I Hate the Razzies
By Craig Kennedy - January 21st, 2008; 9:21 am
Razzie nominations for the worst movies and worst performances of 2007 were announced this morning and I couldn’t care less. I hate bad movies as much as anyone, but dwelling on them long after they’ve done their damage in theaters is absolutely pointless.
Rather than waste time talking about things that suck, there is always another good movie to talk about. Life is too short.
I will not justify them with a link and you will never hear me mention them again.
And that, as they say, is that.
but the razzies are pretty fun. and a nice counter rt to well you know the rest of the award season mania.
and sorry reading some words about a bad film can make me smile/laugh.
it’s words/the words. i’ll surely laugh. :)
and craig is someone talking about how much a movie sucks/really much worse than your doing a review of juno/even though you didn’t like the film ???
Yes, it’s worse. I don’t see a movie expecting to hate it. But if I see it and hate it, I have to write about it honestly. And then I shut my trap about it.
What bothers me about the Razzies is that, much like the Oscars, the usual suspects always prevail – in this case, the easiest targets and most vulnerable performers. I, for one, adored “Norbit” and I’m proud of it. If the same film were released 40 years ago, with Frank Tashlin’s name on it, its detractors might have “got” it. I’m serious. It’s a criminally underrated film, a very easy target, and the Razzies is simply exploitating everyone’s hatred of it. (I also suspect that the film’s most vocal critics, such as the founder of the Razzies, haven’t even seen the film. You know how it is.)
Oh lord, Norbit has a sort of comic-book charm but only if you can overlook how much Eddie Murphy clearly hates all the characters in it. It’s a parable of a small man being dominated by a devouring woman and getting his revenge on her, sort of like Freaks but we’re meant to think it’s funny instead of horrifying.
Taking the middle ground where I’m most comfortable, I’ll say comedy is subjective. I’m inclined to agree with Jeff, but I didn’t see Norbit. The trailer led me to believe I would hate it. I try not to let trailers sway me, but I was skeptical to begin with.
Jeff’s opinion aside, I’ll bet a good majority of the peple who saw the movie were satisfied with what they got. I can’t prove that of course, but the only grumbling I heard was from critics.
Even if they’re right, I find the Razzies to be a pointless exercise.
Armond White’s review of Norbit has, for almost a complete year, made me want to see it in spite of every impulse I have in my body and soul.
I’m still working up to it. Once in a while, as I peruse the Great Directors section of my local video rental outlet and take a right turn towards the chunks of newer films on display, and see that hideous cover for it, I cringe, groan and turn my attention elsewhere.
One day I’m going to touch it.
Then one day I might even look at it for a minute.
Then, one day, several years from now, I’m going to watch it.
Well, maybe not. Probably not. Ah…
Most people who saw 300 absolutely loved it, and they were WRONG! Allow me to emphasize their wrongness.
Okay, it had some things going for it, like technical mastery.
I’m with you on 300. I’m not even willing to concede technical mastery. Technical mastery is trumped by boringness.
To Craig:
The trailer for “Norbit” also put me off, but on one dreary, rainy day, I decided to take a chance and was pleasantly surprised. (And, come on now, should we really be judging films from their trailers?) Besides, I love Tashlin and this film is pure Tashlin.
To Jeff:
I saw no hatred of characters in the film at all. Rasputia, in particular, is a terrific comic creation.
Unfortunately, the negative buzz about “Norbit’ began when “Dreamgirls” came out, due largely to the aforementioned trailer (which, admittedly, was pretty awful). The speculation was, how will “Norbit” affect Murphy’s Oscar chances with “Dreamgirls”? Everyone assumed that it would smash his chances of winning – and perhaps it did.
My point is that you can’t stop buzz, pro or con. I was a critic for far too long to deny the fact that buzz can influence even the most independent, intelligent critic.
Right now, the positive buzz that confounds me is in relation to “Juno,” which – for me (and me only) – is not only your typical film-fete cliche but also outright pap. I can understand the Academy falling for it, but what’s with the critics? And am I the only one who finds Ellen Page totally resistible?
Yep, that’s where I stand – “Norbit,” yea – “Juno,” nay.
So, shoot me.
We absolutely should not judge a film by the trailer. It’s a policy of mine…yet I fall into that trap when the trailer fits into my preconceived notion of a film. I try…but I fail. But at least I admit it.
I have a film that I went into on a dreary, depressing day that I had no expectations of and I came out of it with smile and a good mood, yet almost everyone I know disliked the movie. The movie: Stranger than Fiction. A classic? Probably not, but it made my particular day. It was the movie for me at that time and in that place and I’ll always have a soft spot for it.
Suffice it to say, we’re on common ground with Juno. I’ve sworn off crying about it, so that’s all I’ll say on that subject.
It’s your site and you can cry if you want to.
I’ll take this opportunity to again promote the unpopular notion that for the most part trailers do give you a good sense of a film’s likely appeal.
Alexander, I started reading an Armond White review once and couldn’t continue as I found it so appallingly bad. Since then I still marvel at the bordering on bizarre highlight quotes attached to his Rotten Tomatoes review links. He certainly offers a different way of looking at films. Even more so than Mick LaSalle, White seems regularly out of step with general critical opinion.
I’ll let you know that these Razzies are actually biased. They only hate the films because they hate the actors that are in it. Eventually, these awards will be removed from the world of cinema.
I’m afraid the Razzies are probably here to stay Michael, but I will continue to ignore them.
Thanks for stopping by.