Nim's Island, as the biggest Hollywood title this week in DVD, got me thinking about Oscars. Not that anyone in Nim's Island deserves one. It is a sappy slapstick adventure romp for family viewing, not a serious contender.
And Jodie Foster is just awful as the hermit author forced to come out of her shell. The twist is that Foster already has two Oscars for previous movies, The Accused (1989) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). And she is well-respected, with a skein of fine performances dating back to her emergence as a child star in Taxi Driver (1976). It is difficult to believe that Jodie Foster is the same one in Nim's Island.
So my premise is simple: What actors already have Oscars, generate wide acclaim, and still manage to embarrass themselves in a movie?
Here are some Oscar-honoured heavyweights who royally screwed up:
- Marlon Brando (two Oscars):
The wild one was mediocre in a few movies, and just strange as Sakini in The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956). But The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) is one of the worst movies ever made. His performance is a laughable tragedy.
- Meryl Streep (two Oscars):
Our Sophie made her choice of bad movies such as She-Devil (1989) and currently co-stars in Mamma Mia! (2008). Nuff said.
- Christopher Walken (one Oscar):
Walken should have been a song-and-dance man in Hollywood's Golden Era. Instead, he is a weirdo in movies such as Balls of Fury (2007). However, The Country Bears (2002) is his all-time stinker.
- Sidney Poitier (one Oscar):
Few people in Hollywood history are as respected as Poitier. Yet Mr. Tibbs has his share of crap, having co-starred in action thrillers such as Shoot to Kill (1988) and The Jackal (1997).
- Al Pacino (one Oscar):
He is in Gigli (2003). Yuck!
- Nicolas Cage (one Oscar):
In Ghost Rider (2007), Cage showed how insane an Oscar winner can be when pursuing his dream of starring in a comic book flick.
- Robert De Niro (two Oscars):
Once celebrated as the greatest actor of his generation, the Raging Bull now stoops to conquer lowbrow comedy. The Analyze movies were silly enough but Meet the Fockers (2004)! The horror, the horror!
- Gregory Peck (one Oscar):
Atticus Finch is celebrated as one of the great heroes of American movies. But Peck also played Nazi psycho-doctor Joself Mengele in the creepy thriller The Boys From Brazil (1978), taking the shine off his heroic image.
- Jack Lemmon (two Oscars) and Walter Matthau (one Oscar):
These lifelong pals were great actors with a keen eye for drama and comedy. But they did do the Grumpy Old Men movies, reducing their careers to comic relief. And the romp Out to Sea (1997) was even worse.
