Get ready for a wild ride through Hollywood's most questionable Oscar moments! We're diving into the movies that somehow managed to snag Academy Award nominations despite being critically panned, from "Norbit" to "Transformers" and everything in between.
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00:00Am I a romantic?
00:02Well, I study English Lit, so I kind of have to be.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the worst movies to have received recognition at the Academy Awards.
00:14But I cannot decide whether this horse is stupid, or pretending to be stupid.
00:21Number 20, Blonde.
00:23And blonde sex pot, Marilyn Monroe.
00:27A threesome? How vulgar.
00:31A biopic about Marilyn Monroe really should have been a slam dunk.
00:35We don't know what the heck Andrew Dominick was doing.
00:38Rather than playing it straight, Dominick made a subversive take on the Monroe mythos,
00:42fictionalizing most of her life and filling the movie with graphic content that was made solely to stir up drama.
00:47Many called it sexist and exploitative, with Dominick's Razzie-winning screenplay receiving a healthy dose of fevered criticism.
00:54And speaking of Razzies, Blonde also walked away with the year's worst picture award.
00:59But, despite the script's many flaws, Ana de Armas acted her butt off and earned herself an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
01:07Is this what I think it is?
01:09Yes!
01:16Are you happy for me?
01:18Number 19, Star Wars Episode IX, The Rise of Skywalker.
01:23We've decoded the intel from the First Order spy.
01:26And it confirms the worst.
01:30Somehow Palpatine returned.
01:32Even people who liked the new trilogy and even people who liked the prequel series
01:36seemed to agree that The Rise of Skywalker was disappointing.
01:40Neither casual Star Wars viewers nor die-hard fans seemed to like it,
01:43with many agreeing that it was a boring Disney film that played it way too safe.
01:47It clumsily tried course-correcting the divisive elements from The Last Jedi
01:51and was filled with terrible fan service that literally didn't make any sense.
01:55Somehow Palpatine returned indeed.
01:58But it was a technically well-made film and earned three Oscar nominations for its score,
02:03sound editing and visual effects.
02:06Those are kind of a given.
02:22Number 18, 102 Dalmatians.
02:39Did we really need 102 Dalmatians?
02:42No, no we did not.
02:44The story was grossly repetitive and followed the winning formula of the original way too closely.
02:49It's literally the exact same story,
02:51only this time Cruella De Vil wants to make an even grander fur coat.
02:55Brilliant!
02:56Her antics were also exaggerated to the point of being cartoonish,
02:59and the movie sacrificed emotional depth for visual spectacle,
03:03offering up plenty of subpar CGI.
03:06But there's one area where the movie excelled, and that was costume design.
03:10Dang, did Anthony Powell make some gorgeous outfits!
03:14Ultimately, he earned an Oscar nomination,
03:16but ultimately lost to Jante Yates' work on Gladiator.
03:25Are you not entertained?
03:27Are you not entertained?!
03:29Number 17, Eraser.
03:45It's not rare for mediocre action movies to be nominated for technical Oscars.
03:49As unengaging as their stories may be,
03:52they are still well-made films, and Eraser is no different.
03:56Its sound editing was honored at the 69th Academy Awards,
03:59being one of just three movies to receive a nomination in that field.
04:02Unfortunately, it did not win,
04:04and unfortunately, the movie surrounding the sound was not up to snuff.
04:08Maybe if you just listened to it, you'd have a better time.
04:11Most people criticized its paper-thin plot,
04:14as the movie followed a generic action formula that had long been dated by the mid-90s.
04:26Number 16, The Clan of the Cave Bear.
04:42In 1980, Gene M. Owl published The Clan of the Cave Bear,
04:46a novel set in prehistoric times,
04:48in which an early modern human named Aayla is raised by a clan of Neanderthals.
04:52Six years later, it was adapted for film starring Daryl Hannah as Aayla.
04:56She was not very good, and neither was the movie itself.
05:00It greatly struggled with pacing,
05:02often rushing through pivotal moments of the book and losing much of its intricate detail.
05:08It condensed this rich material into a streamlined 98 minutes,
05:12dropping important subplots and character development
05:15and losing much of the story's depth in the process.
05:18However, both Michael Westmore and Michelle Burke received Oscar nominations for their makeup.
05:23Ralph.
05:26Gust.
05:27Shema.
05:31Aayla.
05:34Clay.
05:35Aayla.
05:36Number 15, Beethoven's Second.
05:44This comedy about a family of dogs certainly found an audience,
05:47grossing nearly $120 million.
05:50But its critical reception was much less favorable.
05:53Beethoven's Second is the exact type of silly family movie you would expect from the early 90s,
05:58complete with one-dimensional characters and a predictable plot.
06:01But it was also much worse than the original,
06:04diluting the emotional core that made it resonate with families
06:07and leaning heavily into silly slapstick.
06:09By all accounts, it was just another forgettable sequel,
06:12and it would have been instantly forgotten
06:14had it not been for the work of James Ingram and Dolly Parton.
06:18Their song, The Day I Fall in Love, received a slew of award nominations,
06:22including an Oscar nod for Best Song.
06:43Number 14, Harlem Nights.
06:48Yeah, I know that's smalls, but who's that girl with her?
06:51She is beautiful.
06:54Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor in the same movie?
06:57How could it go wrong?
06:58The answer, sadly, is that Eddie Murphy is not a good director.
07:02This was a dream project of his,
07:04as he always wanted to work with Richard Pryor
07:06and make a period piece about Depression-era Harlem.
07:09Unfortunately, he totally squandered the opportunity
07:12and made a terrible film.
07:14A tonal mess with severe pacing issues and an underutilized cast.
07:18It was so bad that Murphy won the Razzie for Worst Screenplay
07:21and never directed again.
07:23However, his film did have one thing going for it,
07:26and that was an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design.
07:29Those suits are pretty darn cool.
07:31Sometimes them buzzers don't work that good.
07:35My name is Quick.
07:37I'm an old friend of his.
07:38You think maybe I could, um, go upstairs and knock on the door?
07:41Number 13, Patch Adams.
07:44I'm sure it's really great for kids.
07:46Oh, no, not just kids. Anybody.
07:48Patients are opening up to me, Corinne.
07:50They're sharing their dreams, their fantasies.
07:52And if you hit on the right topic, they brighten up for one brief moment.
07:56It wasn't often that Robin Williams steered himself wrong,
07:59but Patch Adams is one of the rare exceptions.
08:01While the medical drama was a huge hit and retains a cult following,
08:05it was critically eviscerated
08:07and remains one of the most maudlin films ever made.
08:10This thing is like cough syrup.
08:12It's way too sweet and makes us grimace in discomfort.
08:15It's also filled with terrible writing,
08:18its characters being annoyingly one-dimensional,
08:20and the script providing an inaccurate representation of the real Patch Adams.
08:24And medical practice.
08:26And law.
08:27And, well, most things, really.
08:29However, it was ultimately nominated in the very short-lived category
08:33Best Original Musical or Comedy Score,
08:35which lasted from just 1996 to 1999 after proving unpopular.
08:40Let's do it!
08:52Jake, you don't let no looks get to you.
08:54You remember what Fargo said?
08:56James and Grifton don't mix.
08:58Many people today complain about unnecessary sequels.
09:02But just remember, we got a sequel to The Sting back in 1983.
09:06This problem has been going on for decades.
09:09The original was nominated for ten Oscars and won seven,
09:13a brilliant success that is now preserved in the National Film Registry.
09:17The sequel earned one nomination for Best Musical Score,
09:20and it was probably a pity nomination at that.
09:23The drop in quality between films is simply astounding.
09:27The script is worse in every respect,
09:29the filmmaking is not nearly as sharp and refined,
09:32and maybe worst of all,
09:34they replaced Paul Newman and Robert Redford with Jackie Gleason and Mac Davis.
09:38If we didn't know any better, we'd say we got conned.
10:03A lot of ink has been spilled in regards to Emilia Perez.
10:07For many, it has been enormously overvalued by the Academy and other award bodies,
10:12with many feeling that they were honoring the message rather than the filmmaking.
10:16Your mileage may vary, of course.
10:18The movie has drawn intense criticism for its transgender representation,
10:22it is virulently hated in Mexico,
10:24and various behind-the-scenes dramas have weakened its cultural impact.
10:28And then there's just the generally bad filmmaking,
10:30like terrible songs, a weak script, and Selena Gomez's awful performance.
10:35Regardless, it earned a staggering 13 Oscar nominations,
10:39which only 11 films in history have achieved.
10:42It is a monumental achievement that many feel was not earned.
10:58Helmed by director and animator Tom McGrath,
11:01who's worked on everything from Space Jam to Megamind,
11:03and headlined by such vocal talents as Alec Baldwin and Steve Buscemi,
11:07it's no surprise that The Boss Baby cleaned up at the box office.
11:15But let's be honest.
11:16This film, which is about an infant who wears a suit,
11:19calls himself The Boss, and is actually a secret agent,
11:22isn't the kind of film people will be talking about a decade from now.
11:25Stop acting like a baby!
11:26You're a baby!
11:28You take that back.
11:29In fact, despite being nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature,
11:33The Boss Baby didn't even garner the best reviews from critics.
11:36You know, the people that do that sort of thing for a living.
11:39You wouldn't.
11:40Say bye-bye, baby! You're fired!
11:42Tim, what are you doing?
11:43Nothing.
11:47If you had told us back in 2006 that a film starring Adam Sandler,
11:51in which he plays a man who discovers a remote control
11:53that can manipulate time, would be nominated for an Academy Award,
11:57we would have laughed you out of the room.
11:59Oh, alright, America! Have your laugh! I'm an idiot!
12:04Click is by no means a good movie.
12:07Sure, it made copious amounts of money, but so do most Adam Sandler flicks.
12:11Getting sick, man. Fast forward me till I'm better.
12:16Michael, honey, wake up!
12:18With a measly 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes,
12:21and reviews such as this one from the Wall Street Journal,
12:23which called the film, quote, an abomination,
12:26it's not difficult to see why we were surprised it scored an Oscar nom.
12:30But it did for Best Makeup.
12:33No!
12:35No! No! No!
12:38No! That's so many idiots!
12:44Batman and Batman Returns, both of which were directed by Tim Burton,
12:48are certifiable classics.
12:50However, Batman Forever, which was directed by Joel Schumacher, is not.
12:55Can I persuade you to take a sandwich with you, sir?
12:58I'll get drive-thru.
13:00Despite a cast that included Val Kilmer, Nicole Kidman,
13:03Tommy Lee Jones, and Jim Carrey at the height of his 90s fame,
13:06the film was a critical disappointment.
13:08Though not nearly as bad as the film that followed it, which shall not be named.
13:12Was that over the top?
13:14I can never tell.
13:16And yet, Batman Forever still managed to score an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography,
13:20though it would lose out to Braveheart.
13:23The press were just wondering what it feels like to be outsold, outclassed, outcoiffed,
13:27and generally outdone in every way.
13:34David Fincher, the director that's given us such cinematic gems
13:37as Fight Club and The Social Network,
13:39dropped the ball on this one.
13:41And he knows it.
13:42That does deserve an explanation.
13:46But I don't think now is the moment.
13:48Fincher publicly disowned the film,
13:50and in 2009 quipped,
13:56Damn, that's harsh.
13:58When he agreed to direct Alien 3,
14:00his first feature film, by the way,
14:02he was in his late 20s,
14:04and working under constant pressure from studio executives.
14:07Ooh!
14:11Ah!
14:16The infamously plagued production still managed to make a pretty penny at the box office
14:20en route to an Oscar nom for Best Visual Effects,
14:22so it wasn't a total loss.
14:24Then you take care of me.
14:26No problem.
14:28Quick, easy, and painless.
14:33With an enormous amount of hype surrounding it,
14:35what with its all-star cast and brilliant source material,
14:38Suicide Squad cruised to a cool $746 million at the box office in 2016.
14:44But don't let the dough fool you.
14:54The film, which is about a group of criminals
14:56forced to work together in order to bring down an evil witch,
14:59was panned by critics,
15:01and currently holds a 26% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
15:05Deadshot, I need your help.
15:07No, sir. You need a miracle.
15:10However, that didn't stop it from being nominated for
15:13and winning the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
15:16In all honesty, that was one of the film's few silver linings.
15:20A thank you would be nice.
15:26Starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer,
15:29The Lone Ranger was one of 2013's biggest productions.
15:32Based on the popular 20th Century radio and TV series,
15:35the film is about the crime-fighting duo of The Lone Ranger and Tonto,
15:39who battle outlaws in the Old West.
15:41It's a horse.
15:43It can fly.
15:46Don't be stupid.
15:48Unfortunately, the premise failed to connect with audiences,
15:51and today, the film is considered a critical and commercial disappointment,
15:55with one critic calling it, quote,
16:02Despite all that, it still managed to earn Oscar nominations
16:06for Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
16:09The film's one bid to save face was dashed
16:11when it failed to win in either category.
16:14Don't ever do that again.
16:18When it was released, Waterworld was the most expensive film ever made.
16:23We're going to die here, aren't we?
16:25Directed by and starring Kevin Costner,
16:27who at the time was one of the biggest movie stars on the planet,
16:30the film is about a post-apocalyptic world
16:32in which the polar ice caps have melted,
16:34causing the oceans to envelop practically all habitable land.
16:38The bizarre premise failed to hit the mark with audiences and critics alike,
16:42and was a flop in the United States.
16:44Well then, we better keep it to ourselves.
16:48Of course, that didn't stop it from being nominated
16:50at the 68th Academy Awards for Best Sound,
16:53an award it would lose to Apollo 13.
17:07Before you ask, no, we're not making this up.
17:12Fifty Shades of Grey, the erotic drama based on the 2011 novel of the same name,
17:16scored an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song at the 88th Academy Awards.
17:20The song in question was earned it by The Weeknd,
17:23and it lost to Spectre's writings on the wall.
17:34To say that Fifty Shades of Grey isn't for everyone
17:36may seem like an understatement to most critics.
17:39Just listen to a few from respected reviewers,
17:42who called it, quote, boring, quote, abysmally bad,
17:45and, quote, lousy.
17:47Tough crowd.
17:59Of all the Transformers films that have been released,
18:02one could make the argument that this one is the worst.
18:05But it would have some tough competition.
18:08Sporting a lowly rating of 19% on Rotten Tomatoes,
18:12and peppered with negative reviews from the get-go,
18:15many people would describe Transformers Revenge of the Fallen as terrible.
18:19In fact, the Michael Bay-directed flick was nominated for a whopping seven Razzies,
18:24and one for Worst Picture, Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay.
18:28Yikes.
18:35But it wasn't all bad.
18:36The film was also nominated for Best Sound Mixing at the 82nd Oscars,
18:40but lost to The Hurt Locker.
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19:06Without further ado, we present to you what is possibly the worst movie
19:09to have ever been nominated for an Academy Award.
19:12Norbit.
19:17The film, which features Eddie Murphy portraying multiple characters,
19:20is about a man attempting to distance himself from his crass,
19:23overweight, and adulterous wife so that he can woo his childhood crush.
19:27Norbit pulled in decent numbers at the box office,
19:30but that didn't stop Richard Roper from calling it, quote,
19:32offensively bad.
19:36No! No! No! No!
19:42Dwarfing its one Oscar nomination for Best Makeup is eight Razzie nominations,
19:47including five for Murphy, three of which he won.
19:50In the pantheon of bad movies nominated for Oscars, Norbit has no equal.
19:56Bingo! Right in the bra hole!
20:02Let's get some!
20:03Did you enjoy any of these films?
20:05Let us know in the comments below.
20:07What is this?