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Crash, which won best picture at the 2006 Oscars, is looked at as one of the worst Oscars “best picture” winners after the 1999 Saving Private Ryan vs Shakespeare in Love debacle.

Even though Ang Lee won best director for his masterpiece Brokeback Mountain, which lost the race for Best Picture, it is generally accepted that Brokeback Mountain is a superior film to Paul Haggis’ Crash. Crash is now used as a punchline and even Bill Simmons of the Ringer mentioned that Michael Mann’s “Heat” is the best version of Crash.

But Crash is pure genius because it’s second to none when describing the complexity and hopelessness of Xenophobia. Movies with complicated screenplays that present racism such as “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “The Hate You Give”, “Just Mercy”, or even “Get Out” usually sell out and pick a side by the end of the movie. But Crash takes a similar approach to Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone by putting the viewers in a tough spot debating who the “bad guy” is.

The Appearance vs. Reality theme is hammered home by Paul Haggis whereas critics hammered him due to the simplicity of the storylines. But I disagree. Now if Crash was remade in 2025, it would probably be impossible because somebody would get triggered, but it would be a 10-episode Netflix show that has time to paint an even more complicated picture than a 2-hour movie. But you can’t exactly make a 4-hour movie unless it’s “Once Upon a Time in America” and that’s cause DeNiro fired his editor.

Ludacris plays a fantastic role outlining the pitfalls of the “victim complex” and the inability to accept the unfairness of the system. Brendan Frasier and William Thictner play slimy characters that figure out ways to nudge the judicial system in their favor with power. Matt Dillon plays a racist police officer that commits sexual assault on Thandie Newton’s character but eventually risks his life to save hers. On the other hand, Ryan Phillipe plays Dillon’s partner who starts with having a moral compass until his career and jail time are at stake when he commits an accidental crime. Terrence Howard, Don Cheadle, Michael Pena, and Sandra Bullock give swift but effective performances to highlight the notions of class and being pawns of a flawed society that judges ethics and holds onto stereotypes based off of socioeconomic status.

Brokeback Mountain was iconic in putting a bold love scene between two men on screen and does a great job depicting the characters of a troubled Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhall, and Michelle Williams. But Crash is just way more entertaining. The pace at which Crash moves is much faster than watching Heath Ledger mope around a lot…a lot. The swift cuts and transitions from one storyline to the other is extremely effective and never slows down for the audience. The heart wrenching scene when Michael Pena is held at gunpoint where his daughter is about to take his blow could bring a tear out of anybody’s eyes. Not sure Brokeback, although revolutionary, tugged at emotions the same way. Don’t cancel me LGBTQ community.

Life isn’t fair. Systems aren’t perfect. Cards that are dealt by a superior being aren’t going to be pocket Aces every single time. But what are you going to do about it? Are you going to be salty? Are you going to complain? I’ve done my fair share of complaining in life whenever I have had moments of bad luck. But life is about putting one foot in front of the other, accepting consequences for decisions made, and lastly being content with the realities of life. In my 20s I didn’t have this maturity but at the age of 32, Crash really speaks to me as to what can happen if you are constantly disgruntled in this society. And if you are frequently frustrated, please check out this movie because it could be a wakeup call for you to find your “happy place” or else…