I do this in reverse order so when I reach Best Picture, I'm all ranted or controversied out. I think of topics to spend my forewords to talk about but forget them when it comes time to write them down. I've got nothing here other than let's get the fuck to 1996 because I'm sick of 1997!
1997 Best Picture
Titanic
Wow, it's been a long time since I've actually watched Titanic start to finish. This came out when I was in middle school and I hated it without even seeing it because it was such a huge phenomenon that you couldn't escape hearing about the film if you tried. Plus, I just thought it was a stupid love story and I was not about that when I was in middle school. I never got the hype back then and I'm still not sure I understand it today but whatever. Titanic has a lot going for it as a film. The opening is amazing and really sets the tone of just how epic the film is going to be with the whole underwater submersible vehicle thing inspecting the wreck on the ocean floor. You kinda get the sense that this was a real thing that happened and is more than just a film. The thing Titanic has going for it is how epic and impressive the sets and scope of the film are, or at least how they look. The engine room is remarkable to behold even if they used tricks to make it seem bigger than it was. The ship itself is so grand and awe inspiring that it sucks you in completely and you want to watch just so you can see everything the ship has to offer and what it all looks like. The visual effects are the best thing about the film, just watch the sinking of the ship to see what I mean. It's intense, sure, but also marvelous in how they were able to pull that off because it is quite the sight. The romance part between Jack and Rose is also good because they have such great chemistry between them that it makes it very believable. My issue is that the story isn't the best thing going for it and has too many boring parts that needed to be trimmed down or cut out. The film is over three hours long and there are times when it feels like it, mostly due to the story. Titanic is all about the spectacle and the story takes a backseat to it which is why I don't think the film is as good as it's box office draw and Oscar count. There's a lot to like but I wouldn't call it a complete film. Still, the visual effects and sheer enormity of the undertaking is extremely impressive and definitely makes this a must watch and a really good film, period.
As Good as It Gets
I had heard so many good things about this film since it was one of those mature dramedies, leaning more heavily on comedy that I was stoked to finally watch it. I knew it was a big hit back in 1997 as it was talked about everywhere. Then I finally watched it and am sitting here wondering what all the fuss was about. For one thing, I thought this film was going to be a lot funnier than it was but it's humor is not as abundant as I was lead to believe. Sure, there were parts where I laughed, but most of the time I thought the humor fell totally flat. The film has decent acting but I also think just how good they are is overstated and I say this knowing it won both Best Actor and Actress which makes me look silly but I wasn't into either winner all that much. The story, however, is where this film just doesn't really work for me. In the beginning we see Nicholson's character as this really negative OCD guy who no one likes, the joke being that he writes well received books about love. That little tidbit is never really explored even though it could have been put to exceptional use. Anyway, the story has Nicholson, who hates his gay neighbor and dog, warm up to them after Kinnear is attacked viciously in his home (which is so glossed over that it makes my head spin). Nicholson also offers to care for Hunt's son because he wants his favorite waitress at his breakfast spot because no one else there can stand to wait on him. Eventually the three go on a road trip for Kinnear to ask his parents for money and they all connect and eventually Nicholson admits he loves Hunt and they fall in love and that he likes Kinnear even though he seemed to hate gays so vehemently at the beginning. The story sucks because that change in persona is not earned at all. I never believed the love story between Hunt and Nicholson and never felt it was earned even after the road trip. So my problem is that there are so many things about this film that I can't believe based on what I saw in the beginning. Everything feels forced in that tidy Hollywood way that I'd tolerate it if it was at least laugh out loud funny, but it's not! To me, this is just one of those middling type of mature comedy films that adults are supposed to like because of the more sophisticated themes and all that nonsense. But the film should at least be believable and good all the way through. As Good as It Gets is not. I found it somewhat boring save for some okay performances. A little harsh but this is Best Picture, damn it!
The Full Monty
If you were to point to a film that looks like it doesn't belong on a list of Best Picture nominees, this would be an easy choice. This was also the last of the feel good, crowd pleasing British comedies that somehow got nominated year after year in the 90s. Though I did read a comment on a blog that said this was the only real competition for Best Picture to Titanic because it actually won the SAG for Outstanding Performance by a Cast and cleaned up at the BAFTAs, while also being the highest grossing film in the UK until, well, Titanic happened later. So that all kind of boggled my mind that this film was so popular and so almost a Best Picture winner, at least in theory. It tells the tale of some blokes from Sheffield who are struggling because the steel jobs are all gone and they have to provide for their families and so they come up with the idea of dancing like the Chippendales except they are all regular looking dudes. Simple story told in the humorous British way that apparently people couldn't get enough of that year. I remember the hype being all over the place, though I never saw it back then. So why was it such a cultural phenomenon? Well for one, it's pretty funny. It's that British humor but I think it translates well enough to be universal. Second, it's working class, so it's pretty relatable for a large portion of the population. And of course America loves it's working class heroes, even if they are ugly British strippers. Third, it's pretty flipping entertaining. It might not be high art or a very serious film, but it is simply entertaining. You can watch it and enjoy it and have a laugh and feel good, all while feeling cultural because it's British. Win/win. I can see why this did so well out of the blue because it reaches out to everyone and offers something to them. It's a very entertaining film and though I had my reservations about it being included in the Best Picture group, I think it probably should be here, especially since it did so well and was so universally liked. I think the one thing I could change about it is if it actually delivered on it's full monty promise. We only get the behind look and not the actual full nudity with dicks hanging. I think that would have made this so memorable if at the end it ends with the unexpected. Instead it's almost as if we are cheated from the whole point of the film. Either way The Full Monty is very entertaining and fits in fine among the Best Picture nominees.
Good Will Hunting
When I got to Good Will Hunting I was like, "ah man, I've already seen this thing so many times!" but I decided to put it on for about 10-20 minutes before I fell asleep and it completely sucked me in. Next thing I know it's over an hour later and it's after 130am and I'm like I gotta go to sleep! So I did finish it the next day but the film had me from the beginning because it's vastly entertaining. The thing is, this film has been parodied so much over the years that it actually looks silly and cliche in a lot of it's scenes. I'm sure I'll say something similar when I hit Jerry Maguire, but these films are parodied because they are endlessly entertaining. And that's what I think Good Will Hunting has going for it. The writing can be pretty hokey at times even if it did give Matt and Ben an Oscar. Especially since it reads like a South Boston kid's ultimate fantasy: guy is a genius but works as a janitor and solves equations on chalkboards with ease all while getting the pretty Harvard girl while staying true to the Southie roots. Again, it all goes back to entertainment and Matt and Ben know how to make an entertaining film. It helps that we get some pretty good acting out of the cast and some really interesting directing from Gus Van Sant making the film look better than it probably should. It's also pretty damn sincere. I'd believe that Matt and Ben wrote this from the heart because deep down it's a genuinely goodhearted story. It's easy to see why the Academy would fall so hard for this little indie film, which is what it was, because I'm sure a lot of them had wish they had made something just like this for their debut. Is it the best film of the year? Of course not, but it is a lot of fun to watch and I'm okay with the Academy including it here.
L.A. Confidential
I don't know why I had such a time writing this one because I think L.A. Confidential is a masterpiece. It should be held in high regard like so many of the other classics you read about all the time, yet this film never gets the praise it deserves. It seems like more of an afterthought when people talk about the Oscars or Best Picture snubs because it ran into the Titanic monstrosity. It's a neo-noir film about corruption amongst the police ranks in the LAPD and riffs on old Hollywood as well. I feel like noir is a very hard film genre to pull off while not looking too hokey and B movie-esque, especially in modern times like 1997. The genre was done to death back in the 40s and 50s with some truly remarkable films that set the standard with which everyone else copied from. Much like when an actually good Western film comes out nowadays, it's not only a revelation and an event, it highlights just how tough it is to pull off a genre that was so saturated at one point. L.A. Confidential broke the mold and gave us a gripping, intense, powerful, and masterfully done bit of noir for a modern audience. There's so much going on in the story yet everything is easy to follow. There's layers to peel back and search through and it's a satisfying feeling to do so, it doesn't come off as too much or as being too dense. The acting is phenomenal, buoyed by the three main cops all giving excellent performances. Hard to believe that this film launched the careers of both Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe who were basically unknowns in America. They deserved some Oscar love because they are what make the film so intriguing and so enjoyable. The look of the film is great, too, and I'm glad they decided to shoot it in a modern style instead of trying to ape the old movies and do it in black and white. It gives the film a lot more weight as a serious picture and throughout the film there is this intensity buzzing from scene to scene. It's hard to describe for me but it just kept me glued what was going on, like I was on some ride of impending doom or a runaway car or something. That's where I can say the pacing keeps this film tight and fast paced and helps keep the story on track. L.A. Confidential is a film that I can immerse myself in time and time again and never get sick of it. I wish we could get more noir-ish films like this made these days because the genre is so compelling and I feel like today's Hollywood could find something interesting to say about the genre. This is right up there with best non winners in Oscar history.
This is a pretty good Best Picture group. At first glance you're going to automatically dismiss The Full Monty and you absolutely should not because it is so entertaining. That was something Oscar was all about in the 90s was including the crowd pleasing box office smash. One reason the Academy went to a 5-10 possible result was because of films like that, which may have taken a spot from a serious contender but fully deserved to be in the race as well. So the expansion allows everything to be included which is great because we don't have the arguments of I can't believe that comedy or that film got in over such and such. I say all that and The Full Monty is my 3rd favorite! Titanic gets the second spot because it's influential and because the effects are so damn good. I get it's win but I think L.A. Confidential is a perfect film. It deserves to be recognized as one of the best films of all time and I'll continue to champion it as much as I can because it's fucking good. I'll watch it over and over and never get sick of it. If it had won, it would be regarded in the top 15 of Best Picture winners, easily. My 4th would be Good Will Hunting because I'd rather watch it and it's corniness than As Good as it Gets again. That latter film is just boring when all is said and done. At least Matt and Ben's film has heart and soul. How bout dem apples, eh? A great group to watch, no doubt.
Oscar Winner: Titanic
My Winner: L.A. Confidential
Titanic
The Full Monty
Good Will Hunting
As Good as It Gets
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