Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

  Sometimes people ask me why I watch all the nominees for each category, instead of just the winners.  I think it's important to see the winners in context, because sometimes the Academy is retarded.  Take this movie for example, which was declared Best Picture of 1989.  There's nothing wrong with it, but when you compare it to its fellow runners-up, you wonder what the hell people were thinking.

If I said Born on the Fourth of July, you'd say "That movie was so controversial.  People talked about that for years."

Field of Dreams.  "Oh my God, I can watch that over and over."

Dead Poets Society.  "Robin Williams was amazing!"

My Left Foot.  "Isn't that the one with Daniel Day Lewis?"

All four of those movies could be argued as having more of a lasting impact than Driving Miss Daisy.  Sure, hindsight is 20/20 and it's probably a crapshoot to try and determine what is going to be a classic while it's happening, but I think you could make a strong case that any of the other movies would have been a better choice.

Boolie Werthen (Dan Ackroyd) decides to hire his mother (Jessica Tandy) a chauffeur after she crashes her car into a neighbor's yard.  His mother strongly objects but Boolie is insistent.  He hires Hoke Colburn (Morgan Freeman), an even-tempered easy-going man to deal with his mother's temper.  While resistant at first, the old lady eventually starts to warm to her new employee and over the course of a quarter century, they become friends despite their different social circumstances.

Like I said, there's nothing wrong with the movie but there's just not a lot to it.  I'd be amazed if anyone even remembered that it won Best Picture as well as Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Makeup.