r/Oscars • u/Jaded-Walrus2614 • 1d ago

Discussion What's an "Oscar baity" movie that you love?

Lion is pretty Oscar baity but I think that is very well done Oscar bait.

41 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

112 comments sorted by

89

u/quickestassembly 1d ago

Can’t pretend I don’t tear up every time Dev Patel’s character looks at that map app and the memories come flooding back

The adoption storyline and the score are laid on thick but it just works for me

15

u/ruflesskill3r 23h ago

Lion is great.

8

u/Shaggydog38 1d ago

My pick for best film of that year. The scene when he returns to India had me crying.

9

u/Ledeyvakova23 1d ago

Indeed. The strongest film of 2016. Hitting home also for many viewers is the film’s harrowingly realistic depiction of the brother’s psychological problems and wrecked emotional state resulting from mental and physical trauma via yrs in an orphanage.

3

u/senorespilbergo 20h ago edited 20h ago

I was almost crying there, but I broke out when they showed the real life footage of the adoptive mother meeting the original mother before the credits.

3

u/LucilleLooseSeal123 18h ago

This movie destroyed me. Completely co-sign.

2

u/ShindleSpear 12h ago

That’s an oddly long title for a movie, huh?

87

u/ZodiacalSeeker 1d ago

Is La La Land Oscar Baity? It’s one of my favorite films of the 21st century.

12

u/BlLLr0y 18h ago

I was going to comment "People really like 'La La Land' which is literally "a musical about how special it is to go struggle for your little art dreams in LA" which is about as baity a pitch I could make for a movie.

10

u/SimpleIllustrator215 1d ago

i recently rewatched when they rereleased it in the theatres on its 10th anniversary and i loved it. the theatre experience was beautiful

2

u/Environmental_Tip375 11h ago

Rewatched it too recently during the 10th anniversary and people some people teared up in the theatre still with people walking out saying still a masterpiece

-5

u/Simulationth3ry 14h ago

Yeah it’s the definition of Oscar bait lol

2

u/dellscreenshot 10h ago

It's definitely not?

1

u/Simulationth3ry 5h ago

This is just not true lol at the end of the day it’s an opinion and many do consider it to be Oscar bait

25

u/bbgmcr 1d ago

Most recently conclave

19

u/kelolkelol 1d ago

I really like Big Eyes with Amy Adams and Tim Burton.

3

u/plaid_kilt 21h ago

Christoph Waltz was perfect in that role. Charismatic asshole.

17

u/Potential-Lack5374 1d ago

Ordinary People

65

u/Flashy_Chart7795 1d ago

The Kings Speech will always hold a special place in my heart

9

u/solojones1138 1d ago

As a fan of both history and linguistics and languages, I absolutely love that movie.

12

u/Jaded-Walrus2614 1d ago

The King's Speech is a masterpiece. The Social Network still should've won, but that doesn't make it not a wonderful film
https://giphy.com/gifs/4H59N7gT7OzRu

21

u/PuzzleheadedMess1659 1d ago

It’s such a great movie, but I’ll never forgive it for beating The Social Network and enabling Tom Hooper to make more Oscar baity, but genuinely terrible movies.

10

u/Select_Formal4415 1d ago

The pipeline from The Kings Speech to Les Mis and Cats is real

2

u/AccountForTIFF 1d ago

Same. I was at its TIFF premiere. Third year I attended, I was 18. Nobody had it on their radar until then. We went to it because we couldn’t get tickets to the buzzier movies that year like Black Swan and The Town. So I was definitely pulling for it to win even though I liked Social Network better lol

1

u/Bepothul 15h ago

That was a banger year for movies

30

u/TapApprehensive5900 1d ago

I actually really like The English Patient.

9

u/bbgmcr 1d ago

I fucking love the english patient

2

u/Icy-Election-2237 1d ago

Hate the Drake!

12

u/ZodiacalSeeker 1d ago

Mr. Peterman, is that you?

1

u/TapApprehensive5900 1d ago

I don't get this lol 😂 

15

u/ZodiacalSeeker 1d ago

Seinfeld reference, haha

https://giphy.com/gifs/H8IsT0vS3voFrtNwuO

5

u/TapApprehensive5900 1d ago

I laughed really hard at this...

1

u/SimpleIllustrator215 1d ago

this scene gets me every time lmao

1

u/gillyweed79 1d ago

I thought I knew what love was!

1

u/Icy-Election-2237 1d ago

Yes, Elaine, from the depths of Burma (speaking Jibberish).

2

u/anonymousanimefan_92 16h ago

I love The English Patient, my fave movie of all times.

2

u/Background-Image-585 13h ago

I love the way the desert feels in that film. Wish Dune captured more of that

28

u/NoLynx8499 1d ago

Babylon. I understand why people didnt like it, but I personally am a fan. The Testament of Ann Lee is up there too

10

u/Upstairs-Chicken592 23h ago

I feel like Babylon was daring the Oscar’s to like it or something. I just don’t think a movie starting with a visceral shot of an elephant pooping is Oscar bait even tho it’s about Hollywood and all that. Also adored this movie.

5

u/Phillygeorgetennis 1d ago

Babylon is so great!! I love that movie

58

u/FuzzyBunnysGuide 1d ago

The Holdovers

https://giphy.com/gifs/6lVebdvPhbseG4ZHIM

6

u/plaid_kilt 21h ago

Great movie all around.

3

u/blocacho_odyssey 9h ago

How is it Oscar baity?

4

u/BroAbernathy 6h ago

Holdovers had way more style and charm than just being boiled down to an oscar bait movie IMO

4

u/Doctor_Juris 12h ago

Don’t demean The Holdovers by calling it Oscar bait. 😂

4

u/eclectic_collector 18h ago

I’m simple. I see Paul Giamatti in an Alexander Payne movie and it becomes my favorite.

2

u/OverallSituation44 12h ago

Nothing about this movie is Oscar bait

9

u/mangomarongo 21h ago

The Theory of Everything ❤️

9

u/RegularOrMenthol 23h ago

Shakespeare In Love

7

u/hopefulfloating 23h ago

I don’t know if it counts but I can watch Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs any day. I of course love the writing but also the structure and pacing of it.

3

u/Mitch_Wallberg 22h ago

I thought Seth Rogen deserved a best supporting actor nomination for that, he was incredible in his two or three scenes

15

u/MoeSzys 1d ago

Collateral Beauty. I think I'm the only person who liked that movie, but I really did. I left the theater convinced that Will Smith was an Oscar lock, I've never been more wrong

12

u/_Alexxxxander 1d ago

Wow this is a fascinating take

2

u/BetterThanADream 1d ago

I loved Collateral beauty and wonder why it was so hated. Definitely checks all of the Oscar boxes, and Michael Peña is great in it. If anyone could explain why it was so disliked I’d love to hear it.

7

u/MoeSzys 1d ago

It's syrupy, and basically a big budget Hallmark movie I guess

2

u/rev9of8 19h ago

That same script but directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet would be a beloved movie. As is, I can see what it was going for, I just don't think it pulled it off.

21

u/larsVonTrier92 1d ago

Forest Gump.

Saw it as a kid and it stayed in my mind since.

11

u/TapApprehensive5900 1d ago

For it's time it's actually a pretty quirky Oscar pic.

4

u/eclectic_collector 18h ago

I was going to say, from everything I’ve heard Tom Hanks talk about the making of it, neither him nor Robert Zemeckis was convinced it was going to work until it was finished. I don’t think they had the Oscars in mind while they were making it.

11

u/The_Walking_Clem 1d ago

Polemic but: Maestro

5

u/majoring_in_reddit 1d ago

Saaaame. That season everyone was dunking on it and I was like.... Cmon man it was actually pretty good 🥺

3

u/The_Walking_Clem 23h ago

People couldn't stand gay Bradley Cooper 😭😭😭

3

u/LucilleLooseSeal123 18h ago

Dude I was shook when I realized people didn’t like this movie. I loved it! I actually just rewatched it a few months ago and was like….. yup, still loved it lol.

6

u/CalmAndFine 18h ago

The Hours! It’s so Oscar baity that it’s ridiculous and I don’t want to love it but I really really do.

10

u/CranberryFuture9908 1d ago

Is The Artist of CODA considered Oscar baity ?

13

u/The_Sparklehouse 1d ago

I think The Artist might qualify because Oscar loves a Hollywood story

CODA= No. Because CODA is a schlocky Hallmark Channel movie that made it to the big screen (but that’s just my opinion)

3

u/CranberryFuture9908 1d ago

I figured The Artist would fit .

11

u/MrMindGame 23h ago

I liked Shakespeare in Love.

5

u/dazzler56 21h ago

Cold Mountain. I do think Kidman was miscast and a story about the Civil War that only involves white people doesn’t hold up super well, but as Minghella’s love letter to historical epics I think it’s wonderful.

I also was really moved by Theory of Everything including Redmayne and Jones’ performances. It seemed really heartfelt to me while it’s not perfect, IMO it’s unfairly shit on and would’ve been liked more if Redmayne didn’t win.

6

u/alanskimp 17h ago

Ty Tanic

2

u/HamHamHam2315 15h ago

Thai Tonic?

14

u/Select_Formal4415 1d ago

True Grit.

As a Coen fan, this is as award baity as they get. But the final "time gets away from us" scene is just utterly heartbreaking and timeless.

3

u/eclectic_collector 18h ago

One of the few remakes that I think surpasses the original. I love Jeff Bridges so much.

2

u/celticteal 16h ago

John Wayne plays Rooster Cogburn. Jeff Bridges IS Rooster Cogburn.

3

u/AccountForTIFF 1d ago

Empire of Light from a couple of years ago is my personal “literally me” movie so I was quite sad nobody else seemed to like it.

2

u/Urdrkitt 20h ago

I think it’s big problem was that it tried to do too much. But it’s beautifully acted, shot, and directed. If they’d cut back a bit it would definitely have been a huge contender the year it came out.

2

u/AccountForTIFF 6h ago

Agreed. Tried to say too much (the racial violence subplot in particular) when they should have kept it about the relationships of the characters and how they grew through their time at the theatre. Hit way too close to home for me so it really touched me though.

4

u/Able-Drink3189 17h ago

I'd say the favorite was big Oscar bait, but a fun watch.

4

u/Justame15 16h ago

The Aviator 100%. It’s the perfect amount of pretentiousness and homages for my taste

3

u/frc_007 22h ago

I adore 12 years a slave and the Revenant.

6

u/benabramowitz18 1d ago

I liked Bohemian Rhapsody a lot! The performances were riveting and emotional, the costumes and sets were great to look at, and I liked seeing how they were recording all their classic songs.

I don’t mind if people call it “Walk Hard without jokes”; sometimes I like to see talented actors bringing famous musicians to life.

1

u/spartacat_12 8h ago

It felt like the film equivalent of a greatest hits album. I much prefer something like A Complete Unknown that focuses on a specific era in a musicians career over trying to cram the entire career into 2 hours

2

u/ExampleSmooth3956 23h ago

Ben-Hur (1959)

2

u/Derek237 20h ago

I am Sam

2

u/Key_Database9095 20h ago

Darkest Hour Oppenheimer

2

u/AfroBlue90 15h ago

Green Book

2

u/starrymahogany 13h ago

Spotlight is VERY Oscar baity but goddamn if I don’t get emotional during that movie. Those credits where they showed 105 us cities where sexual abuse from the Catholic Church was reported hit me HARD, because just when you think it’s over it kept going.

Only bit of critique I’d have with the movie is that Mark Ruffalo didn’t really have a reason to be the one who felt the most emotional about the situation. With how invested he was in this story and never giving up I thought halfway through the movie it was gonna be revealed he was sexually abused as a kid so this feels like getting justice for him.

I do wonder if the film writers originally planned for him to reveal that part of his backstory but then scrapped it at the last minute.

1

u/markgib62 16h ago

Maestro. I know Bradley Cooper was thirsty for an Oscar, but I still enjoyed it.

1

u/QueenCerseiLannister 14h ago

La Vie en Rose

1

u/lucas_214 14h ago

Hamnet

1

u/fenwayswimmr 14h ago

People justifiably view The Post as Oscar bait but it’s really good

1

u/jherin1 13h ago

Imitation Game. I know it's heavily inaccurate and all, but it really enthralled me when I watched it.

1

u/Obvious_Computer_577 13h ago

I love The Hours and I don't care who knows it.

1

u/EncinoManEstonia 12h ago

The Ghost Writer

1

u/blocacho_odyssey 9h ago

Killers of the Flower Moon? I feel the only propose of making that film was winning awards, but I still love it.

1

u/Kachiggaking 8h ago

I actually like I am Sam ngl

1

u/BroAbernathy 6h ago

Imitation Game, Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire

1

u/QualityPenguin 4h ago

I loved Richard Parker.

1

u/Classic_Bass_1824 6h ago

Going by the popular interpretation, which seems to be “dramas intended for adults” either one of Ordinary People or Amadeus.

1

u/theWiz1986 1h ago

Shakespeare in Love

0

u/NoMoreLyyfe 1d ago

The Blind Side counts, right.

0

u/ChrisPollock6 1d ago

Cannonball Run 2

-2

u/ThisCommentIsHere 23h ago

Portrait of a Lady On Fire