Ever since then, they’ve been handing out their humbling awards to some of Hollywood’s brightest stars. Here’s a look at the winners, from the excruciating musicals and thrill-free thriller rip-offs to documentaries that might as well be called infomercials.
2021: Diana: The Musical
The NetFlix version of the year’s biggest Broadway bomb, Diana: The Musical “won” in five categories: Worst Picture; Worst Actress, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay.
This year the Razzie winner featured some of the year’s most ridiculed dialogue and lyrics – Including rhyming “Camilla” with both “Manilla” and “Godzilla”. Yikes!
2020: Absolute Proof
Mike Lindell's Shakespearean descent into insanity has been well documented, mostly by himself. This 'docu-movie' proved to be a total snooze fest. Lots of made-up data without credible sources or more commonly sources not even provided.
Every single shred of so-called "evidence" this infomercial presents has been stomped on, destroyed, and debunked before. What is equally weird is the music. Most of it sounds like student film horror movie material, but it is paced in the strangest places and with inappropriate volumes.
2019: Cats
A complete flop, which is disappointing considering fans of the 1981 original waited impatiently for the film's release. The 2019 film featured a star-studded ensemble cast, including James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, and Taylor Swift, to name a few. So what went terribly wrong? Everything!
Following its release, the film received negative reviews from both critics and fans. Everything about the film was wrong, from the CGI effects to the plot, "Cats" was a box-office bomb that grossed a mere $75 million, losing Universal Pictures as much as $114 million. When you have such a Tony award-winning play, why try turning it into a film? Let it be!
2018: Holmes & Watson
As soon as you see Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are doing another film together, you know that it’s gonna be so bad it’s good! Then again, Step Brothers were on another level of comedic genius. Not to mention Talladega Nights. Not that we’re trying to relive the glory days, but it seems Holmes & Watson just didn’t quite hit the funny bone as hard as their previous cinematic endeavors.
A parody of Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic detective duo, Holmes and Watson, unfortunately, was awarded the Golden Raspberry of 2018. We feel it’s best summed up in this review on Rotten Tomatoes: “It’s lazy, it’s unfunny and it’s a good thing critics didn’t get to review Holmes & Watson before the end of the year: Worst Movie of 2018? Elementary, my dear Watson.” Ouch!
2017: The Emoji Movie
Sure, emojis are part of daily life, so much so that Hollywood actually thought, "why not make a movie about it? Let’s use ALL the CGI! Let’s make a blockbuster!" Unfortunately, it was a flop. Despite calling on the star power and credentials of James Corden, Patrick Stewart, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph, and the fabulous Christina Aguilera, it was a case of Sisyphus eternally pushing a boulder uphill, but always falling short.
Yes, the bouncing yellow animated emojis got kids to drag their unwilling parents along, making $217.8 million at the box office, but we’ve got a feeling the next time someone suggests a film about emojis, it’s going straight into the trash. Helen O’Hara from Empire gave a review which is cutting, but most probably deserved – “it’s tempting to sum up in thumbs down emoji.”
2016: Batman vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice
Not even the glorious Gal Gadot playing the role of Wonder Woman could save this film from disaster. In the DC Universe, Wonder Woman certainly trumps both the Superman and Batman franchises. When you’re competing with the likes of Marvel Studios, you’d want to put your best foot, or superhero forward. Now, Superman and Batman have both been done before, and we’re sure they’ll be done again, but, really? Batman KILLING Superman?
Fans lined up to see the “Man of Steel” come up against Gotham’s savior, but unfortunately, it was just as underwhelming as the film introducing the world to the new Superman. While hard hitters like Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck took center stage, it was a little too much brawn with not enough brains. The best part of the film? Critics agree it was definitely getting a first glimpse at the new Wonder Woman.
2015: Fantastic Four
With a review from Rolling Stone as searing as “Fantastic Four is a pile of something, too. You fill in the blank,” really, there isn’t much more to say, is there? Some films, no matter how many reboots, just aren’t going to do well. After the initial reboot in 2004, starring the likes of Jessica Alba and Chris Evans, the studio decided that “ah, 10 years have passed, people have forgotten, let’s make another one!”
Anyway, it seems that even Captain America was shaking his head at his role as the “Human Torch” – regardless, if he hadn’t signed on to the film, perhaps he wouldn’t now have the title of owning “America’s Ass. ”
2013: Movie 43
So when we went to do our research to back up Movie 43 being awarded the Golden Raspberry for 2014, it was Catherine Shoard’s headline that caught our eye: “Movie 43: why did so many Hollywood stars sign up for the humiliation?” We read no further on Google’s results – this article summed it up quite nicely.
With stars such as Halle Berry, Kate Winslet, and Aussie heartthrob Hugh Jackman, Hollywood was almost certain they’d hit a home run. Think again. With fourteen different storylines, they were certainly going for an Orson Welles type approach, however, it backfired, and that’s why the greats stay great!
2012: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
Surprisingly, this is the only Twilight saga film to have been awarded a Golden Raspberry. It makes sense though – it’s the final installment, and how many films with sequels do you know where the sequel is just as good as the first? Not saying that the first film was amazing…unless you’re a 13-year-old fantasy fiction reader or a 45-year-old “cool mom.” Oh yeah, we went there.
Despite being awarded the Razzie for 2012, it actually rated on Rotten Tomatoes. Critically speaking, it actually did better than Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and we think it’s owing to the fact it was indeed the last film in the franchise. The metaphorical final nail in the coffin.
2011: Jack And Jill
Sadly, gone are the good ole’ days of Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore, among a host of other notoriously funny films, masterminded by Adam Sandler. Despite his successful run , it seems that even Sandler couldn’t pull a white rabbit out of the hat in Jack and Jill. Considered “one of the worst films ever made,” Sandler took a leaf out of Eddie Murphy’s book, playing both the male and female twins.
You’d think that serious actors like Al Pacino would swat away a proposal to appear in such a film, but hey, there are things we will never understand. While a little of Pacino’s star power might have drawn in a few weary cinema-goers, this movie was nothing short of catastrophic. Of twelve nominated Razzie awards, it won ten!
2010: The Last Airbender
Despite a cult following and a lot of hype leading up to its release, there were just a few small problems. For example, the fact that directors were trying to hire white actors to play characters written to be East Asian and even Inuit. Talk about controversial. The fans definitely didn’t like that, even if all they wanted was to see their graphic novels come to life on the big screen.
Following these glaring issues and the ensuing fan revolt, it’s unsurprising that this film was awarded the Golden Raspberry for 2010. With a sadly low 6% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert, an esteemed critic, salutes the film with the comment: “it was an agonizing experience in every category I can think of.”
2009: Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
Babes, blasts, and BS – that pretty much sums up 2009’s Razzie winner. Directed by none other than Michael Bay, it’s no surprise that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was the hyped-up sequel to the world’s first look at the Transformers franchise. Where the first one actually had a storyline, the sequel was somewhat lacking in the imagination department.
CGI fights, Megan Fox in shorts, deception, Autobots, and end credits. Sorry for the spoilers, but we just saved you a $15 movie ticket. Sure, we were underwhelmed, but the critics were a little more verbal about it, as Empire writer Nick de Semlyen comments “a super-sized second helping, but the novelty factor and some of the charm’s gone..." Don’t say we didn’t tell you!
2008: The Love Guru
Now, you’d think that the man who brought us Austin Powers and Shrek, would have quite a store of creative juices. When The Love Guru was released, we all thought he’d dipped into his creative cocktail and was going to deliver a comedy to rival his previous successes. However, this was not the case.
With almost every joke falling flat, The Love Guru was an unfunny pastiche of skits. Dressed in traditional Indian garb and a hippie, 60s vibe going on, Meyers really didn’t think this one through. Critics hated it, and the studio even more so – did you know that it only made $40.8 million worldwide, against a $63 million budget?! That’s what we call, ladies and gentlemen, a flop.
2007: I Know Who Killed Me
We didn’t think there could be a worse film than Bratz, but apparently, there was, according to the panel awarding 2007’s Golden Raspberry. The film beat out Daddy Day Camp, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and of course, Bratz. Starring Lindsay Lohan - this was after her career peak in the 90s and early 2000s - the film focuses on a student who is abducted and brutally tortured. After her ordeal, she assumes another identity.
The film won Worst Picture, with Lohan herself picking up a few Razzies; among them Worst Actress and Worst Screen Couple. Sometimes with child/teen stars, it’s better they make their money young, invest, and enjoy the funds because they’re set for life without needing further embarrassment.
2006: Basic Instinct 2
Now, Basic Instinct is just one of those films you don’t mess with. It’s iconic, sexy and thrilling for a reason, and this is most likely due to the decade it was released in. Sure, they might have brought Sharon Stone back for the sequel and perhaps even her little white mini, sans underwear, but more than 20 years later, were producers truly that desperate to make some coin?
You know it’s Golden Raspberry-worthy when the director of the original film scoffed at the new script and flat-out refused to direct a film which was going to be somewhat sacrilegious. With reviews like “ludicrous” and “predictable”, it should’ve been instinctual to know not to resurrect a film from another time.
2005: Dirty Love
Written by and starring Jenny McCarthy, this won’t be the last time Hollywood produces a film about women and their quest to find Mr. Right. Beating films like The Dukes of Hazzard and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, this film really deserved the bottom spot. With a 4% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, lying somewhere between a rock and the comedy graveyard, this is a film you’ll want to miss.
Stephen Holden from The New York Times gave a brutally honest review: “even by the standards of its bottom-feeding genre, Dirty Love clings to the gutter like a rat in garbage” Ouch!
2004: Catwoman
No matter how good stretch leather looks on the gorgeous Halle Berry, it just wasn’t enough to distract audiences from how bad this film was. No plot? No dollars. No dollars? No film studio. What does that mean? Don't make another film, Hollywood, except if it’s a la Christopher Nolan in The Dark Knight Rises and you're actually a director who knows what they're doing.
While Halle Berry did her character justice, the writers just didn’t seem to make it work for the comic-book hero. The “lone bright spot” had a tough time carrying the film, and for that reason, it won 2004’s Golden Raspberry for Worst Picture. However, there was one good thing that came out of it: (bedroom) wall posters of Halle Berry in leather!
2003: Gigli
Queen of rom-coms herself, everyone bows down for the Maid in Manhattan, Jennifer Lopez. It seems that often, love is blind, and blinding – particularly regarding careers. Lopez should’ve left Ben Affleck on the block she picked him up from and strutted her stuff on the movie circuit solo. Why? Well, when reviews of her performance alongside her then-boyfriend make the comment that they “lack chemistry”, you know something’s up.
Mixing a mob story and a romantic comedy is the unconventional love story that Hollywood really shouldn’t have dabbled in. Our favorite review is the one by Newsweek, “after the schadenfreudian thrill of watching beautiful people humiliate themselves wears off, it has the same annihilating effect on your will to live.” Ladies and gentlemen, the 2003 Golden Raspberry hath been served.
2002: Swept Away
2002’s Golden Raspberry goes to Guy Ritchie's film, Swept Away. Starring then-wife and musical legend Madonna, the film is a remake of the classic 1974 romantic Italian film. A fan of the original, critic Roger Ebert was unimpressed with Ritchie’s attempt, noting that Madonna didn’t do her role justice: “Striking a pose is not the same as embodying a person, and a role like this one requires the surrender of emotional control, something Madonna seems constitutionally unable to achieve.”
Having the dishonor of being the Worst Picture of 2002, it really was swept away quickly from box office billboards, grossing under $600,000 in the U.S., despite a $10 million budget!
2001: Freddy Got Fingered
Just from this god-awful title, we know this isn’t going to be good, nor is the verdict for the film. The writing and directing debut of MTV comedian Tom Green, Bob Waliszewski from Plugged In remarked that “Tom Green has created a new underbelly for the underbelly”. What embarked on a journey as a surrealist black comedy which mirrored the director’s own struggle to reach fame, turned into a total fallacy.
The part that has critics scratching their heads? The fact that the film managed to earn just a little more than the budget, pulling in $14.3 million. Funnier still, this Razzie-awarded film went on to achieve something of a cult film status. Mind = blown. Much like Freddy’s.
2000: Battlefield Earth
John, John, John. It really is an awful shame when big stars stoop and create films that aren’t even mediocre. The award for Worst Picture in the millennium year went to Battlefield Earth. The film, inspired by the church of Scientology, was actually based on the 1982 novel by L. Ron Hubbard (the head honcho of Scientology!).
The film didn’t just win Worst Picture, but also Worst Picture of the Decade! And 2000 had only just ushered in a new decade. While the film only covers the first half of Hubbard’s novel, reviews and box office failure meant any plans for a sequel were thrown straight into the trash. And thank god for that.
1999: Wild, Wild West
Now, 1999 meant a few things for Will Smith – it meant creating a film that was to be awarded the Razzie for that year, as well as turning down the lead role in a film which would’ve made him a cult film superstar. That film, you ask? He turned down The Matrix. To be honest, we can’t see anyone but Keanu Reeves playing Neo now, so…maybe it was for the best?
In lieu of starring in The Matrix, Smith decided he was better off playing in a Hollywood Western comedy, alongside the smoking hot Mexican actress, Salma Hayek. Whilst it was a light-hearted comedy, it did have a killer title song – who can forget Will Smith’s catchy rap? Enjoyable, but just not exactly Oscar-worthy. Watch it when you’ve got nothing else to do or need some background noise. Oh, and it managed to rake in over 200 million USD, so not too shabby at all!
1998: Spice World
A film made purely to make some bank, given the success of arguably Britain’s most famous girl-group, it wasn’t exactly meant to be a showstopper.
Perhaps it deserved the Golden Raspberry Award for 1998, but for every teenage girl (and boy) dancing in their rooms to their catchy tunes, it was basically the epitome of their adolescence. Fun, fabulous and a little ridiculous – yes, we’re talking about the Claymation scene – sure it might get the Razzie, but it captured a few hearts!
1997: The Postman
“I’m no one’s messenger boy, I’m a delivery boy” – look, with a title like The Postman, how couldn’t we make that reference? Anyway, back to handing out Razzies, this film was set in the future and was probably released a few years too soon. Now that we’re in 2019, you’d realize that the “near future” 2013 that The Postman was set in was certainly nothing like the reality of that year.
With a budget that reminded us it was a Hollywood production, its box office takings paled in comparison, drawing in less than a quarter of its budget, at $17 million US worldwide. Poor Kevin Costner. Razzie well deserved, and maybe they should’ve left Waterworld and the whole America-as-a-wasteland theme alone.
1996: Striptease
“The film’s premise is thinner than the heroine’s G-string.” Rita Kempley, we salute you! Despite Demi Moore looking absolutely lush and gorgeous in this film, it’s another film that critics just couldn’t take seriously. Perhaps because the film, like the 1995 Razzie winner (stay tuned!), involved women taking their clothes off, and not much else.
Sure, men would be lured in by the promise of a woman taking off her gear, but cinematically there really isn’t much to behold, apart from the “curves” of Moore’s body. It seems that the script was a filler for the scenes in which Demi Moore seductively dances. Special mention does go out to Burt Reynolds though, with critics remarking it was one of his best performances of the 90s.
1995: Showgirls
Another film about stripping that ended disastrously. Awarded to the 1995 film Showgirls, we find yet another Razzie-worthy film where a beautiful woman takes off her clothes to try and get to the top. As trusted critic Roger Ebert reviewed: “a sleaze fest like Showgirls promises the inside dope on Las Vegas, stripping, and all that stuff. What Showgirls delivers, however, seems basically to be Joe Eszterhas’ masturbatory fantasies.” Enough said.
Adults only, with a ton of nudity where “the sexy parts are when the girls put on their clothes,” this R-rated film is basically only good enough for teenage boys.
1994: Color Of The Night
We feel that Color of the Night was an attempt at redeeming Bruce Willis from his Hudson Hawk days and painting him as not only an action star but a bit of a sex symbol too. Sure, the storyline and characters are at best troubled, but this thriller-mystery film just seems to miss the mark. As a result, it was awarded the Golden Raspberry for 1994.
Despite not being the best film, it still has its lure, for obvious reasons. Jonathan Rosenbaum of Chicago Reader gives us a nice summary: “the plot gets so convoluted and farfetched that you still may be scratching your head after the denouement, but you probably won’t be bored.”
1993: Indecent Proposal
Despite being a huge box office hit, bringing in almost $270 million, the film was just morally wrong, and even a bit disturbing. Based on the novel of the same name, this drama was about a newly married couple’s relationship and how they dealt with a real-life test of their loyalty for each other. The test was Robert Redford (who was almost in dirty old man territory by the early 90s) offering newlywed Demi Moore $1 million to spend the night with him.
As you can imagine, feminists and respectable human beings alike didn’t really take to the idea that Demi Moore’s character could be so easily bought. Critics and Razzie award-givers just couldn’t understand the appeal to this film, but we get why audiences loved it. Surely it was a great dinner conversation starter – "would you do it? For a million dollars? A million!"
1992: Shining Through
We love Rotten Tomatoes for its brutal honesty. The synopsis begins: “Kewpie-doll voiced Melanie Griffith does a sexed-up Nancy Drew turn in David Seltzer’s adaptation of Susan Isaac’s novel Shining Through.” R-rated, for Razzie, the film took the top prize in 1992. Even with a saucy Melanie Griffith and the handsome Michael Douglas, the film sees a somewhat predictably “unpredictable” story set in the years of World War II. Yawn.
We weren’t the only ones who thought it either. The most disappointing part about this film was the fact that it had the potential to be something great – if it had remained true to the novel. Focusing more on the sex appeal than the script, this film’s Razzie was well deserved.
1991: Hudson Hawk
Everyone’s favorite action hero, Bruce Willis showed us, exactly why he’s an action hero and not a comedy star. Even though later on, in films like Cop Out, it seems he eventually found the world’s funny bone. Anyway, back to the steaming mess that was Hudson Hawk, sure, the premise seems entertaining: former jailbird is released from prison, just wants a good cappuccino before – oops, let’s do a few heists!
The “comedy” ensues from that point on. Yeah, go figure. In a somewhat ironic twist, the film was released just after Die Hard 2, so fans expected an action blockbuster. Boy, they must have felt they were in the wrong cinema when Hudson Hawk started! With a sizeable budget of $65 million US, the film bombed, taking only $17 million at the box office. No one was yippee ki-yay-ing, that’s for sure!
1990: Ghosts Can't Do It
We thought Bolero was bad, but it seems that John Derek just can’t stay away from producing bad films. Again, another film about sex from an equally perturbed place. IMDb’s synopsis says it all: “Elderly Scott kills himself after a heart attack wrecks his body, but then comes back as a ghost and convinces his loving young hot wife Kate to pick and kill a young man in order for Scott to possess his body and be with her again.” If that isn’t enough to turn your stomach, then you’re on your own!
So, an old pervert is with a hot young bird who apparently loves him, he kills himself because you know, he can’t “do it” anymore and can’t “enjoy” his young wife. One second, a bit of projectile vomiting coming up. Do we have to continue? This film is cringing enough.
1989: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
So, before we even get started on this installment in the Star Trek universe, firstly we need to establish: A) it’s 1989, the tech just ain’t as good as these days, and B) Oh wait, Star Wars was produced earlier than this and still managed to be decent for its time, C) Okay never mind, continue with awarding the Golden Raspberry.
The producer himself even remarked that he thought the film “nearly killed the franchise.” But reviews on Rotten Tomatoes show variety – Trek fans weren’t too happy with it, critics were indifferent, and some even enjoyed it, but on the whole, it seems there should’ve been a little more time dedicated to developing the story. It makes sense, considering the plotline involved Spock betraying Kirk.
1988: Cocktail
Ah, a young Tom Cruise. Nowadays he’s a hot-shot action movie star, but the actor of Top Gun fame was riding the celebrity train in the 80s. Cocktail was one of the many films the budding young actor released during that period. Featuring the song “Kokomo”, the film focuses on the life of a college student who works as a bartender to pay for his education. He works and works and then – oh wait, that’s it.
Lola Borg of Empire remarks “Cruise oozes as much charm as in Top Gun and The Colour of Money, but the mix of bar-acrobatics and Caribbean love isn't anywhere near strong enough to get you drunk.” Cruise himself admitted a few years later it wasn’t exactly the highlight of his career. 5% on Rotten Tomatoes. Next.
1987: Leonard Part 6
Parody films only really work if they’re done well. As for Leonard Part 6? Well, the verdict was not so good. Awarded the Golden Raspberry in 1987, the American spy parody film starred and was produced by the now-infamous Bill Cosby.
Funnily enough, Cosby himself denounced the film; just weeks before its release, he came out and basically said he wasn’t proud of it. Apparently, the reputation he had given it certainly lived up to the expectations of audiences and critics alike: the expectation that it was going to be terrible. Winning three Razzies, including Worst Picture, it’s considered one of the worst films ever made.
1986: Howard The Duck
Even though this film premiered in 1986 and was a bit of a flop, the joke is on all the critics who panned Howard the Duck – did you know he made a cameo appearance 28 years later in Guardians of the Galaxy, and most recently, in the latest installment of The Avengers? The cigar-smoking drake perhaps went over audiences' heads in the 80s, but hey, Guardians is all about a talking raccoon and a talking tree.
However hard Howard the Duck might have tried to persuade us that “ducks can talk”, it just wasn’t going to fly for 80s cinemagoers. Despite the fans of the OG Marvel comic book, and Howard giving the film a somewhat cult status, it is still considered one of the worst films ever made. Financially it was a bit of a disaster too – making just $15 million after the studio forked out $30 million for its production.
1986: Under The Cherry Moon
Tied closely with Howard the Duck in 1986, is Under the Cherry Moon. Starring and directed by iconic singer-songwriter Prince, the film is like the earlier, poorer version of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which was to premiere two years later.
Sure, the musical drama might satiate Prince’s crazed fans, but for general audiences, it's definitely better to stick to enjoying the soundtrack and leave the film to the die-hards. Winning five Razzies, Prince scored himself Worst Actor too! We’re kind of sad Kristin Scott Thomas scored Worst Supporting Actress, but hey, when you sign on to a film that stars someone who’s paid for their music and not their acting, what do you expect?
1985: Rambo: First Blood Part II
Okay, so we’re just checking that what fans know as Rambo 2 actually won the Golden Raspberry for 1985. Damn, Wilson, you are savage. Let’s be real though – most of the time critics are looking for flawless storylines, cinematography, and hard-hitting drama. Rambo isn’t really one of those stories.
Rambo: First Blood Part II is the type of film you go and watch when you want some action. Explosions, blood, a good guy, a bad guy and (hopefully) a happy ending involving a chopper. So, despite the critics panning this one, and it receiving a Golden Raspberry, we’re sticking with Stallone and saying "Go, Rambo"!
1984: Bolero
Drum roll, please. The winner for 1984’s Golden Raspberry is…Bolero! Hollywood loves a bit of romance, so when you can add a splash of drama, it’s bound to be a hit, right? Just to be safe, they even put a conventionally gorgeous woman in there and made it about her sexual awakening.
We’ve just about had it with Hollywood – we want to see the sexual awakening of a frog, thank you very much! Anyway, the film was a flop, and enough of a flop to earn nominations for nine Golden Raspberry Awards, winning six of them. Sorry Bo Derek, but your husband John was being just a tad creepy directing a film with that kind of storyline.
1983: The Lonely Lady
Winning the Golden Raspberry for 1983, this is a disastrous film about the unraveling of a screenwriter’s starred career, revealing the truth of how she reached the peak of her fame during an awards ceremony. Some have gone as far to say that it is the “worst film of all time”– the film poster, for example, shows a naked couple during an intimate scene, with the caption “from the sensual world of Harold Robbins comes the story of a woman’s struggle for fame in Hollywood.”
There are so many things wrong with that situation that we don’t even know where to begin. The main character, Pia Zadora cozies up to toxic men to sleep her way to the top, basically. We’re with Ebert on this one: “If The Lonely Lady had even a shred of style and humor, it could qualify as the worst movie of the year. Unfortunately, it’s not that good.”
1982: Inchon
Sure, the idea seemed swell. The cast seemed even better. With the cinematic presence of Laurence Olivier and the beautiful Jacqueline Bissett, all set in a war-time drama, what could possibly go wrong?
Based on the amphibious invasion of Inchon during the Korean War in 1950, the only thing that bombed was the film. With an estimated budget of $46 million, it was appallingly received, bringing in less than $2 million. As per Rotten Tomatoes, “this big-budget epic re-creation of the battle of Inchon proved too ponderous to save itself from certain death…plagued with problems.”
1981: Mommie Dearest
Ah, the inaugural year of the Golden Raspberry Awards. A biographical film, the glamorous yet lonely Joan Crawford is brought to life by Faye Dunaway. And we’re going to stop describing the film right there. All you need to know? Well, it’s succinctly put by our favorite critic, Roger Ebert.
Enjoy the following: “Mommie Dearest is a painful experience that drones on endlessly, as Joan Crawford’s relationship with her daughter..” (blah blah), “it is…depressing, not to any purpose of drama or entertainment, but just to depress. It left me feeling creepy.” Dear oh dear. Let’s skip viewing that one!
1980: Can't Stop The Music
Loosely based on the banding together of the Village People, it seems that this film was rather far from the truth of how the fabulous troupe came to be. Released as a musical comedy, unfortunately, there were more laughs had AT the film rather than in the film.
It’s not surprising that Wilson also found this movie to be disturbing enough to his theatrical sensibilities that it earned a Razzie. Did you know that Caitlyn Jenner, formerly Mr. Bruce Jenner, also an Olympic athlete, made a brief appearance in the film?
1980: Xanadu
Blonde bombshell Olivia Newton-John twirls and whirls around after her wonderful success with Grease, roller skates on and magical, mystical beings appear – okay, you get the picture. Now, as you know, John J.B. Wilson started the Golden Raspberry Awards in 1981, a year after this film was released. But the kicker is, this was the film that inspired it all!
Following an excruciating back-to-back viewing of Xanadu and Can’t Stop the Music, that was when Wilson knew he needed to create the dis-honorary Razzie awards. So, we suppose we should thank Olivia Newton-John for being part of a film that set the wheels in motion for a rather unceremonious awards ceremony.