Recognizing the worst didn’t give way to political temptations, a much-needed move.
The tradition of staging a show to recognize the worst things about movie theaters took place on Saturday as part of The Oscars. It has always been a paradox for me as I have the mixed emotions of energy and certainty. An actual sense of hope was felt this year.
I’m a lifelong devotee of sewer cinema, and even do a podcast dedicated to these misfires from Hollywood. The Golden Raspberry Awards, the oldest-running arbitrator of Hollywood’s worst sides, has been a constant love/hate affair for me. Before the pandemic broke the movie-going experience, I was always one to devour the year-end compilations, combing through the “10-Worst” lists from the various critics and outlets to see if they jibed with my consumption of theatrical fiascos and direct-to-DVD drek.
The Razzies are the long-term authority on motion pictures dross. They were like The Oscars’ broken mirror and dishonoured many of the same categories. This show’s quality has changed over the years from being spot on to varying in quality, and some years it even failed to execute.
Saturday saw encouraging signs, as social signaling was dispatched and actual badness rose to…the top…? It was mostly a mix of performers and titles. Stunt selections were minimal and politics were almost non-existent. The organizers are to be credited for creating a category that appears to be completely valid.
Bruce Willis was assured to become a winner this year, as an entire category was created due to his work – WORST PERFORMANCE BY BRUCE WILLIS IN A 2021 FILM. Willis’s tendency to appear in many low-budget action movies that can be rented or streamed has led to this. Willis usually films for only 10 to 14 days and then gets a nice paycheck. Willis was known for his ability to quickly shoot films and the fact that he had to deal with a pandemic. 7 movies are releasedIn 2021.
While I hope that it is an opportunity to return to humorous greatness, this remains a question. My voting membership in The Razzies was years ago. I wrote them a $35 check to enable me as a voter. I took the selections I made seriously when I submitted the nomination forms. Then I cast the final vote. Problem was, organizers didn’t take me seriously.
The gag was intended to make fun of the studio system through these awards. However, it is important to properly mock Hollywood by pointing out its misbegotten performances and offerings. I was frustrated by three aspects of their approach:
- Influencing results
- It is a form of maligning categories
- Political statements
First, I realized that the selections weren’t made to filter out the “bad” to find the best but rather to create a publicity hit. One movie will “win the most,” or one performer will have an alarming amount of nominations, etc. These picks are designed to generate hype and create headlines.
The way it was usually done was to twist the categories. There were many times over the years that films were nominated more than once, including being in for WORST PHOTO And then, again WORST REMAKE. One performer might be chosen as the WORST ACTOR, and could then go on to appear in WORST SCEEN COUPLE. This was also the case in this year’s hilarious gags.
- Jared Leto & EITHER His 17-Pound Latex Face, His Geeky Clothes, or His Ridiculous AccentGucci House
- Ben Platt & Any Other Character Who Acts Like Platt Singing 24/7 Is Normal / Dear Evan Hansen
- LeBron James & Any Warner Cartoon Character (or Time-Warner Product) He Dribbles On / Space Jam: A New Legacy
These three can be also found together WORST ATOR with LeBron declared the winner – for essentially playing himself.
The political statements made over the years have been most distracting. It was a regular feature of the George Bush presidency and a source of distraction from the main purpose and fun. In 2005, the Razzies not only nominated but awarded winning trophies to George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, and Brittany Spears, for their appearances in “Fahrenheit 9/11.”
It isn’t a response to being politically or cinematically offended. Although they were in a documentary as their own characters, they received acting roles. It was absurd and a political statement that deprived them of recognition for their worthy performances.
Last year saw more of the same, as Mike Lindell won the acting honor, as himself in his documentary “Absolute Proof,” and Rudy Giuliani in the “Borat” sequel. These picks distract from the verve and ridicule of seriously bad performances. These concessions to the Hollywood woke mentality are an utter contradiction.
This is an appeal to industry that the awards were supposed to be exterminating. It seeks approval from those you mock. You are also hurting your audience. Although you’re supposed to speak up for the industry and convey a message, the vehicle you use is actually trying to win favor with them through virtue-signaling nominations.
Avoid political declarations and you will end up with something like this year. It was fun, frivolity and farcical moviemaking japery. This kind of stuff will continue and you might just be my next voter.
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