It wouldn’t be awards season without Hollywood acknowledging some of the year’s worst movies. The 41st Golden Raspberry Awards – known as the Razzies – handed out gongs for what the ceremony deems the lowlights of Hollywood’s year.
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani won the worst supporting actor prize for his appearance in Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedy sequel Borat: Subsequent Movie Film. The ceremony also snagged Johnny Depp for Sherlock Gnomes, John Travolta for Gotti and Melissa McCarthy’s R-rated puppet movie The Happytime Murders.
Donald Trump won a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his cameo ap in Borat: Subsequent Movie Film
The 39th Annual Razzie Awards have honored (convicted?) some of Hollywood’s worst films and performances, with the not-so-funny prankster himself landing a top spot for Worst Supporting Actor. Rudy Giuliani received the award for his cameo in Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat sequel, which sees the former New York City mayor being tricked into a fake interview with actress Maria Bakalova, who also stars in the upcoming Sia music video about autism.
Giuliani’s appearance in the new film has caused quite a stir, with a promotional clip showing him reaching into his trousers and touching his genitals in the presence of Bakalova, who is posing as Borat’s on-screen daughter, making headlines. A representative for Giuliani has not yet commented on the controversy.
Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm, a scattershot comedy about the delivery of a prodigious bribe to Kazakhstan, isn’t as cohesive or successful as the original, but it still offers a few laugh-out-loud moments. As with the Ali G show, hapless Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev turns the friendly condescension of average Americans into a weapon, using his bumbling buffoonery to mortify and reflect their own bigotry back at them.
Bakalova, who won the Oscar-nominated “Music” in 2017, invests her character with madcap energy and genuine conviction. Her portrayal of Borat’s on-screen daughter is particularly striking, as she tries to break out of her figurative cage with a journey that’s full of heart and insight. But it’s the film’s broadsides against social media platforms that enable antisemitism — with Borat learning from Facebook that the Holocaust was nothing more than a fairytale — that really resonate.
Other winners include Melissa McCarthy for her role as a sex-crazed TV host in Death of a Nation and the Sherlock spoof Holmes & Watson, which picked up the prizes for Worst Picture, Worst Actor, Worst Director and Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequequel. The sex-crazed horror film Cabin Fever won the award for Worst Screenplay. Robert Downey Jr’s utterly unconvincing Welsh accent in Dolittle and the erotic Polish drama 365 Days were named worst screenplay and worst remake, rip-off or sequel, respectively.
Trump won a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his cameo ap in Death of a Nation
Before (and sometimes even during) his political career, Donald Trump made cameo appearances on TV shows and movies as himself. But none of his movie roles were as memorable as his 1989 flop Ghosts Can’t Do It, which earned him the infamous Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor. The tongue-in-cheek Razzies are an annual event that celebrate Hollywood’s worst movies and performances. Winners are given gold, spray-painted trophies at a ceremony held on the eve of the Oscars.
The 39th annual Razzies were handed out on Saturday, recognizing some of the year’s biggest flops. John Travolta’s mob movie flop Gotti and the Will Ferrell Sherlock Holmes spoof Holmes & Watson both won four Golden Raspberries, including worst picture and worst screen combo. Conservative provocateur Dinesh D’Souza’s documentary Death of a Nation and Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 11/9 also won six nominations each.
Melissa McCarthy rounded out the top three winners, taking home Worst Actress for her role in both the R-rated puppet comedy The Happytime Murders and the acclaimed biopic Can You Ever Forgive Me? She beat out fellow nominees like Depp, Travolta and a host of other stars for her performance.
While the President hasn’t starred in any of this year’s best films, he’s been nominated for several Oscar-worthy movies. He was nominated for the upcoming Quentin Tarantino film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, as well as his own Netflix original movie The Prince of Orange and the remake of The Magnificent Seven.
The other big winner of the night was the raunchy FX series Atlanta. The show received a record 10 nominations, including best TV movie or miniseries and favorite comedic series. The satirical drama’s creator, Bill Burr, also won a Razzie for worst director and was nominated for two more awards in the categories of worst actor and screen combination and worst television writer and producer.
Some celebrities have shown good humor about winning a Razzie, with Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis both accepting their awards before winning Academy Awards the following year. But it’s not clear whether Trump will take his win in stride. He didn’t attend the ceremony, but he did tweet about his win.
Trump won a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his cameo ap in Fahrenheit 11/9
President Trump and a comedy take on Sherlock Holmes were the big winners at the 39th annual Razzie Awards, which celebrate the worst movies and performances of 2018. The tongue-in-cheek awards are considered Hollywood’s anti-Oscars ceremony. They are presented a day before the Oscars on February 23, and winners receive a gold, spray-painted trophy. John Travolta’s mob movie flop Gotti, the Will Ferrell/John C Reilly Sherlock Holmes spoof Holmes & Watson and conservative provocateur Dinesh D’Souza’s documentary Death of a Nation each received six nominations. The latter two films competed against each other in the worst picture category, as did Gotti and the R-rated puppet comedy The Happytime Murders. The satirical film about Hollywood’s ‘never-ending quest for celebrity, fame and fortune,’ starring Adam Sandler, earned six nods, including worst actress and worst screen combo for Sandler and co-star Melissa McCarthy.
John Oliver, host of Last Week Tonight, mocked Trump’s cameo in Fahrenheit 11/9 for his “creepy pout that will haunt your dreams.” Trump has had a long history of appearing as himself in TV and movies. He won a Razzie in 1991 for his role as himself in the romantic crime fantasy film Ghosts Can’t Do It, which also starred Bo Derek. He was nominated the following year for Worst New Star but lost out to Sofia Coppola for her role in The Godfather Part III.
Trump’s other two nominations came for his appearance in the documentaries Death of a Nation from conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza and Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 11/9. He also received a nod for worst supporting actor alongside fellow political operative Kellyanne Conway for their roles in D’Souza’s film and a nomination for a second consecutive year as Worst Supporting Actor.
The winners of the Razzies are selected by around 1,000 members of the Golden Raspberry Foundation, which describes itself as a parody of Hollywood’s Academy Awards. Voting takes place online and membership costs $40. Repeat winners include Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Adam Sandler. Past winners have shown good humor in accepting their Razzies, with Sandra Bullock famously joking that she was “going to give the Razzies to myself.” The winner for Worst Actor will be announced on January 25, with the other awards to follow shortly after.
Trump won a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his cameo ap in Holmes & Watson
As a not-so-fun antidote to the Oscars, the annual Golden Raspberry Awards (nicknamed the Razzies) honor Hollywood’s worst films and performances. This year, President Trump and a comedy movie take on Sherlock Holmes dominated the show. The Will Ferrell and John C Reilly film Holmes & Watson won four Razzies, including worst picture and worst remake, rip-off or sequel. Reilly also took home the worst supporting actor award.
Other winners included the raunchy puppet adventure The Happytime Murders and Melissa McCarthy, who was voted worst actress for her duo of roles in Life of the Party and the Academy-nominated Can You Ever Forgive Me. Trump earned two nominations for his appearances as himself in the documentaries Death of a Nation from conservative provocateur Dinesh D’Souza and Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 11/9. White House aide Kellyanne Conway was nominated for worst supporting actress for her archival footage in the same film.
The 39th annual ceremony was held a day before the Oscars and will be broadcast live on Rotten Tomatoes. The full list of winners can be seen here.
Despite a soaring stock market, possible Presidential impeachment and raging wild fires, floods and a litany of plagues reaching Biblical proportions, 2018 was deemed the worst year on record by the Razzie’s founder John Wilson. The tongue-in-cheek ceremony takes place in a rented theater and gives out spray-painted gold statuettes to the nominees. Founded in 1980, the awards have become a notoriously scathing satire of the Academy Awards. Despite receiving six nominations, John Travolta’s mob movie flop Gotti didn’t win any Golden Raspberries this year.