Welcome back to the Best Picture Expansion Project, where we imagine that the new Academy rule for Best Picture Oscar nominees, which increases the field from five films to ten, was in effect between 1943 and 2008.
We’ve looked at 2008 and 1995, and now we’re revisiting 1988, a year that should be recognized as a high point for movie comedy.
Struggling to remember what was in theaters 21 years ago? Understood. You can find a comprehensive list right here.
Actual Best Picture Nominees
The Accidental Tourist
Dangerous Liaisons
Mississippi Burning
Rain Man (winner)
Working Girl
In Retrospect: As we get further back in time, the lists of Best Picture nominees are great reminders that what seems like a shattering cultural achievement today will often be forgotten by tomorrow afternoon. Over two decades later, does anyone not related to Melanie Griffith remember Working Girl? Yet at the time, the movie caused a stir. Same deal for Mississippi Burning, which I remember getting lots of Southerners riled up over its depictions of racism below the Mason-Dixon. Now, however, I imagine most people who hear the phrase “Mississippi Burning” assume that it’s a brand of hot sauce.
That said, there are still two spectacular films on this list: Rain Main and Dangerous Liaisons. I feel like they’re fairly well remembered, and lord knows, I might have voted for either if I’d been a member of the Academy when I was ten. (Instead, I was a member of a Batman fan club.)
The Expansion Pack
6. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Come on! Technical genius meets witty storytelling, seasoned with great performances from Christopher Lloyd (as Judge Doom, the villainous toon-in-disguise who nefariously invents the freeway system) and Bob Hoskins (as Eddie Valiant, an archetypically grizzled private investigator who can dance a mean soft shoe when necessary.) It’s special effects are dated now, but that only makes it easier to realize that Roger Rabbit is much more than a series of cartoon cameos: It’s a first-rate caper film with extraordinary flair. (And Jessica Rabbit!)
On a side note: Does anyone remember the Roger Rabbit Nintendo game? It was wicked hard.
And finally, let’s honor the dance. You know you’re thinking about it:
7. A Fish Called Wanda
Um… how come we don’t hear more about 1988 as a golden year for movie comedy? Rain Man, Big, Roger Rabbit, Coming to America, Hairspray, Scrooged, and this, one of the greatest, nastiest, naughtiest yukfests of the last fifty years. Kevin Kline won a much-deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his turn as an idiot criminal, but we can’t forget Jamie Lee Curtis as the titular con artist and Michael Palin as the stuttering, animal-loving psycho. I mean really… very few films create characters as tasteless and lovable as Palin’s Ken.
Wanda did get Oscar nods for John Cleese and Charles Crichton’s acidly funny script and for Crichton’s slapstick-friendly direction. But I’d say the picture deserves a belated invitation to the big house, just so more people can be reminded how ludicrously intelligent it is.
8. Bull Durham
Good lord! Another great comedy! I saw this on television when I was home last Christmas, and let me say, this is still a sexy romp disguised as a baseball picture. Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins melt the screen and Kevin Costner is it at the peak of his hunkiness. Ron Shelton’s screenplay nomination just wasn’t enough.
9. Eight Men Out
It didn’t generate Bull Durham’s buzz, but John Sayles’ Eight Men Out was another great baseball movie from 1988. A beautifully acted, subtly emotional exploration of why the 1919 White Sox threw the World Series, it merits a Best Picture nod for its cast alone. The roster includes John Cusack, Christopher Lloyd, Bill Irwin, David Strathairn, John Mahoney and Gordon Clapp.
10. Big
Remember when Tom Hanks was a scrappy ex-sitcom star just trying to make it in the movie biz? That’s when he got his first Oscar nomination, for playing little Josh Baskin all grown up. We remember this movie for the scene where Robert Loggia and Hanks dance on a giant piano, but it’s a great coming-of-age fable. Not a Best Picture winner, perhaps, but certainly in the top ten of the year.
Snubs
I was this close to giving a slot to Coming to America. What do you think? Was I wrong? And is Beetlejuice only a contender in my mind because I haven’t seen it in fifteen years?
16 responses so far ↓
1 christy baker // Jul 1, 2009 at 2:17 am
Yes, include Coming to America. Soul Glow!? Come on. That alone is reason enough for it to earn a spot on your list. Add in the fabulous African dance scene choreographed by none other than Miss Paula Abdul in her prime (likely fresh off a Janet Jackson video set, you Nasty Boy)! But seriously…. Soul Glow. Eddie Murphy was great when he let other actors be in movies with him instead of trying to play all the characters himself.
2 katy // Jul 1, 2009 at 7:22 am
I think Beetlejuice should replace Big. I have *always* disliked Big, since I was a kid — I think it’s the way the film tricks the adult woman into pedophilia! — but also Beetlejuice is more deserving.
Granted, Beetlejuice has aged … well, unevenly, let’s say. When you watch it now, there are definitely more than a few WTF moments. (Of course, there are in Roger Rabbit, too.) But it was and is far, far more interesting than Working Girl or Big or The Accidental Tourist, and now it’s this bizarre little macabre film I can’t ever turn away from when it’s on cable. Plus it really set that whole Tim Burton aesthetic in place for the shafted-Oscar masterpiece of the next year, Batman.
The Accidental What Now? Jeez, I actually read that book — I was in middle school — and I remember absolutely nothing about the book or the movie. Nada. Zip. No character, no actor (William Hurt maybe?), nothing.
I still have a big soft spot for Rain Man and A Fish Called Wanda. And although I know it isn’t right, I think I might love Scrooged more than any of these films.
3 katy // Jul 1, 2009 at 7:40 am
Oh lord, I just looked at the list of 1988 films, and that’s well worth a glance. Mark, you forgot Cocoon: The Return! And Twins! And Willow! And Vibes! And Big Business with Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler! All of which I truly did adore in 1988.
Films you didn’t mention that we really could be discussing: The Last Temptation of Christ, Stand and Deliver, Gorillas in the Mist, Tucker: The Man and His Dream (Coppola!), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Clean and Sober, Crossing Delancey.
4 InfoMofo // Jul 1, 2009 at 8:32 am
Beetlejuice always wins in my book.
Man, 1988 was stacked. I grew up on Roger Rabbit.
5 Roommate Joe // Jul 1, 2009 at 9:03 am
Yeah, I have to echo the Beetlejuice love. It absolutely holds up, weirdo claymation effects and all.
I don’t have nearly the comprehensive bank of films watched from 1988, but I’ll also throw in for including “Bull Durham” and “The Last Temptation of Christ.”
Semi-side note: How Susan Sarandon managed to not get nominated for playing Annie Savoy (remember, this was right before she entered her “Let’s keep nominating her until she wins” period) is a mystery.
6 Michael // Jul 1, 2009 at 9:10 am
Roger Rabbit is maybe one of my favorite Hollywood films ever–really, seriously follows through on its own premises and has heart and theme and thought . . . And Beetlejuice, despite all the oddities of casting (Robert Goulet?), is actually witty in the midst of all the weird (suicides actually DO become civil servants on the other side, to judge by gash-necked Sylvia Sydney), and feels more thought-through and polished than some later Burton films I could mention. But then, comedy’s my weakness. The Accidental Tourist may be a period piece, but felt in its time like a serious exploration of responsible, comfortable, deadening lives that had lost their meaning–perhaps it will make more sense again when we’re all through being chastened and awakened together by the economy. But I’ve never thought William Hurt (saluted by one winner as the greatest actor of his generation in that years Oscar ceremony) was all that much: a failure to flash in a pan? He may be the most dated element.
7 will // Jul 1, 2009 at 10:21 am
Wait a minute. 3 really important films missed your expanded list.
Die Hard – when was the last time you watched this? It still holds up as probably the best action movie of all time. It completely redefined that genre. How many movies are based off of its formula?
Akira – You might not have seen this Japanimation film about post apocalyptic Tokyo. The story is very cool (except the end) and the animation was about 10 years ahead of its time.
Stand and Deliver – Maybe not the best acting in the world, but an important true story about dedication and believing in yourself. Also, it’s Lou Diamond Phillips, man.
8 Doug // Jul 1, 2009 at 11:00 am
My 10 for 1988 have been:
The Accidental Tourist
Bull Durham
Dangerous Liaisons
Die Hard
A Fish Called Wanda
Married to the Mob
Rain Man
Running on Empty
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Working Girl
My honorable mentions:
The Accused
Beetlejuice
Big
The Chocolate War
Crossing Delancey
Stand and Deliver
9 Mark Blankenship // Jul 1, 2009 at 2:07 pm
@Will … Excellent point about “Die Hard,” actually. I saw it last year, and it still rocks my face. If we’re expanding the Best Picture category, then why not honor genre films that operate at the peak of their form? (Actually, I’ve always thought that should be the case, even when there were only five nominees.)
@Doug … Yes, Running on Empty! My eyes must have glossed over then when I was looking at the 1988 list, because otherwise, I would have at least given it a runner-up slot. Here’s to River Phoenix!
And what’s The Chocolate War? Is that based on a young adult book, or am I remembering something else?
10 Doug // Jul 1, 2009 at 3:07 pm
You’re right, The Chocolate War is based on the young adult novel. And I typed up my list before I saw Will’s entry, so glad he and I both agreed on Die Hard.
11 ferretrick // Jul 1, 2009 at 10:42 pm
As you said, smart comedy is hard to pull off, and I have a lot of love for Midnight Run. A hilarious script and for my money DeNiro and Grodin’s comic chemistry is better than Gibson and Glover.
Working Girl is actually remembered (actually, it seems like less than five years ago, it was on constantly on some cable channels). I don’t think its a Best Pic nomination in a better year, but it had its place.
But, DAMN there were some bad movies this year. And, Dangerous Liaisons should have won best picture. By a wide margin.
12 Mark Blankenship // Jul 1, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Ferretrick, when you are talking about the bad movies released in 1988, I hope you are not referring to Big Business. That is all.
13 Destiny // Jul 2, 2009 at 12:08 am
Mark, I have to disagree with you on Mississippi Burning, I saw it for the first time a couple years ago and it is a fantastic film. I also think Tucker: A Man and His Dream deserved a nod as well as The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Pelle the Conquerer. Hopefully the new 10 nomination system will open the door to more foreign films and get those films on more screens nationwide.
14 ferretrick // Jul 2, 2009 at 1:19 pm
No, I’ve actually never seen Big Business. No, don’t get up Mark. My gay card is in the mail.
I was referring to things like Arthur 2, Crocodile Dundee II, Fresh Horses….
15 Mark Blankenship // Jul 3, 2009 at 1:23 am
Seriously, Ferretrick, do yourself a favor and see “Big Business.” It’s bad, but it’s deliciously bad.
And I never thought I’d have to think about Molly Ringwald’s swimming scene in “Fresh Horses” again… but there it is, clear as a bell in my mind.
16 Darryl // Jul 13, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I agree with the poster above who mentioned “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”. The soundtrack featuring Grappelli was worth the price of admission.
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