The Razzie Awards: Voting and Predictions
The Golden Raspberry Awards (known primarily by their shorter name the Razzies) are basically the anti-Oscars. They're there to "honor" the worst films of the year. Ideally speaking. Mostly, they're just kind of silly, but a certain writer (me) happens to actually be a Razzie voter, and has been for quite some time. Given this unique insight, I felt it worth it to analyze what exactly we're working with here.
Worst Picture
365 Days
Absolute Proof
Dolittle
Fantasy Island
Music
This one is fairly obvious. Dolittle has been a disaster since the first trailer dropped, and the box office didn't help, with the film losing Universal Studios between 50-100 million dollars. The other four are the usual extra fare: movies that nobody has seen but are definitely bad. 365 Days is a Polish remake of 50 Shades of Grey. Absolute Proof is a documentary about the 2020 election and the controversy of its results (leaning heavily on the idea that it was fraudulent). Fantasy Island is a remake of an old TV show that has some elements of The Twilight Zone sort of put in. Music is about an autistic teen who "learns about life from her recently sober guardian." None of them have above a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes. Actually, no adaptation of the Dr. Dolittle book has ever gone well, even the Best Picture-nominated 1964 one, which sits at a 29% on RT. Maybe it's time to stop making movies about this guy.
Who I voted for: Dolittle
Who is going to win: Dolittle
Worst Director
Charles Band--All 3 Barbie & Kendra movies
Barbara Bialowas & Tomasz Mandes--365 Days
Stephen Gaghan--Dolittle
Ron Howard--Hillbilly Elegy
Sia--Music
Again, the choice is fairly obvious here. Dolittle is probably going to win everything it's nominated for. Every year, there's one movie that just cleans up (Cats was the main punching bag last year, for example), and Director and Picture are more closely intertwined for the Razzies than for the Oscars. Ron Howard's nomination for Hillbilly Elegy is more as a result of the controversy from the film as opposed to how good or bad it may be. The film is one of the few to receive both Oscar and Razzie nominations. Barbie & Kendra is silly fare about two ditzy women stumbling through things, such as trying to storm Area 51 and another trying to save Joe Exotic, AKA the Tiger King. Even through all of that, the winner is clear.
Who I voted for: Stephen Gaghan
Who will win: Stephen Gaghan
Worst Actor
Robert Downey Jr.--Dolittle
Mike Lindell (The “My Pillow” Guy)--Absolute Proof
Michele Morrone--365 Days
Adam Sandler--Hubie Halloween
David Spade--The Wrong Missy
This one might be an instance where Dolittle dodges a bit of a bullet here, or, at least Robert Downey Jr. does. He's not a bad actor and obviously worked with what he had, which wasn't much. Adam Sandler and David Spade are big enough names that it probably won't be them, and Michele Marrone isn't well known enough. I'm saying that this is going to the My Pillow Guy. He's not notoriety, and his movie is about something super politically charged. All his.
Who I voted for: Michele Morrone
Who will win: Mike Lindell
Worst Actress
Anne Hathaway--The Last Thing He Wanted & The Witches
Katie Holmes--Brahms: The Boy II & The Secret: Dare to Dream
Kate Hudson--Music
Lauren Lapkus--The Wrong Missy
Anna-Maria Sieklucka--365 Days
This one is a bit harder since Dolittle doesn't have a hat in this ring. Usually, smaller awards like this do tie to the Worst Picture nominations, which means that it's probably boiling down to Anna-Maria Sieklucka or Kate Hudson. More well-known actors tend to pick the awards up, so I'm guessing Hudson is getting the plastic trophy here.
Who I voted for: Anna-Maria Sieklucka
Who will win: Kate Hudson
Worst Supporting Actor
Chevy Chase--The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee
Rudy Giuliani--Borat, Subsequent Movie-Film
Shia LeBeouf--The Tax Collector
Arnold Schwarzenegger--Iron Mask
Bruce Willis--Breach, Hard Kill & Survive the Night
Again, no Dolittle here, but the political slant that's going to ding Mr. Lindell is going to hit Giuliani. Shia's personality and history might make him a prime target, and it's not like Arnie has been in any Oscar-worthy movies. Chevy Chase and Bruce Willis are more just rounding things out here. Giuliani is the safer pick here.
Who I voted for: Arnie
Who will win: Rudy Giuliani
Worst Supporting Actress
Glenn Close--Hillbilly Elegy
Lucy Hale--Fantasy Island
Maggie Q--Fantasy Island
Kristen Wiig--Wonder Woman 1984
Maddie Ziegler--Music
Glenn Close was nominated for both the Oscar and the Razzie for her performance in Hillbilly Elegy, which is odd. She probably won't win either, but it's going to be a fun bit of bar trivia. Wonder Woman 1984 is a deeply flawed movie, but Kristen Wiig isn't going to win. The odds here are for Maddie Ziegler. The two actresses nominated for Fantasy Island won't have a clear winner there. Ziegler was in a Worst Picture nomination. It's probably hers.
Who I voted for: Maddie Ziegler
Who will win: Maddie Ziegler
Worst Screenplay
365 Days
All 3 Barbie & Kendra Movies
Dolittle
Fantasy Island
Hillbilly Elegy
This one is pretty obvious, too. No reason that Dolittle shouldn't nab this award either. This one tends to get tied pretty close to the Worst Picture winner.
Worst Screen Combo
Rudy Giuliani and His Pants Zipper--Borat Subsequent Movie-Film
Robert Downey Jr. & His Utterly Unconvincing “Welsh” Accent--Dolittle
Harrison Ford & That Totally Fake-Looking CGI “Dog”--Call of the Wild
Lauren Lapkus & David Spade--The Wrong Missy
Adam Sandler & His Grating Simpleton Voice--Hubie Halloween
The news says that it's Giuliani and Maria Bakalova. The actual ballot says "Rudy Giuliani and his pants zipper."
Okay.
If there's one category that's kind of a joke, it's Screen Combo. It's a fairly recent category (starting in 2013), and the nominees usually aren't two people, as you can see here. Only The Wrong Missy actually has two actors. Dolittle makes another appearance here, but Adam Sandler has a history with the Razzies. The dog in Call of the Wild doesn't look fake enough for this award. Giuliani might pick up this award, too.
Who I voted for: Adam Sandler
Who will win: Robert Downey Jr.
Worst Remake, Ripoff, or Sequel
365 Days
Dolittle
Fantasy Island
Hubie Halloween
Wonder Woman 1984
Yeah, Dolittle is picking this award up, too. Wonder Woman 1984 was, yes, not very good, but not bad enough to win. Hubie Halloween didn't get a Worst Picture nominee, and nobody has really heard of Fantasy Island or 365 Days. Dolittle is the winner here.
Who I voted for: Dolittle
Who will win: Dolittle
One of the biggest disappointments of the Razzies this year is that it doesn't have the "Razzie Redeemer" award, which is awarded to a performer that has won Razzies before, but made a really good movie in the year of nominations. Examples include Eddie Murphy winning for My Name is Dolemite and Ben Affleck doing Gone Girl and Argo. Unfortunately, they didn't do that category this year. Too bad.
So there you have it. Those are the Razzie nominees. They obviously don't have the pedigree of the Oscars, but they are kind of fun. Check out the winners, which are announced April 24 (the day before the Oscars) to see how I did.
The viewpoints and opinions stated in this article do not necessarily represent the values, opinions, or viewpoints of Culture Slate. The author is providing comments and opinions that they alone hold without the shared collective opinion of Culture Slate or its staff.