The Worst Oscar Best Picture Winners
The Oscars are often hailed as the pinnacle of cinematic achievement, but the history of the Academy Awards is littered with controversial decisions that have left audiences and critics scratching their heads. Among these contentious choices, several Best Picture winners stand out as particularly egregious, either for their mediocrity, outdated themes, or the superior films they defeated. Here’s a deep dive into some of the most debated Best Picture winners in Oscar history.
Green Book (2018): A Patronizing Attempt at Tackling Racism
When Green Book won Best Picture at the 91st Academy Awards, it sparked immediate backlash for its simplistic and condescending approach to racial issues. The film, which tells the story of a friendship between African-American pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his white driver Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), was widely criticized for centering the narrative on the white savior trope. It reduced complex issues of racism to a feel-good narrative about unlikely friendships, glossing over the systemic nature of racial inequality.
Critics and audiences alike pointed out that Green Book felt outdated in its messaging, especially when compared to the other nominees that year, such as Black Panther, Roma, and BlacKkKlansman, which offered more nuanced and culturally relevant perspectives. The film’s win was seen as the Academy playing it safe, favoring a sanitized version of history over more challenging and innovative storytelling.
Coda (2021): A Symptom of a Weak Year for Film
While Coda received widespread acclaim for its heartfelt portrayal of a deaf family and their hearing daughter’s struggles to balance her dreams with family responsibilities, its Best Picture win at the 94th Academy Awards felt underwhelming. The film, while charming and accessible, lacked the cinematic ambition typically associated with Oscar winners. Many critics argued that its straightforward narrative and reliance on crowd-pleasing tropes made it feel more like an elevated TV movie than a groundbreaking piece of cinema.
To its credit, Coda had the advantage of competing in a year marked by fewer standout films, with the pandemic disrupting production schedules and release strategies. Compared to other nominees like The Power of the Dog or Dune, Coda stood out for its emotional resonance, but its victory highlighted a year where the overall pool of contenders felt weaker than usual.
Out of Africa (1985): The Color Purple Was Robbed
Out of Africa is often remembered as a visually stunning but narratively dull film that coasted to victory on the strength of its epic scope and star power. Directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, the film tells the story of a Danish woman’s life in colonial Kenya, focusing more on romance than addressing the era’s historical or social complexities.
What makes Out of Africa’s win particularly egregious is that it came at the expense of The Color Purple, a deeply moving adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Directed by Steven Spielberg, The Color Purple explored themes of racism, sexism, and resilience through a richly layered narrative and unforgettable performances, including a breakout role for Whoopi Goldberg. The Academy’s decision to overlook The Color Purple, which received 11 nominations and no wins, has been widely criticized as a glaring example of systemic bias within Hollywood.
American Beauty (1999): A Film Tarnished by Time
When American Beauty swept the 72nd Academy Awards, it was hailed as a profound critique of suburban malaise and the pursuit of the American Dream. Directed by Sam Mendes, the film won five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Kevin Spacey. However, in the decades since its release, the film’s reputation has been tainted by two factors: the changing cultural landscape and the disturbing allegations against Spacey.
In hindsight, American Beauty’s exploration of themes like middle-class disillusionment and repressed desires feels overwrought and dated. The film’s central storyline, which involves Spacey’s character lusting after his teenage daughter’s friend, has become especially uncomfortable in light of the allegations against the actor. Once considered a masterpiece, American Beauty is now viewed by many as a relic of its time—one that hasn’t aged gracefully.
Dances with Wolves (1990): Well-Intentioned but Outdated
Kevin Costner’s Dances with Wolves is a sweeping Western epic that tells the story of a Civil War soldier who befriends a Native American tribe. While the film was lauded for its earnest attempt to humanize Native American characters and won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, its legacy has become more complicated over time. Critics have noted that the film perpetuates the “white savior” narrative, framing the story through the perspective of Costner’s character rather than the Native people it seeks to honor.
The sting of Dances with Wolves’ win is compounded by the fact that it defeated Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, a gritty, groundbreaking exploration of organized crime. Goodfellas is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, and its loss to Dances with Wolves remains one of the Academy’s most controversial decisions.
Driving Miss Daisy (1989): A Tone-Deaf Choice in a Landmark Year
Driving Miss Daisy tells the story of an elderly white woman (Jessica Tandy) and her African-American chauffeur (Morgan Freeman) in the racially segregated South. While the film was praised for its performances, its sanitized portrayal of racism and reliance on the “magical Negro” trope have drawn criticism in the years since its release.
The film’s Best Picture win at the 62nd Academy Awards is particularly galling given that Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing—a searing, complex exploration of race relations in America—wasn’t even nominated. Many see Driving Miss Daisy’s victory as emblematic of the Academy’s historical reluctance to engage with more challenging narratives about race, favoring safe, feel-good stories over films that push boundaries.
Shakespeare in Love (1998): A Charming but Overrated Winner
Shakespeare in Love is a lighthearted romantic comedy that imagines a fictional love affair between William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and a noblewoman (Gwyneth Paltrow) who inspires him to write Romeo and Juliet. While the film is undeniably charming and features strong performances, its Best Picture win is often cited as one of the most controversial in Oscar history.
The film’s victory is widely attributed to an aggressive awards campaign by producer Harvey Weinstein, which overshadowed more deserving nominees like Saving Private Ryan. The latter, Steven Spielberg’s visceral and emotionally powerful World War II epic, was considered a frontrunner and is still regarded as a modern classic. In contrast, Shakespeare in Love feels slight and inconsequential, making its win a sore point for many film enthusiasts.
Crash (2005): The Poster Child for Misguided Oscar Wins
Few Best Picture winners have been as widely criticized as Crash, a film that tackles racism in Los Angeles through a series of interconnected stories. While its intentions may have been noble, the film’s heavy-handed approach and reliance on contrived coincidences drew widespread derision. Critics have called it preachy, simplistic, and manipulative, with little nuance in its portrayal of complex social issues.
What makes Crash’s win particularly egregious is that it came at the expense of Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee’s poignant love story about two gay cowboys. Brokeback Mountain was a groundbreaking film that resonated deeply with audiences and critics alike, and its loss to Crash is often seen as a reflection of the Academy’s discomfort with LGBTQ+ narratives. To this day, Crash is frequently cited as one of the worst Best Picture winners in Oscar history.
The Academy Awards aim to celebrate the best in cinema, but history has shown that the Oscars are not immune to political influence, cultural biases, and misguided decisions. The films discussed here represent some of the most controversial Best Picture winners, overshadowed by either better nominees or their own shortcomings. While these choices may tarnish the Oscars’ reputation, they also serve as a reminder of the subjectivity of art and the ever-changing standards by which we evaluate it. For Maze of Media, these films are both cautionary tales and opportunities for reflection on how the Academy can better recognize true cinematic excellence in the future.
