50 God-Tier Acting Moments Buried in Bad Movies

Sometimes, an actor wins a deserved Oscar for a great performance that managed to shine through what was otherwise an unsuccessful movie. Brendan Fraser's Oscar win for portraying a dying, morbidly obese man in Darren Aronofsky's The Whale is perhaps the biggest example of this from the 2020s so far. 

It'd be easy to pinpoint Fraser's win as a case of 'The Oscars love a comeback', and perhaps there's weight to that argument, but even taking that into account, this was a genuinely awards-worthy performance. Fraser was always one of the most lovable blockbuster stars around back in his day, and here, he brings that same charm and warmth to a very different kind of role. 

In many ways, Charlie (Fraser's character) isn't especially well-written, and the script gives him little to no dignity, but audiences will still care about him thanks to just how soulful and moving Fraser's work is, creating empathy for Charlie even when the script gave him little to work with. It's the kind of part where it feels like an actor has poured all of their heart into it, and it was difficult not to cheer when Fraser won the Oscar. 

So yes, Brendan Fraser is great. The movie itself, being the overdone, visually drab and stupendously ugly slice of misery porn that it was, most definitely isn't. Fraser and his fellow cast-mates (who also deliver fine performances) deserve praise for doing such good work in such an irritating film.