Why doesn’t anyone care about the Oscars this year?

Only time will tell how good these Oscars really are.

March 24, 2022

I love cinema, but this has been one of the most underwhelming Oscar races in years. Since there are ten movies in the running, chances are that some of them will have flown under the radar. But it seems like most of the people I have spoken to have said how they have not heard of most of the nominees. I have written in the past about the difference between critics and audiences, but I do not think that is the issue here. Obviously, the pandemic has something to do with crowds headed out to theaters less. There is also so much content out there nowadays that it is impossible to stay on top of everything.

Still, this year seems different. With the exception of Dune, there does not seem to be a Best Picture nominee that everyone has heard of. The quick counter is the Academy Awards is not about recognizing the most popular films, but the best ones. While this is true, a person need only look back to last year to see the argument does not hold water. Promising Young Woman did not break any box office records, but people knew about that film.

Of course, last year was different than any other, so you would have to go back to the the 2020 Academy Awards to really see how lackluster this year’s nominees are. There were heavyweights like Joker and Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood, but the smaller fare included Jojo Rabbit and eventual winner Parasite. It was a familiar field even for those who had only seen one or two of the movies.

Why doesn't anyone care about the Oscars this year?

The last time a field was this weak was ten years ago. At the 2012 Academy Awards, The Artist beat out Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris along with The Descendants, Hugo, and War Horse among other long forgotten films. Even the controversial nomination of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which has been called one of the worst Best Picture nominees ever, could not make the evening exciting.

A Best Picture winner should be a movie that is remembered. It should make seismic changes in the industry. (The nominees should also be held to a high pedigree.) It does not always work out like that, but there are no movies this year that are even in the same league as The Godfather or The Silence of the Lambs in this year’s group. In many cases, it seems like the Academy was just trying to fill a quota.

Why doesn't anyone care about the Oscars this year?

The only two candidates that stick out are Licorice Pizza and Nightmare Alley. Both are fantastic movies filled with strong performances and great storytelling. Licorice Pizza tells a sweet and funny story. The tale of a teenage crush morphs into a one of two people who lean on each other for support and guidance. (They are also using each other to feel better about themselves in a sad way.) This is all well told until the film’s final moments. While some have let their outrage get blown out of proportion, the age gap is certainly uncomfortable.

Nightmare Alley is also uncomfortable, but it intentionally so. The fantastic acting almost takes a backseat to the powerful tale being told. As things race towards the finale, a sadness looms over everything as it becomes clear what is going to happen. The final line is one of the best in years. Regrettably, the two movies are not enough to make it feel like this year’s Academy Awards are anything special. It may be due to the circumstances of the past few years or it may be a genuine movie malaise, but this year’s Oscars just do not feel special.