15 Worst Movies That Somehow Won Oscars

13. What Dreams May Come (1998)

Won For: Best Visual Effects

What Dreams May Come is not a disaster of a film - and indeed the Visual Effects that won it Oscar are stunning in places - but it simply isn't up to the Oscar-winner billing you'd usually limit to far better films. And though you can't discount the artist merit of the film's vision of the after-life, the rest of the production is such a litany of mistakes that it's way too easy to forget it.

Robin Williams is horribly miscast, despite his wonderful knack for turning emotionally complex material into irresistible performances. The problem here is that the material just isn't there for him to work with: it's a sombre, thinly-veiled religious meditation that takes in love, family and way too much sentimentality in a way that feels painfully manipulative.

There are flashes of weight and substance to match the style, but more-over, it's a picture of missed opportunities, and there's so little real content that you feel like you're staring at an oil painting while someone shouts at you about crying for the cruel fate of humanity. If there was a better bridge between the two sensations, it might have been better.