The so-called “Golden Raspberry Awards” or “Razzies” have grown from an Oscar night party tradition created by publicist John J.B. Wilson in 1981 to an annual event that aims to take movie industry self-importance down a peg by handing out trophies for the year’s worst “achievements” in filmmaking.
But while the Razzies are well-covered, many film fans have long derided the yearly routine as missing the opportunity to more boldly satirize the movie biz by skewering more controversial sacred cows (as opposed to rubber-stamping whichever box-office flop was already agreed upon as the year’s biggest dud) - with some hoping that the social and political turmoil gripping popular culture in 2017 would spur a more interesting Razzie experience this time around.
Now, those hopes appear to have been answered (at least in part), with the full list of Razzie winners showing wide cross-category dominance by two of the most controversial nominees: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a superhero blockbuster incinerated by most critics but passionately defended by a contingent of outspoken fans, and Hillary’s America: The Secret History of The Democratic Party, a widely-panned political hit-piece produced by disgraced onetime conservative media personality Dinesh D’Souza. Between the two nominees, the film with the most nominations (the Ben Stiller sequel Zoolander 2) was widely shut out of winning, taking home only one anti-prize for Kristen Wiig as 2017’s Worst Supporting Actress.
Hillary’s America was the bigger “winner” of the two, taking the top prize as Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor (D’Souza, as himself) and Worst Actress (Beck Turner, who portrayed Clinton in recreation and fantasy sequences). Batman V Superman, meanwhile, was (dis)honored with statues for Worst Supporting Actor (Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor), Worst Screen Combo (Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill), Worst Screenplay and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel. On the more uplifting side, The Razzies also opted to give their Redeemer Award - typically gifted to former “Worst” winners who display significant subsequent improvement - to former Worst Supporting Actor winner Mel Gibson in recognition of his Academy Award nomination for the bloody World War II epic Hacksaw Ridge.
While The Razzies have always positioned themselves as a comedy-flavored endeavor aiming to have a good laugh at the excesses of their own industry, the heavy focus on D’Souza and Hillary’s America will almost certainly be seen as the group using their platform to take a political stand. While not a major success on release, the film was widely viewed as part of the organized propaganda campaign believed to have damaged the election chances of the titular Democrat candidate; she was narrowly defeated via the Electoral College system by current President Donald Trump, who has already developed a contentious animosity with much of the U.S. film and entertainment industries.
Source: The Razzies
