In light of the recent epic catastrophe that was the Best Picture reveal at this year's Oscars, I thought it was a great time to bring up a few other Academy mistakes from previous years. So, pretend that midterms aren't steadily approaching, and enjoy some Oscar upsets that made everyone question what a good movie really is.
1989
Who won: Driving Miss Daisy
Who should have won: Dead Poets Society
I'll be honest, I have yet to get through all of Driving Miss Daisy, but Dead Poets Society is the clear winner here. It is one of those rare movies that can be found in the intersection of a Venn diagram of Oscar quality movies and movies you actually want to watch.
1994
Who won: Forrest Gump
Who should have won: The Shawshank Redemption
Look, I also love Forrest Gump; it's a great, fun, nostalgic movie, but is it Oscar worthy? The Shawshank Redemption is the kind of movie that makes you question your life after you're done watching it -- can Tom Hanks taking a run do that? I don't think so.
2005
Who won: Crash
Who should have won: Brokeback Mountain
Crash was a pretty great movie with a lot of powerful themes and messages, but Brokeback Mountain was an epic, soul-crushing love story. It's the kind of movie you assume you would hate, but end up wiping away your tears when it ends. But hey, it was 2005; maybe the world just wasn't ready for the power couple that is Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.
2009
Who won: The Hurt Locker
Who Should Have Won: Up
Everyone needs to be honest for a minute and admit that the beginning of Up destroyed your heart. I feel like the key to a great movie is the emotion it makes you feel, and Disney made me feel way too much with about four minutes of animation; that definitely deserves an Oscar.
2011
Who won: The Artist
Who should have won: Literally any other movie
...Come on guys, you're better than this.
2013
Who won: 12 Years a Slave
Who should have won: Gravity or American Hustle
The win by 12 Years a Slave was what first sparked my interest in the Oscars. My sister and I didn't believe that it was the best movie to be nominated (we were right) so we decided to watch them all and decide for ourselves. Thus began a tradition of sitting through some really pretentious movies -- hours I wish I could get back -- but alas, I can never unsee Mad Max: Fury Road, and for that, I will always be sorry.
2015
Who won: Spotlight
Who should have won: The Martian or Brooklyn
Spotlight was pretty okay, but the cool part of the movie was the plot line, which was all based on a true story. So was it the best? Probably not. The Martian, like Dead Poets Society, was both Oscar worthy and enjoyable for the average audience (and can you go wrong with Matt Damon in space?). Brooklyn was a surprise favorite of mine that, although set in the past, is extremely relevant to today.
2016
Who won: Moonlight
Who should have won: Arrival, Lion, or Manchester by the Sea
I'm sorry, but I really, really, really do not like Moonlight. I support the general idea of it, and it's a great symbolic win for equality sake, but it's just not a good movie. I felt like not a single thing happened (except for the literal sex on the beach and that guy getting wrecked by a chair), yet it lasted forever. Arrival basically gave me a mental breakdown; it was original and thought-provoking, and led to hours of discussion with my fellow viewers (after I stopped crying). Lion, another tear-jerker, was a fantastic telling of a real life story that made me want to be adopted by Nicole Kidman. Manchester by the Sea, the king of tear-jerkers, was a movie I would point to as an example of being Oscar worthy. It was touching and real, while still artistic enough to appease the Academy.
So really, in retrospect, the academy makes mistakes all the time. The recent card screw up was really just a small error compared to the tragedy that occurred in 2009 (guys, Up really affected me). So if anything, the card mistake can just be looked at as a way to allow La La Land producers to thank a few people and to make Steve Harvey feel better about himself.
