My approach to the annual awards show put on by The Golden Raspberry Foundation has been with trepidation for years. I am someone with an affection for “sewer cinema,” and I co-host a bad movie podcast with another film writer, Paul Young, called “Disasters In the Making.” It is with interest that I approach this sub-genre of Hollywood.

But as an aficionado of forlorn films, I have a mixed reaction to The Razzies. Too often, the lineup of nominations seems more geared toward hitting marks or aiming at specific actors to generate PR hype. There are the groan-inducing nominations with the cornball descriptions, such as most of the “Worst Screen Couple” picks in any given year, and then there is the tendency of The Razzies to inject politics into the mix.

For deeply distracting reasons, the organizers often have felt the need to get political, and always, their targets are purely those on the right. In past years, they have awarded “winners” to George Bush, as “Worst Actor,” for being portrayed as himself in documentary footage. Likewise, Donald Trump was recognized at the 39th Razzies for portraying himself as he was, again, displayed in two documentaries. The problem here is not with the barbs being flung at conservatives, but the need to go political is a deflating aspect; it takes away from the frivolity intended, as well as robbing proper recognition of badness.

They even had to inject some of this in this year’s announced nominees. In announcing one of the films selected, there was this commentary: “Another installment of a franchise that’s fading faster than Razzie ‘winner’ Donald Trump’s mental acuity.” 

The unrecognized irony in these decisions is that the organizers end up pandering to and currying favor from the very studios and media they are supposedly taking to task with these awards. They seek approval from the very industry they are allegedly mocking.

The superhero blockbusters Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania earn nominations at the Golden Raspberry Awards. https://t.co/W2yBIy7KFG https://t.co/W2yBIy7KFG

— CBR (@CBR) January 22, 2024

But overall, apart from the occasional jabs, this year, we see a good mixture of poor titles. A notable inclusion is the nominations for the “Ant-Man & The Wasp” sequel, a first for the Marvel Cinematic Universe – although how “The Marvels” escaped recognition is a complete mystery. Also noteworthy is that as “The Expend4bles” was tabbed, the force behind the film, Sylvester Stallone, is properly seen as a “Worst Supporting Actor,” since this entry in the franchise was a hoped-for passing of the torch. 

“Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” is a worthy inclusion, as this low-budget alleged horror film was made as a result of the licensing of the characters falling into the public domain. The rebooted attempt at “The Exorcist” franchise is a good choice, as the famed bargain producer Jason Blum worked against type and was thrown into a $400 million franchise by the studio and failed remarkably.

On the negative side, once again, the organizers truncate things with repetitions in the “Worst Film” and “Worst Remake” categories. Possibly done to mount the nomination count, if they segregated these picks, more titles could be included in the affair. There were plenty of worthy titles, as I noted at the end of the year in my compilations of the Bombs of 2023. I could cite ten sequels alone, and how about some (tough) love for others like “65” and “Freelance”?!

All said, this year is a decently satisfactory list of films, so I’ll cut the Golden Raspberry Foundation a bit of slack. This year’s slate of picks works, although it could have been better. (Worse?) Here are the nominations, with the ceremony being held on Saturday, March 9, the evening before the Academy Awards.

44th GOLDEN RASPBERRY AWARD NOMINATIONS

WORST PICTURE

• "The Exorcist: Believer" - A fifty-years-later remake/rip-off that was horrifying in unintended ways

• "Expend4bles" - Another installment of a franchise that’s fading faster than Razzie “winner” Donald Trump’s mental acuity. 

• "Meg 2: The Trench" - A fishy tale about a snarky shark that flopped across all seven seas.

• "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" - One of 2023’s several comic book movies failing to save the superhero genre

• "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" - A defamation (and defecation) on two of the most beloved Kiddie Lit characters, “re-imagining” the huggable denizens of the Hundred Acre Wood as vicious, cannibal serial killers.

WORST ACTOR

• Russell Crowe / "The Pope's Exorcist"

• Vin Diesel / "Fast X"

• Chris Evans / "Ghosted"

• Jason Statham / "Meg 2: The Trench"

• Jon Voight / "Mercy"

WORST ACTRESS

• Ana de Armas / "Ghosted"

• Megan Fox / "Johnny & Clyde"

• Salma Hayek / "Magic Mike's Last Dance"

• Jennifer Lopez / "The Mother"

• Dame Helen Mirren / "Shazam! Fury of the Gods"

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Kim Cattrall / "About My Father"

• Megan Fox / "Expend4bles"

• Bai Ling / "Johnny & Clyde"

• Lucy Liu / "Shazam! Fury of the Gods"

• Mary Stuart Masterson / "Five Nights at Freddy's"

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Michael Douglas / "Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania"

• Mel Gibson / "Confidential Informant"

• Bill Murray / "Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania"

• Franco Nero (as "The Pope") / "The Pope's Exorcist"

• Sylvester Stallone / "Expend4ables"

WORST SCREEN COUPLE

• Any 2 "Merciless Mercenaries" / "Expend4bles"

• Any 2 Money-Grubbing Investors Who Donated to the $400 Million

        for Remake Rights to "The Exorcist"

• Ana de Armas & Chris Evans (who flunked Screen Chemistry) / "Ghosted"

• Salma Hayek & Channing Tatum / "Magic Mike's Last Dance"

• Pooh & Piglet as Blood-Thirsty Slasher/Killers (!) in

       "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey"

WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL

• "Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania"

• "The Exorcist: Believer"

• "Expend4bles"

• "Indiana Jones and The Dial of...Still Beating a Dead Horse"

• "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey"

WORST DIRECTOR

• Rhys Frake-Waterfield / "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey"

• David Gordon Green / "The Exorcist: Believer"

• Peyton Reed / "Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania"

• Scott Waugh / "Expend4bles"

• Ben Wheatley / "Meg 2: The Trench"

WORST SCREENPLAY

• "The Exorcist: Believer"

• "Expend4bles"

• "Indiana Jones and the Dial of...Can I go home now?"

• "Shazam! Fury of the Gods"

• "Winnie the Pooh: Blood & Honey"