Razzies celebrate the worst movies of 2016

By Howie Nave

Most everyone knows about the annual Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (also referred to as the Oscars) celebrating Hollywood’s best, but what about Hollywood’s worst movies? I mean, c’mon, how many times have you seen a movie and wished that the theater had a refund table set up in the lobby so you could get your money back if the movie you just watched was universally deplorable?

There have always been bad movies, but until John Wilson came along there was never a platform to acknowledge those movies and give out an award to show how much their work was admired. This Saturday marks the 37th annual Razzie Awards celebrating the worst that Hollywood has to offer. And just like the Oscars there are categories to highlight individual achievements (or more accurately lack of).

Howie Nave, left, with Razzie creator/producer John Wilson. Photo/Provided

The Razzies has your basic main categories such as Worst Picture, Worst Actor/Actress, Worst Supporting Actor/Actress, Worst Director and Worst Screenplay and a couple of bonus categories too such as Worst Screen Combo and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel.

Every year I look forward to chatting with Razzie creator Wilson. He’s been on my morning radio show now for 15 years. If you want, you can tune in to hear our chat this Thursday morning by going to KRLT 93-9 FM or online (in real time) at KRLTFM.com. John said the Razzie Awards (originally called the Golden Raspberry Awards) wasn’t really planned, but got its start in his living room back in 1981 with some of his friends over mocking the Oscars and his friends given ballots that they filled out with the movie, “Can’t Stop the Music” winning what would be the very first Razzie for Worst Movie. Now the event has taken on such a life all its on it has become as much of pop culture as the annual Oscars show.

Over the years some of Hollywood’s elite has actually embraced the Razzie Awards. “Showgirls” (which received a record 13 Razzie nominations, a record that still stands) director Paul Verhoeven appeared in person to accept his Razzie for Worst Picture of 1995. Wilson said, “He sat through the entire ceremony and then got up at the end and said, ‘Obviously my film has entertained you, but not in the way I intended it to.'”

In 2005, Oscar winning actress Halle Berry made national headlines when she not only accepted her Razzie, but took it one step further when she parodied her Academy Award acceptance speech (for her Best Actress nod for “Monsters Ball”) taking home the Razzie for Worst Actress award for her performance in “Catwoman.”

My favorite though (and Wilson’s) was the year actress Sandra Bullock won a Razzie for Worst Actress in 2010 for her performance in “All About Steve” and then the following night won an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in “The Blind Side” making it a first to win a Worst and Best Actress in one weekend. What made the event more memorable (and showing she has a wicked sense of humor) not only did Bullock accept her Razzie, but came out on stage pulling a red wagon full of DVDs of “All About Steve” taking her Worst Actress trophy along with the Worst Movie award for “All About Steve.” After winning her Oscar the next night Bullock said, “You know, nothing ever lets me get too full of myself.” She promised to keep both her Razzie and Oscar trophies prominently displayed in her home. “They’ll sit side by side on a nice little shelf somewhere,” she said. “The Razzie maybe on a different shelf … lower.”

Wilson said he wishes Hollywood would make more original movies and not so many turkeys so he wouldn’t have to nominate so many. I not only agreed, but I’ve exalted on my radio show that Hollywood seems lazy making remakes and sequels that are just lame. Wilson piped up saying, “Howie, we created a category with that in mind.” It’s my favorite category too. In fact, there are some pretty selections in the Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel category. This year’s worst are:

“Alice Through the Looking Glass”
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
“Fifty Shades of Black”
“Independence Day: Resurgence”
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows”
“Zoolander No. 2.”

I’m hoping they all tie. But if I had to choose just one I’m going with “Independence Day: Resurgence.” Why an actor the caliber of Jeff Goldblum would return to be part of that horrific movie still baffles me. At least Will Smith had the dignity to pass on it so the filmmakers made it known that his character had been killed off; that’s why he couldn’t be in this vomitfest of a movie.

There are so many hilarious stories that Razzie creator Wilson has told over the years when he’s on my radio show the week before his show, but one that I never heard before was when Donald Trump “won” a Razzie award playing himself back in 1990 starring opposite Bo Derek in the fantasy crime turkey film, “Ghosts Can’t Do It.” In one scene he tells Derek, “Be assured Mrs. Scott, that in this room there are knives sharp enough to cut you to the bone and hearts cold enough to eat yours as hors d’oeuvres.” The movie would go on to win for Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Director and Worst Supporting Actor, Trump.

Here are the categories for this year’s Razzie nominations:

Worst Picture

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
“Dirty Grandpa”
“Gods of Egypt”
“Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party”
“Independence Day: Resurgence”
“Zoolander No. 2”

Worst Actor

Ben Affleck, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
Gerard Butler, “Gods of Egypt” & “London Has Fallen”
Henry Cavill, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
Robert de Niro, “Dirty Grandpa”
Dinesh D’Souza, “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party”
Ben Stiller, “Zoolander No. 2”

Worst Actress

Megan Fox, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows”
Tyler Perry, “BOO! A Medea Halloween”
Julia Roberts, “Mother’s Day”
Becky Turner, “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party”
Naomi Watts, “Divergent Series: Allegiant” & “Shut-In”
Shailene Woodley, “Divergent Series: Allegiant”

Worst Supporting Actress

Julianne Hough, “Dirty Grandpa”
Kate Hudson, “Mother’s Day”
Aubrey Plaza, “Dirty Grandpa”
Jane Seymour, “Fifty Shades of Black”
Sela Ward, “Independence Day: Resurgence”
Kristen Wiig, “Zoolander No. 2”

Worst Supporting Actor

Nicolas Cage, “Snowden”
Johnny Depp, “Alice Through the Looking Glass”
Will Ferrell, “Zoolander No. 2”
Jesse Eisenberg, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
Jared Leto, “Suicide Squad”
Owen Wilson, “Zoolander No. 2”

Worst Director

Dinesh D’Souza & Bruce Schooley, “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party”
Roland Emmerich, “Independence Day: Resurgence”
Tyler Perry, “BOO! A Medea Halloween”
Alex Proyas, “Gods of Egypt”
Zack Snyder, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
Ben Stiller, “Zoolander No. 2”

Worst Screenplay

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
“Dirty Grandpa”
“Gods of Egypt”
“Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party”
“Independence Day: Resurgence”
“Suicide Squad”

Worst Screen Combo

Ben Affleck & His BFF (Baddest Foe Forever) Henry Cavill, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”
Any 2 Egyptian Gods or Mortals, “Gods of Egypt”
Johnny Depp & His Vomitously Vibrant Costume, “Alice Through the Looking Glass”
The Entire Cast of Once Respected Actors, “Collateral Beauty”
Tyler Perry & That Same Old Worn Out Wig, “BOO! A Medea Halloween”
Ben Stiller & His BFF (Barely Funny Friend) Owen Wilson, “Zoolander No. 2”

Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off, or Sequel

Howie Nave is host/emcee/manager of The Improv at Harveys. You can hear him Monday-Friday 6 to 10am on KRLT FM-93.9.