Razzie Awards: two thumbs down for the worst movies of the year

The night before the 93rd Academy Awards, the winners of the 41st Golden Raspberry Awards were revealed, recognizing the worst accomplishments in film in 2020. Graphic by HARRY LADA, Art Director

It is time for change in the way we recognize award-worthy films. For nearly a century, The Academy Awards — recognized as the most prestigious award in cinema — has given film buffs an outlet to flex their muscles and debate some of the most artistic movies Hollywood has to offer. But where’s the challenge in that?

Anyone can enjoy a cinematic masterpiece. It takes serious dedication to sit through two painstaking hours of garbage. 

What about recognizing the films that lost their studios millions? What about recognizing the directorial choices that led to single-digit scores on Rotten Tomatoes? What about recognizing the actors and actresses who made audiences cringe every time they appeared on screen? 

It's time to trade in The Oscars for The Razzies. 

The 41st Razzie Awards took place on April 24, honoring the trials and tribulations of the worst entertainment Hollywood had to offer this year to remind us that they can’t all be winners. I found myself quite enthused for the unveiling of the worst of the worst during a year that truly was the worst of the worst. Boy, the 1,090 voters did not let me down.

For the second straight year, the ceremony was reduced to an online setting, narrated by a deep-voiced Razzie Award cartoon character who cracked jokes over the nominations, like suggesting we replace the term “binge-watch” with “cringe-watch.” 

With a four-plus-hour Academy Award ceremony looming the next day, I was glad to see that The Razzies were straight to the point — with no unnecessary suspense — in a four-minute and twenty-second runtime.  

Nine-time Grammy Award nominee Sia made a splash at The Razzies with her film “Music,” taking home three Razzie Awards: Worst Director, Worst Supporting Actress (Maddie Ziegler) and Worst Actress (Kate Hudson). The dishonorable awards followed controversy over Sia’s decision to cast a neurotypical actress (Zeigler) in a role for a character with severe autism. 

Considering Sia’s insensitivity towards the autism community and her atrocious comparison of “Music” to iconic films such as “Rain Man” and “Forrest Gump,” I’d say The Razzies nailed this one right on the head. 

Meanwhile, Stephen Gaghan’s money-loser “Dolittle” took home  Worst Remake/Ripoff/Sequel. I personally had “Dolittle” neck-and-neck with “Hubie Halloween,” but I can’t say I didn’t see it coming. 

“365 Days,” a Polish erotic fantasy-drama, earned the Razzie for Worst Screenplay after receiving over 95,000 petition signatures to be taken off of Netflix for its controversial storyline and graphic sex scenes.

All was pretty predictable through that point, at least as typical as a talking-raspberry-statuette awards show can get. I got exactly what I came for: the recognition of bad movies and confirmation that I made the right choice in skipping a watch of the nominated films. 

Then, things took a turn for the better. 

In spectacular fashion, Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Rudy Guliani, won two awards in a row for his unintentional breakout performance in “Borat 2: Subsequent Moviefilm.” Guliani walked away with Razzies for Worst Supporting Actor and Worst Onscreen Duo — the duo being him and his zipper. 

Although Guliani claims that “Borat 2” star Sacha Baron Cohen didn’t “get me,” footage in the film reveals Guliani to be reaching down and conspicuously adjusting his trousers in the presence of Baron Cohen’s co-star Maria Bakalova, who — unaware to Guliani — was posing as a 15-year old Kazakh reporter trying to score an interview with him. 

As if things could get any crazier than Guliani’s Razzie wins, a familiar face soon entered one of the nominee boxes on my screen. I’d seen his face and recognized the name Mike Lindell, but I couldn’t put my finger on where from. I paused the show to do a quick Google search, finding out he was the CEO of My Pillow, the same face from the company’s commercials. 

“Why is the founder of My Pillow up for Worst Actor?” I wondered. “There’s no way his commercials are that bad.”

After a little research, it turns out Lindell directed and starred in “Absolute Proof,” a two-hour documentary in which Lindell claims that a Chinese “cyberattack” was responsible for flipping the 2020 election. 

At this point, I was speechless. Lindell went on to win Worst Actor and “Absolute Proof” would win Worst Picture. 

Overall, The Razzies did a great job at keeping me on my toes. It was a cathartic experience that got the more underwhelming films of the year out of my system before I had to stomach the behemoth of The Academy Awards. As finals week approached and my workload increased, I needed a good laugh and The Razzies offered just that. 

Although none of the winners have formally accepted their awards, I’m excited to see what The Razzies have in store next year. I may be skipping the films themselves, but hopefully with an in-person format, I can get back to seeing winners give heartfelt speeches as they formally accept their $4.97 raspberry statuettes.