So, a quick history lesson. The Razzies (or the Golden Rasberry Awards) were originally founded in 1981 by Hollywood publicist John J.B. Wilson as a way of honoring the worst, most pretentious under-achieving films and cinematic artists from the year. A couple of interesting tidbits, the first year of the awards were held in John J. B. Wilson’s living room and the Razzie trophy itself is estimated to cost approximately $4.95.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the underachievers of Hollywood awards and the first year that the awards will be televised. Considering 2019 was a very mixed bag of films, from the horrific uncanny valley of Cats to the shocking mediocrity of Rambo: Last Blood, the question remains, should some of these films be outright avoided or should some be approached with tentative curiosity?
Just Bad: Worst Remake, Rip-Off Or Sequal - Dark Pheonix
It’s a shame that Fox’s version of the X-Men had to go out on such a sub-par note, bringing back Simon Kinberg to write and direct his second crack at adapting The Dark Pheonix Saga, previously taking a swing and a miss with X-Men: The Last Stand. Anyone that’s seen both films will tell you that they make a lot of the same mistakes.
It’s well documented by now that the movie’s entire final act was reshot to eliminate similarities with space-bound set-pieces seen in Marvel’s Captain Marvel that was scheduled for release at the same time. It’s a film dictated by compromise that was lucky to come out as mediocre as it did.
Good: Worst Actor - David Harbour For Hellboy
Hellboy wasn’t great, it had a pretty messy plot, to say the least, and relied far too heavily on its R rating to please audiences, something that ultimately backfired. However, something many agreed upon as one of the films redeeming factors was Harbour’s take on the Hellboy character, let down a little by the scripts changes to the character, and the fact he had to follow Ron Perlman and Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation.
David Harbour, as anyone whose seen Stranger Things will tell you, is a pretty solid actor that can pull off some outlandish concepts with some effecting dramatic edge. So if you’re still on the fence about giving this Razzie nominee a shot, know that David Harbour’s performance (though perhaps not his make-up) could make it worth the watch.
Just Bad: Worst Picture - Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral
Having been released to absolutely zero people caring and gaining reviews ranging from awful to terrible, its no surprise that Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral has not only been nominated for the Worst Picture Razzie but 8 awards total, twice for Worst Supporting Actor, Tyler Perry himself being nominated in both instances.
With that in mind, it’s likely you don’t need an explanation as to why you should just leave this Big Momma’s House meets Norbit comedy well enough alone, so we’re not going to insult your intelligence by over-explaining this one.
Good: Worst Remake, Rid-Off Or Sequal - Godzilla: King Of The Monsters
Let’s take a minute to remember that these are the Razzie awards we’re talking about, they’re by no means films you should prioritize seeing over standouts like Parasite or Uncut Gems, but pure spectacle blockbusters like Godzilla: King of the Monsters are perfect for some mindless viewing on a Sunday afternoon.
It’s fairly agreed upon that the current slate of American made Godzilla movies are completely passable and entertaining at the best of times, by no means a film that asks you to get invested in the plot, but instead knows it’s strength is big dumb monster fights. Landing an Audience score of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, and most reviews reflecting its success in the kaiju brawl department, it’s fair to say it’s achieved that.
Just Bad: Worst Screenplay - Rambo: Last Blood
The old man action movie has been a trend in Hollywood filmmaking for a while now, ever since the arguable success of the original The Expendables. Of course, this trend paired with the acclaim of Sylvester Stallone returning as Rocky for Creed’s continuation of that franchise.
Without beating around the bush, this is more akin to the continuation of Terminator than the continuation of Rocky. It borrows little of what made the original films special and loses its ability to suspend the audience’s disbelief when it throws old man Stallone at a veritable military force. If you’ve seen Taken, you’ve seen the good version of this film.
Good: Worst Supporting Actor - Bruce Willis For Glass
Audience acceptance of M. Night Shyamalan’s rap up to the Unbreakable Trilogy, Glass, was pretty mixed, to say the least. But something that was pretty universally agreed upon was the quality of the performances therein, mostly James McAvoy but Bruce Willis definitely included.
Bruce Willis is by no means a bad actor, he’s just in the same club as Harrison Ford, which is to say most of the time he just delivers the same tired shtick. Glass didn’t feel like that, Bruce Willis returned to a role he hadn’t touched for 19 years and reinhabited David Dunn’s reluctant tiredness without missing a beat. Glass might deserve a Razzie, but Willis deserves a little benefit of the doubt on this one.
Bad: Worst Director - James Franco For Zeroville
Steve Erickson’s novel of the same name is often noted as being unadaptable, that didn’t stop James Franco from trying his hand at doing just that by directing and starring in Zeroville. Franco did such a great job that the final film was shelved for four years before being released just in time for the 2020 Razzies.
Similarly to Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, Zeroville is set in Hollywood following the Manson family murders and as a result, allows itself to indulge far too much in Hollywood meta-references. It definitely lands more on the side of pretentiousness than anything else, ultimately bagging this Razzie because of the potential lost between the film and its source material.
Good: Worst Picture - Cats
Definitely a part of the “so bad it’s good” category, Cats was less a film and more of a brief-lived cultural phenomenon that should really be seen to truly be believed. It’s weird, we all know that by now, but from the release of the first trailer to cast members presenting the Oscar for VFX by mocking their own visual effects, the final film is definitely a fever dream that needs to be seen to be believed.
From a simply curious standpoint, it’s actually worth seeing how the VFX in the film turned out. In order to, ironically, release the film in time to be an awards contender, the VFX team was incredibly rushed, they also received a massive amount of unusable mocap shots. Tie up this cinematic horror story by seeing the film itself.
Bad: Worst Picture - The Haunting Of Sharon Tate
There have been a fair few films this past year that have used the Mason family murders as a story springboard or that era as a cinematic backdrop. None quite did it as shamelessly as The Haunting of Sharon Tate, a film that took a real-life tragedy and mixed it with fictional supernatural horror elements to near-unwatchable results.
The film goes into some laughably pretentious philosophical places for no good reason, something that, along with poor writing, makes the dialogue a roadblock for the flow of the film. If it was interesting pontification it’d be forgivable, but the film is already so full of filler and useless dream sequences that it becomes very much unforgivable. You’d struggle to find a film more worthy of a Razzie.
Good: Worst Reckless Disregard For Human Life And Public Property - Joker
This year the Razzies special category is clearly a little tongue in cheek. With Joaquin Phoenix bagging the Oscar for Best Actor and Hildur Guðnadóttir winning Best Original Music Score, no one is trying to pin Joker as one of the worst films of the year.
While many have questioned the intent, direction, and screenplay behind Joker, something that can’t be argued is the pure talent involved in the filmmaking and performances here. Being nominated for this Razzie though does raise an interesting point about the nature of violence and what it means to root for the characters that commit it. Either way, you already know that Joker is a must-watch of the year.
Next: 15 Movies You Didn’t Know Were Nominated For Both Razzies and Oscars
