Well, whether it feels like it or not, time is in fact passing despite us being trapped in an unending pandemic quagmire; which means that once again awards season is here to drive Film Twitter (and the rest of us) insane for the next two months.
Certain ceremonies, like the Golden Globes, tried to keep a low profile this year by forgoing a public ceremony altogether and instead releasing some truly disastrous (and extremely baffling) tweets of their winners. The Academy Awards will be announcing their nominations on February 8, but, beating them to the punch this time was the Golden Raspberry Foundation, who announced their annual Razzie nominations this morning.
Which, fine, I guess. The Razzies have been around since the 1980s when publicist John J.B. Wilson started hosting them in his living room as a joke for his friends. What started as an amusing bit amongst pals has now become its own publicity mill—churning out hack jokes and trying to appeal to the broadest common denominator.
Anyone can purchase a membership to the Golden Raspberry Foundation and cast their vote, and they don’t even need to watch any of the films in order to do so. (Not that much of the Academy does either!) The Razzies have always been about picking the easy targets or the most infamous films of the year, not necessarily the worst. They famously nominated and awarded Stanley Kubrick with Worst Director for his iconic classic The Shining.
But I digress. The Razzie noms are here, and much like other awards ceremonies, they have made some pandemic-related adjustments to include films that received a streaming-only release. This means that Netflix’s Diana The Musical (a filmed adaption of the Broadway trash fire that lasted only 33 performances) landed the most nominations this year, with 9 total, including Worst Film.
Bruce Willis also received a special category all his own in recognition of the many horrible, straight to VOD movies he has been part of recently, and the one limited theatrical release picture: Midnight in the Switchgrass (which also received several other Razzie noms).
Amy Adams received double nominations for The Woman in the Window and Dear Evan Hansen, as did Taryn Manning for Karen and Every Last One of Them. Ben Affleck received a Worst Supporting Actor nomination for his role in The Last Duel, which bombed at the box office but is actually an incredible film and I think Affleck is terrific as Pierre d’Alençon, but people want to laugh at the blonde wig, I guess.
As always, the lamest jokes of the Razzies come in the “Worst Couples” category. Where couple means “Jared Leto and his fat suit in House of Gucci” (which, I am for calling out thin actors in fat suits but putting this in the couples category—it’s a stretch!) or Ben Platt and his fellow co-stars in Dear Evan Hansen for “Acting Like Platt Singing 24-7 is Normal” …. It’s a musical babes! Everyone is singing! That’s the point! At least the unending “how do you do fellow kids” jokes that have haunted Platt and the film make sense!
Anyways, here is the full list of nominations!
Worst Picture
Diana the Musical (The Netflix Version)
Infinite
Karen
Space Jam: A New Legacy
The Woman in the Window
Worst Actor
Scott Eastwood / Dangerous
Roe Hartrampf (As Prince Charles)/ Diana the Musical
LeBron James / Space Jam: A New Legacy
Ben Platt / Dear Evan Hansen
Mark Wahlberg / Infinite
Worst Actress
Amy Adams / The Woman in the Window
Jeanna de Waal / Diana the Musical
Megan Fox / Midnight in the Switchgrass
Taryn Manning / Karen
Ruby Rose / Vanquish
Worst Supporting Actress
Amy Adams / Dear Evan Hansen
Sophie Cookson / Infinite
Erin Davie (As Camilla)/ Diana the Musical
Judy Kaye (As BOTH Queen Elizabeth & Barbara Cartland)/ Diana the Musical
Taryn Manning / Every Last One of Them
Worst Supporting Actor
Ben Affleck / The Last Duel
Nick Cannon / The Misfits
Mel Gibson / Dangerous
Gareth Keegan (As James Hewitt, the Muscle-Bound Horse Trainer)/
Diana the Musical
Jared Leto / House of Gucci
Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie
Bruce Willis / American Siege
Bruce Willis / Apex
Bruce Willis / Cosmic Sin
Bruce Willis / Deadlock
Bruce Willis / Fortress
Bruce Willis / Midnight in the Switchgrass
Bruce Willis / Out of Death
Bruce Willis / Survive the Game
Worst Screen Couple
Any Klutzy Cast Member & Any Lamely Lyricized (or Choreographed) Musical Number / Diana the Musical
LeBron James & Any Warner Cartoon Character (or Time-Warner Product) He Dribbles on / Space Jam: A New Legacy
Jared Leto & EITHER His 17-Pound Latex Face, His Geeky Clothes or His Ridiculous Accent / House of Gucci
Ben Platt & Any Other Character Who Acts Like Platt Singing 24-7 is Normal / Dear Evan Hansen
Tom & Jerry (aka Itchy & Scratchy)/ Tom & Jerry the Movie
Worst Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel
Karen (Inadvertent Remake of Cruella deVil)
Space Jam: A New Legacy
Tom & Jerry the Movie
Twist (Rap remake of Oliver Twist)
The Woman in the Window (Rip-Off of Rear Window)
Worst Director
Christopher Ashley / Diana the Musical
Stephen Chbosky / Dear Evan Hansen
“Coke” Daniels / Karen
Renny Harlin / The Misfits
Joe Wright / The Woman in the Window
Worst Screenplay
Diana the Musical / Script by Joe DiPietro, Music and Lyrics by DiPietro and David Bryan
Karen / Written by “Coke” Daniels
The Misfits / Screenplay by Kurt Wimmer and Robert Henny, Screen Story by Henny
Twist / Written by John Wrathall & Sally Collett, Additional Material by Matthew Parkhill, Michael Lindley, Tom Grass & Kevin Lehane, from an “Original Idea” by David & Keith Lynch and Simon Thomas
The Woman in the Window / Screenplay by Tracy Letts, from the Novel by A.J. Finn
Nominations per Picture
Diana the Musical (9 Nominations, including Worst Picture, Actor & Actress)
Karen (5 Nominations, including Picture, Actress, Screenplay & Director)
The Woman in the Window (5 Nominations, including Picture, Actress & Remake/Rip-Off)
Space Jam: A New Legacy (4 Nominations, including Picture, Actor & Screen Couple)
Infinite (3 Nominations, including Worst Picture, Actor & Supporting Actress)
The Misfits (3 Nominations, including Supporting Actor, Director & Screenplay)
The ceremony will take place on March 26. Who do you think deserves to take home a Razzie?
(via: The Golden Raspberry Foundation, image: Netflix)
