Top 10 Movies That Went From Being Loved to Hated

While critics were quick to lambaste this one out of the gate - it does star Adam Sandler, after all - audiences weren’t quite on the same page, as the film amassed nearly $190 million at the worldwide box office. It came out in 2007, back when resistance to homophobic humor and stereotyping wasn’t quite as immediate. Still, it wasn’t long before people started to take issue with it. Sure, you could say “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” ultimately happens upon an accepting message by its conclusion, but it certainly takes a lot of cheap shots along the way, to the point that it becomes way less funny and way more uncomfortable. As if the inclusion of yellowface wasn’t bad enough.

This is just the first of many Best Picture winners on this list, but the problems with it don’t just stem from it beating out more worthy contenders like “The Green Mile.” Rather, among any number of criticisms, from style to script, it’s the content inherent to the plot that makes for much more uncomfortable viewing today. Though more of an ensemble piece, it largely centers around Lester Burnham, a middle-aged suburban dad who develops an infatuation for his daughter’s teenaged friend, something that’s taken far more seriously in the age of #metoo. While Kevin Spacey’s performance as Burnham was praised for its nuance, the subsequent misconduct allegations against the actor in real life tinge it with an eerie malevolence.

Another entry that won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, “Driving Miss Daisy,” starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman, was already kind of dated when it came out, relying heavily on old-fashioned race relations around which to structure its characters. And while plot-wise that might not be a bad place to start, many today don’t find the film, which is based on a play, to be nearly as nuanced as was thought back in 1989. We obviously understand there’s a historical significance to the setup, since it’s set in the 1960s, but without a more fleshed-out modern day lens, it just doesn’t stand the test of time for the modern era.

Ooh boy, where to start with this one? While “Revenge of the Nerds” was originally regarded as harmless fun, people later realized it was actually the exact opposite. At its core, the film is about a fraternity of nerds that sees to getting back at the jock fraternity for pushing others around, a formula that would be emulated in numerous sex comedies in its wake. What’s very troubling, however, is the misogynistic ways the sorority girls are treated, as the nerds take to voyeuristic pranks to get back at them as well. Worse, the primary nerd even resorts to tricking a jock’s girlfriend into sleeping with him, a tactic that’s rewarded with adoration instead of censure. All in all, this movie is now seen as very problematic.

“Garden State” was far and away the indie darling of 2004, with writer-director-star Zach Braff receiving heaps of praise. It was lauded for its depiction of misplaced identity in the face of adulthood, but many don’t respond to its themes as they once did. Furthermore, the film has since been criticized for its use of the manic pixie dream girl archetype, something that is clearly exemplified in Natalie Portman’s character of Sam. It also doesn’t help that Braff’s image has been rather dimmed in the 2010s, as his decision to use Kickstarter to fund his next project, “Which I Was Here” - which was significantly worse - was met with far less enthusiasm.

Back when rebooting Spider-Man after just a five-year hiatus seemed hasty, 2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” almost seemed refreshing, but let’s be honest, that was largely because it got to follow up “Spider-Man 3.” And then came the overly ambitious “Amazing Spider-Man 2,” which made the other aforementioned sequel look restrained by comparison. The plug was quickly pulled on this iteration of the franchise, and Sony struck a deal with Marvel to bring the character to the MCU. Tom Holland’s subsequent portrayal gave us everything we ever wanted in a Spider-Man, making the admittedly decent Andrew Garfield look pedestrian by comparison.

The love for this movie was pretty short-lived. Ironically, winning Best Picture was probably the worst thing that could have happened to it, as beating out the much more deserving “Brokeback Mountain” forced people to put it under a much harsher microscope. Sure, we’re aware of the cultural melting pot that is Los Angeles, but the way “Crash” depicts it is nothing short of heavy-handed. Worse, its interracial interactions can’t help but feel contrived, leaving moments that are meant to be the most moving or heartbreaking, to come across as false. Its cast does all it can to support such a lofty narrative, but no actor can really disguise lapses in judgment inherent in the script.

Okay, last Best Picture winner, we swear. Frankly, critics were in love with “Shakespeare in Love,” and audiences seemed to take to it as well, as it proved to be a steady earner up to and through the Oscars ceremony. However, everything changed when it stole the big prize from “Saving Private Ryan,” easily one of the greatest war films ever made. Reportedly, this was achieved through aggressive and not-so-friendly awards campaigning by producer Harvey Weinstein, whose subsequent controversies stretch a mile long. Needless to say, people don’t find “Shakespeare in Love” nearly as witty and charming as they used to.

The hype for this movie was unreal, as it marked the first continuation of the original saga in over thirty years. And the reception to it proved it was worth the wait, with the only real gripe coming from longtime fans who claimed its story clung too closely to “A New Hope.” Then the sequels happened... and any good will left over virtually disappeared. Granted, it’s hardly one film’s fault for what its follow-ups get wrong, but “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker” largely spat in the face of what their immediate predecessor set up. Going back, it’s hard to be invested anymore in anything that happens in “The Force Awakens,” knowing that the ultimate destination is so disappointing.

This one is really over the top. While the technical achievements this film realized can never be taken away, the content is so offensively appalling it cannot be overlooked today. D. W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation” details the reconstruction of the southern United States following the Civil War, a period fraught with strife. The film’s portrayal of African-Americans - white actors in blackface - as being unruly vagrants who exist only to uproot the white way of living is beyond atrocious. Not only that, but it depicts the Ku Klux Klan as being heroic saviors and not the monstrous organization it really is and was. Yes, it’s a milestone for film, but it’s backwards in nearly every other respect.