9 Films Designed To Win Oscars That Failed Miserably

Frank Capra was one of the most creative and influential forces in Hollywood throughout the 30's and 40's. His very namesake calls to mind what one conjures when they imagine the very best of America; Jimmy Stewart breathlessly filibustering against a corrupt congress for the sake of earnestness, madcap, screwball romances full of America's eccentricities and, perhaps annually for many, the fact that all a man truly needs to be happy is the love and generosity of friends and family.

Though upon its release, It's A Wonderful Life was considered a failure, it's now a household staple, a high bar of optimism that one can never surpass.

The same won't be said of Frank Darabont's attempt to make his own Capra-esque work, The Majestic. Jim Carrey, as bright and rubber-faced as Jimmy Stewart, plays a blacklisted screenwriter who suffers amnesia and is mistaken for a World War II hero in a small town. There, he works among downtrodden small-town America and gets to know the real grain and backbone of the average countryman while restoring the town's once-grand movie theatre. Upon regaining his memory and returning to Congress, he makes a heartfelt plea to the Joseph McCarthy-like Congressional body.

It was the first major departure for Carrey, who had primarily been known for larger-than-life slapstick, and he carries himself admirably. Darabont can even be somewhat commended for attempting to create what could easily be considered a love-letter to Sullivan's Travels.

Alas, there's a time and a place for everything, and the built-in cynicism, intended or not, is all too obvious. At its best, The Majestic is overlong, pandering sentimentality.