The term “Oscar bait” essentially refers to any movie that seems aimed at the Oscar voting audience. Oscar voters love feel-good dramas with talented casts and critically acclaimed directors. Movies like The Danish Girl and The Help are wonderful examples of Oscar bait. In many cases, Oscar bait movies get the critical acclaim they desperately desire. In other cases, they fall short of expectations.
Failed Oscar bait refers to a movie that has its sight on Oscar glory but ultimately fails. Last year, one could consider movies like By the Sea and Concussion failed Oscar bait. This year, there are ten great examples of failed Oscar bait. Movies on this list desire to win at the Oscars, but they don’t do enough to earn Oscar attention.
10. The Birth of a Nation
The Birth of a Nation is actually a fairly solid film. Scoring a certified fresh 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, Nate Parker’s buzz-about movie was by no means a critical disaster, but there were numerous setbacks that destroyed the movie’s Oscar chances. Controversies revolving around the director’s personal life came to the attention right before the awards season started to kick in gear, which is perhaps the easiest crutch to spot, but there’s a bit more to it.
The Birth of a Nation has one other issue which is perhaps one that many forget amidst the rape accusations. The fact of the matter is that while Parker’s movie is very well done, it’s simply not as good as the competition. The Birth of a Nation is a well told biopic with lovely cinematography and great performances, but it doesn’t have the lasting impact of movies like Moonlight or Manchester by the Sea. Maybe if this were a weaker year, The Birth of a Nation could have posed some sort of threat.
There’s no place for The Birth of a Nation when this year has given us Hidden Figures and La La Land. Regardless of the accusations against the director, The Birth of a Nation would still fail to earn Oscar recognition. This doesn’t mean that it’s a bad movie but it does mean that there are ten movies that are better.
9. Denial
Denial has actually earned relatively positive reviews from critics, but it feels like a movie that should have been so much more. Revolving around a Holocaust denier who sues a renowned historian for libel, Denial seems like a juicy piece of courtroom drama that Oscar voters could easily fall in love with. Instead, it’s a well-done drama that falls just short of expectations.
Critics found that while the movie is more than capable of holding a viewer’s interest, it fails to live up to the potential of the story it’s based on. It’s an all around good movie, but that’s the extent of it. Denial is frequently engaging, but it never reaches the heights of other more compelling courtroom dramas.
The movie has been completely absent from every single precursor award. At this point, it’s chances at the Oscars are non-existent. Many believe that it’s still a movie worth watching, but they’ve concluded that it’s also not deserving of the awards it was likely aiming to compete for.
8. Allied
Last year, Zemeckis feel short of expectations with The Walk. While the movie earned great reviews, it was a financial disaster domestically. His next effort, the World War II romance flick Allied, unfortunately didn’t fare any better. It not only underperformed at the box office, but it received a significantly worse critical reception than his previous film.
A basic description of Allied paints the film as a serious Oscar threat. Allied is a World War II drama directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by the guy behind Eastern Promises, and starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard. It could have been a great year for Zemeckis if the movie didn’t fall short of expectations.
Allied got decent reviews, but at the Oscars, “decent” usually doesn’t cut it. There are cases where a movie like Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close can sneak in, but there are so many better movies this year that Allied doesn’t stand a chance. Considering how quiet people have been about the film post-release, it’s safe to say that the movie doesn’t stand a chance.
7. The Girl on the Train
The Girl on the Train isn’t traditional Oscar bait in that it falls in a genre that the Academy tends to skip over. The difference is that it’s from the director of an Oscar-winning film, it’s based on a critically acclaimed book, and it has serious Gone Girl vibes. It very well could have gotten the Oscar attention that Gone Girl failed to receive two years ago if it were a decent movie. Unfortunately, The Girl on the Train stumbled.
Blunt earned critical acclaim for her performance, but the movie itself did not earn such acclaim. The general consensus was that the script was at fault. Critics found the film’s screenplay to be outlandish and predictable. Though the premise was considered promising, many believed that things only got more ludicrous as time went on. The finale in particular was considered groan-inducing.
The Girl on the Train is not the enchanting thriller it wants to be. It’s a mediocre movie that thinks it’s much smarter than it actually is. Prior to release, people pinned it as a possibly dark horse, but after reviews started popping up, the buzz immediately ceased.
6. Rules Don’t Apply
Everybody knows that the Oscars love movies about show business. Birdman, The Artist, and Argo all managed to win Best Picture in a span of four years. Only 12 Years a Slave was able to break up the monotony during that period. While this year’s big show business movie appears to be La La Land, there was another possible contender – Rules Don’t Apply. Along with the premise focusing on an aspiring actress and a flashy period setting, the movie had another ace up its sleeve.
The Academy loves a good comeback, and after a lengthy hiatus, Warren Beatty could have been the comeback kid this year. His performance received acclaim, but his work as a director and screenwriter didn’t earn the same kind of recognition. Critics seemed to point out that the movie had an identity crisis.
Basically, it didn’t quite work as a comedy but it also didn’t necessarily work as a drama. It was tonally inconsistent, and as a result, audiences left the movie feeling confused.
It also doesn’t help that the movie was forgotten immediately after release. It stayed in theaters for a pathetic 4 weeks and nobody has spoken of it since. It’s nowhere to be found in any of the precursor awards and critics have avoided speaking of it entirely shortly after its release. Not even Beatty has been able to make a name for himself as a Best Actor contender. In other words, Rules Don’t Apply is a lost cause.