17 Razzie nominees and winners for an offbeat movie marathon

The Golden Razzies honour the movies that didn’t quite tick the mainstream checklist but they’re still golden goodies. And don’t think a Raspberry gong means a movie’s bad – often they’re the best at the offbeat categories… like these.

(Winner: Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property – 2019)

Sly Stallone’s final outing as troubled Green Beret elite soldier John Rambo is a skop, skiet en donder movie. The story follows John crossing the border to Mexico to rescue a friend’s granddaughter, inadvertently sparking an all-out firefight as the Mexican gang who kidnapped her come for revenge.

The storyline is weak but the blood coursing through Rambo’s veins is colder than ice and his will to serve and protect those in need is stronger than ever. The manner in which Rambo slices, dices and shoots his way through enemies is chilling… and all-out bloody fun.

Nominated: Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property – 2019

The Batman origins story was the most-nominated film at the Oscars in 2019 and it’s only the second movie in history to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and Golden Razzie, after The Godfather 3 in 1990.

It tells the story of struggling comedian Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), whose mental health takes a serious decline after he’s beaten up by hoodlums in Gotham. He is psychotically delusional and has a serious neurological disorder… and that makes him unstable. Arthur’s unravelling from depression to maniacal sociopathy will keep you on the edge of your seat as he leads murder, mayhem and chaos across the city. And that laugh… don’t watch this at night – Joker’s cackle is the stuff nightmares are made of.

Nominated: Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Prequel/Remake/Rip-off/Sequel, Worst Screenplay – 2021

This is the prequel to the 1977 TV show of the same name and follows a collection of guests who’re invited to a mysterious island hotel. The island owner has created something interesting – read “dangerous” – that allows the guests to live out their most elaborate and complex fantasies without anyone finding out. The thing is, the guests have no idea what they’re walking into, and something dangerous is waiting for them.

There’s nothing wrong with this horror thriller at all. The problem is more that society has become accustomed to graphic personal horror that is plausible and possible – like serial killers in Saw. Robot machines and dream-controlling computers are still a little too far in the future for us to fully understand and appreciate.

Nominated: Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property – 2019

This reboot might’ve fallen short of the cult-hit original Hellboy in 2004 thanks to bad publicity and fans not liking the concept – Hellboy is a comic book adaptation, but this version brings in King Arthur, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table.

It’s not a bad movie – the special effects are amazing, especially when Hellboy (David Harbour) faces the giants and has to take on the evil blood queen Vivienne Numue (Milla Jovovich). Keep an eye out for Stephen Graham as piggy fairy Gruagach and Ian McShane taking over as Hellboy’s adoptive dad Professor Broom.

Nominated: Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor, Worst Actress, Worst Prequel/Remake-Rip-off/Sequel; Winner: Worst Screenplay – 2021

This is all about the cheeze – a young woman is held hostage by a member of the mafia for exactly one year. During that time, he tries everything to get her to fall in love with him – if she’s not interested after 365 days, she’s set free.

There are no big-name actors. The screenplay is okay. But what will keep you glued to the screen is the sheer beauty of lead actors Michele Morrone (mobster Massimo) and his dream woman Anna-Maria Sieklucka (Laura).

Nominated: Worst Eye-Gouging Misuse of 3D – 2010

As adults we know what looks cool and what’s corny. Sure, the 3D tech for making movies is way better now than it was in 2010, but come on – this is a kiddie movie. It’s got talking dogs and cats who’re trying to save mankind from an evil cat that’s trying to make humans allergic to all dogs.

Your little ones will love the talking woofs and meows and you can disappear for a nap, a drink, a little well-deserved bubble bath, without having to worry about their entertainment.

Nominated: Worst Picture, Worst Actor, Worst Screenplay, Worst Screen Combo; Winner: Worst Prequel/Remake/Rip-off/Sequel – 2021

Robert Downey Jr can do no wrong. Even when he’s playing a vet who can talk to animals and understand them, he is gloriously funny and on point. In this remake, Rob’s character Dr John Dolittle searches for a mythical island to find a fruit to save the poisoned Queen Victoria.

What is the Razzie-nominated bad-screen combo? Robert’s take on a Welsh accent. It’s so cheesy that it’s almost the star of the film. Let’s be fair, though, it’s one of the hardest accents to replicate and the only thing worse is Val Kilmer’s South African accent in The Saint. Plus, Dolittle made an $80 million profit…

Nominated: Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Screen Combo, Worst Prequel/Remake/Rip-off/Sequel, Worst Screenplay – 2019

Tyler Perry was even nominated for Worst Actress for this follow-up movie in his Grandma Madea franchise. The franchise isn’t meant to be Oscar worthy – instead, they’re made for inspiration and to give fans hope for their salvation… as well as an innocent laugh.

Eddie Murphy has done multi-character movies for years and they’ve also taken a knock at the Razzies, but Tyler is on a different level and his various characters – stern Grandma Madea especially – are believable and real.

Nominated: Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor, Worst Actress, Worst Screen Combo, Worst Prequel/Remake/Rip-off/Sequel – 2015

Playing literary and mythical heroes is tough. It takes blood, sweat and tears to get it right. And it takes the right actor. Kellan Lutz was coming off his Twilight fame at the time and looks the part in that military soldier regalia, taking on the role of Greek demigod hero Hercules. His task in this origins story is to regain his position as king after his cruel stepfather sold him into slavery as a child.

Why did it bomb at the box office? Not because it’s bad – it had the worst luck with timing ever: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s movie Hercules came out in the exact same year and stole Kellan and co’s thunder, relegating it to the “also ran” pile.

Nominated: Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Screen Combo, Worst Screenplay – 2018

The toughest thing about starring in a biographical drama is that you often can’t speak to the people you’re portraying because they’re dead. So you rely on their family and friends for help creating the “character”. And when it comes to controversial mob boss John Gotti, aka The Teflon Don, of course the late mobster’s family are going to paint him as a hero and a saviour and a good guy despite the things he was accused of.

This movie was never going to win Oscars, and relied on crowd-funding for its budget because no big-screen studio was going to back it, but that doesn’t mean John Travolta, his late wife Kelly Preston and the other cast did a bad job. It’s just slightly skewed.

Nominated: Worst Picture, Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Supporting Actor x2, Worst Screen Combo, Worst Director, Worst Prequel/Remake/Rip-off/Sequel – 2017

Ben Stiller’s really really really ridiculously good-looking male supermodel character has been the butt of jokes for 20 years and that’s the point – Zoolander is a zany spoof. You shouldn’t take the character or the movie seriously because it’s all for a laugh.

If you watched the first film, you’ll love the sequel that sees Derek (Ben) and his equally ditzy bestie Hansel (Owen Wilson) dragged into another model scandal in Rome. Keep an eye out for the who’s who of A-listers who begged for a cameo, like Justin Bieber, Penelope Cruz, Christiane Amanpour and more!

Nominated: Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay; Winner: Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Screen Combo – 2014

Father-son duo Will and Jaden Smith team up in this sci-fi action flick about a – no surprises here – father and son who’re stranded on a desolate planet. Cypher (Will) is injured during the crash landing, leaving his son Kitai (Jaden) to travel across the world to find safety and help. Visually, it’s beautiful thanks to incredible CGI and animation.

Screenplay-wise, it could’ve done with some work. If it was as bad as critics made it seem, fans wouldn’t have helped give it a $100 million profit on a massive $150 million budget and Will and Jaden wouldn’t have worked together again (PS: they’ve teamed up multiple times since then).

Nominated: So Rotten You Loved It – 2017

The Fifty Shades movies (you can also watch Fifty Shades of Grey on Showmax) didn’t live up to their literary origins but show us a movie adaptation that does. It does exactly what it says on the box – it’s a film about the Fifty Shades Darker novel by EL James and sees Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) continue her somewhat awkward, somewhat dark romance with kinky billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) who likes a little pain, and a little domination.

Is their relationship somewhat off the beaten track? Sure. Is it still worth the watch if you’re in the mood for a little exploration of your sexual side? Yes!

Nominated: Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Screen Ensemble, Worst Director, Worst Screen Couple, Worst Screenplay – 2012

Wow – seven Razzie nominations and it still made a $1 billion profit! Sure, fans hated the fact that director Michael Bay fired Megan Fox and replaced her with a literal younger model (ex-Victoria’s Secret Angel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) whose delivery is stilted, but it’s a sci-fi movie about alien robots. It’s entertainment.

It has the exact same, if not better, CGI as the previous Transformers movies, tells a different story (about another way to save the Autobots’ home planet Cybertron) and features cameos from real-life astronaut Buzz Aldrin and the voice of the iconic actor Leonard Nimoy, who also voiced Galvatron in the 1986 animated Transformers movie.

The Sandler stuff

Comedian Adam Sandler is way off the beaten track. You either love him or you hate him – nay, detest and deplore him. He has his own style, he has his own gimmicks and Adam more or less stays in his own lane. He’ll never win an Oscar because the establishment looks down on the goofy guy whose characters almost always have some form of speech impediment or mental incapacity, scream and shout, and enjoy playing basketball.

If you’re not a fan, cool. But if you love Adam and his besties’ work, here are some of his flicks that took a Razzie lickin’ but kept on tickin’…

Nominated: Worst Picture, Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Screenplay – 2015

Adam plays Sam Brenner, a retired arcade game champion of legendary status. He’s called to the White House when aliens attack and the visitors have taken on the form and mannerisms of, well, arcade video games. From Pac-Man to Donkey Kong, the aliens look like pixelated game characters and they’re taking over the world. I

t’s now up to Sam and his team of loser-heroes to save the world. Keep an eye out for big-name actors like Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage and Brian Cox enjoying a laugh with Adam.

Nominated: Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Screen Combo, Worst Prequel/Remake/Rip-off/Sequel, Worst Screenplay – 2014

Adam’s character Lenny reunites with his besties (played by Adam’s real-life besties Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade and Will Ferrell) when he moves back to his hometown and discovers that the more life changes, the more it stays the same.

Bullies are still bullying, the drunk cops are still drinking on the job, and the crazy bus driver really is crazy.

Nominated: Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Screen Couple, Worst Director, Worst Screen Ensemble; Winner: Worst Actor, Worst Screenplay – 2013

Just to anger movie critics, Adam brought in the actor nicknamed Adam Sandler Jr – Andy Samberg, who you’ll recognise from Brooklyn Nine Nine. They’ve both been on SNL, they’re both Jewish, they look vaguely alike and best of all, their comedy styling is almost identical.

Adam plays Donny, a drunk, wild loser who gatecrashes his estranged son Todd’s (Andy) wedding. It’s all comedy, all jokes, all crass humour and double the Sandler satire as Adam and Andy put on a comedy tag-team effort the likes of which we may never see again. Plus, Vanilla Ice makes an appearance – he was nominated for Worst Supporting Actor… for playing himself.