell in Mourning Becomes Electra.





Best Film, 1952:  The Greatest Show On Earth, Cecil B. De Mille's turgid tale of love and deceit behind the canvas curtain of the circus world is generally considered by Oscarologists (I just made up that term) to be the biggest "HUH?" choice of "Best Picture" in Oscar history (though Crash is rapidly rising in the ranks as the years expose its hollowness).
And the Oscar REALLY goes to: 

Singin in the Rain...which wasn't even NOMINATED!!


And, finally, the most egregiously idiotic award ever given by the Academy:



Best Song, 2006:  "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp," from Hustle and Flow by Three 6 Mafia.  What is there to say?


And the Oscar REALLY goes to:  NO ONE!  Because this category should have been eliminated altogether atleast 15 years ago.


See:  Hmmm...where do we begin? for more on the "Best Song" category.

Also see: 

• You must GIVE BACK THAT OSCAR! (Part...
• You Must Give Back That Oscar! (Part 2)
• You MUST give back that Oscar! (Part 3)
• You MUST Give Back that Oscar! (Part 4)
• You MUST give back that Oscar! (Part 5)