10 Oscar Winning Films That Are Actually Bad

Shakespeare in Love is a movie no one asked for and, in a way, hurt the incredible play that is Romeo and Juliet by giving us an unfaithful and unnecessary lore on the making of. The film’s status is often just weighed against its notoriety in Oscar history.

The film won Best Picture in 1998, the same year that Saving Private Ryan was up for the top prize also. Shakespeare in Love was the first film in 9 years to win Best Picture without a Best Director Oscar, as Steven Spielberg won for Saving Private Ryan. It’s not that the movie isn’t as good as its rival (it’s not) but that it’s just not good to begin with, upset aside.

Besides Gwyneth Paltrow and Judi Dench (both won Oscars for the film), the acting is atrocious and laughable at times (looking at you, Affleck). The romance can at times be a tad bit compelling, but the plot of the film is preposterous and the melodrama artificial. It’s not the worst film to win Best Picture, but it’s surely the largest gap between winner and the film that deserved it.