Just like the Academy Awards, The Golden Raspberry has been handed out each year since 1981. For the most part, the award show honoring the worst of the worst in Hollywood filmmaking tends to get their nominations and wins correctly; however, some decisions end up being head-scratching and bad. Below are five films that didn’t deserve their Razzie nominations.
The Shining
It’s been well documented on the critical reception of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining upon release. Stephen King absolutely hated it. Though the writer got a chance to make a mini-television series that’s faithful to the books and he failed miserably to translate his source material. Many critics deemed The Shining nonsensical and blasted Kubrick for drastically changing the popular source material. Kubrick was nominated for worst director and Shelley Duvall for worst actress. Thankfully, neither won the award, though Kubrick and Duvall shouldn’t have been nominated in the first place. The Shining was a haunting and slow-paced feature about a man’s slow descent into madness. The feature may not have been your standard horror affair, but The Shinning was a captivating spectacle marked by unforgettable imagery. Over time, audiences and critics changed their tune on the classic film, though unfortunately, The Shining’s name will forever be linked to the Golden Raspberry award.
Body Double
I don’t think the voters at the Golden Raspberries like Brian De Palma. That statement was reinforced when John JB Wilson discussed nominating De Palma five times for worst director, “Oh my God, he [Brian De Palma] was horrible!” he says. He tells me that he once saw some dailies from the set of Scarface and could tell the man had no talent. “The incompetence of it was astounding.” Film is subjective. There are people who absolutely hate The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, or Citizen Kane. However, to say that Brian De Palma simply has no talent is absurd and so is three of his nominations. Body Double was another misunderstood film, though it didn’t receive the hate that The Shining got. The movie actually recieved a Golden Globe nomination, though it was for Melanie Griffith for best supporting actress. Nevertheless, Body Double did have bad marketing as it was advertised as a thriller, whereas it’s more of a straight satire that wasn’t realized at the time.
Dressed to Kill
The hate train for Brian De Palma continued with Dressed to Kill, which centers around a prostitute who sees a mysterious woman brutally kill homemaker Kate Miller. Dressed To Kill is a stylish and smart mysterious feature that’s aided by De Palma’s signature direction. However, the 1980 thriller was met with a lot of controversy and protests upon release as the violence against women in the film wasn’t met with critical praise. Plus, many hated the way that De Palma seemingly stated that Transgenders were mentally ill-psychopaths. This was never De Palma’s intention or message, though the famed director has acknowledged that some people may not see Dressed to Kill in a positive light. Nevertheless, the film is unflinching for its violence, though De Palma’s themes and message were wrongly misinterpreted here. A great film that didn’t deserve the three Golden Raspberry nominations.
Scarface
Another Brian De Palma feature that was surrounded in controversy, but this time it was due to the excessive violence and foul language. While Hollywood’s come a long way in terms of entertainment and media, the time period that the Scarface remake came out in was more censored and reserved. Hell, Alfred Hitchcock got heat for showcasing a flushing toilet in Psycho! Over time, more critics came to warm up to the 1983 remake, though the film wasn’t as reviled as The Shining since it did receive three Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, and Best Original Score. However, the Golden Raspberries heralded in on the negative reviews, though the only nomination was for Brian De Palma as worst director.
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project was a cultural phenom that helped popularize the found footage genre. Upon release, the film was actually praised by critics and audiences, and even though The Blair Witch Project was never nominated for any major awards, it was still shocking to see it listed as a worst picture nominee alongside Adam Sandler’s Big Daddy, the remake of The Haunting, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and Will Smith’s Wild Wild West. The film ultimately lost out to the Will Smith vehicle; however, Heather Donahue managed to win the worst actress award. Donahue had some genuine and raw emotion that displayed her undeniable talent as an actress, but the reasoning behind her win remains a mystery. Perhaps the Razzies is more about personal film taste instead of critical reviews. After all, how do explain Brian De Palma receiving more Razzies nominations than Uwe Boll.Alfred Hitchcock
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