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Million Dollar Baby

(Best Picture, 2004)

What Should Have Won: The Aviator

"The Official Story": Don't reveal the ending! It's a secret! No! Don't you dare! After all; isn't Citizen Kane's worth tarnished when you know who "Rosebud" is? No...? Um, well...how about how tarnished the value of Star Wars is, when you've seen the Death Star? Still "no"...? Um, well...don't reveal the ending, because ...because ...well ...um ...sorry. We got nothin'.

What We Think Happened:  Don't worry; I will not reveal the ending, as much as I'd love to. But let's be clear about how totally stupid this film's sole sales gimmick is; a "surprise" ending so pointless, the cast may as well have worn Halloween masks, faced at the camera, and screamed, "Booooo!." This film was allegedly Best Picture, because of a cheap "surprise"...? Well, then: Boooo! Surprised? Great! Where's my Best Actor Oscar?

The fact is, "Best Pictures" are not measured by stupid, half-witted, "surprise" final reels. They are measured by the impact of a complete story, which is to say: a complete story that makes sense. Great stories can be told in snippets and you still want to see the whole story. Such snippets can include the ending, and yet the ending sounds so cool, you still want to see the whole story. Romeo & Juliet is no less of a classic story when you hear the ending. Citizen Kane is not suddenly "worthless" to see, because you know about Rosebud. Oh, and if knowing "whodunit" spoils the worth of the mystery, explain why "Columbo" lasted for over 60 episodes.

Here's a better comparison. When Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was nominated for Best Picture, not only did everyone know the ending, but they actually showed part of the ending, during the Oscars. Did old codger critics suddenly get their jockeys in a bunch crying "How dare they reveal that film's ending!" No; surprisingly, they did not. So why the alleged need to hide this film's ending? Dare we say it's because: the ending sucks?

Yet mild spoilers notwithstanding: yes, the ending sucked. Why? Because it had a character make a choice that was completely out of character. We can't get more cryptic than that, for the people who insist this garbage ending is unspoiled. Said character is supposed to want to be a power player and suddenly, he/she is a total weenie. Not that we disagree with the choice as much as who made the choice. It made no sense, aside from "the producers felt that mere shock value fluff would win an Oscar." Well, what do you know. They were right.

What Makes It So Embarrassing "Today":  Let's put it this way: this film beat both Ray and The Aviator, which were about the lives of real people. This, too, was about the life of a real person, but it used creative license to tell a story that would be a bigger "Oscar push." So basically, they gave the Oscar to the biographical film which was the least accurate!

Next In Line: Winners Are Extra-ordinary...not "Ordinary"!

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