Loved this movie but agree with you... Wouldn't have conisdered it an Oscar Nominee but then again, I am not sure what they base the nominations upon. Again, though - I did really enjoy it and am dying to know what Bob whispered to Charlotte at the very end!

I think it was nominated because of who directed it. Murray was great in it, but I think he was better in What About Bob. About the whisper, I found this:

A reader tells Roger Ebert he knows exactly what is said between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in the closing moments of Lost in Translation:

...I could understand fairly easily what Murray whispered into her ear at the end. While I could not hear every word, it was obvious to me that he said something like "As soon as possible, call your husband and tell him you love him, OK?" The last six words I have no doubt about whatsoever.

I saw the film again, and closed my eyes and concentrated every aural nerve during that scene, and still could not hear a word. Apparently I am not alone. In an interview with writer-director Sofia Coppola in the new issue of Sight & Sound, she's asked, "Dare I ask what Bob whispers to Charlotte at the end?" And she replies: "Someone asked Bill, and he said, 'It's between lovers.' I love that answer."

Then she was asked if she had written lines for the scene, and said: "I wrote some stuff but I wasn't happy with it. There was dialogue but it was really sparse. Ultimately I liked it better that you don't hear it, that you can put in what you want them to say. You wish he'd say, 'I had a great time and you're great,' but instead he says, 'I left my jacket.' That's what people do."