Continuing an annual tradition that is now as devoid of imagination and driven by inertia as an actual Adam Sandler movie—only without anyone involved getting to go on a paid vacation—the Razzies have once again chosen Adam Sandler as the emblem of all cinematic ills in 2013. Sandler already broke the Golden Raspberry’s all-time record for most nominations in a single year, back in the Jack And Jill/Just Go With It era of 2011, and he’s become such a perennial target that no doubt Adam And Drew Go To Africa Or Whatever is already on the Razzies whiteboard for next year. So it’s hardly a surprise to see Sandler and Grown Ups 2 dominating this year’s list of the year’s “worst” films with nine nominations total—a dishonor that Adam Sandler is surely coping with by building a straw man out of stacks of $100 bills, then screaming at it in a comically exaggerated voice, then turning that into a movie that will make $200 million before ending up right back here in 2015.
Once again, the rest of the 2014 Razzies similarly follow the formulas of the movie year they’re ostensibly condemning: pointless cameos by tabloid fixtures (Lindsay Lohan, Lady Gaga, Chris Brown, Kim Kardashian); intentionally lowest-common denominator stabs at comedy (Movie 43, InAPPropriate Comedy, Scary Movie 5); obligatory annual appearances from Tyler Perry and Sylvester Stallone, etc. Meanwhile, some of the other, actual worst movies of the year escape as illogically unscathed as Bruce Willis in A Good Day To Die Hard, to name just one obviously overlooked contender.
Still, no use wondering why the Razzies devote so much—or so little—energy to piling on to worked-over punching bags like Lone Ranger and After Earth while, say, R.I.P.D. gets completely shut out. Much like the thinking behind those movies’ very existence, Lone Ranger and After Earth have bigger stars and higher profiles, and it’s easier to promote the Razzies with those sorts of attention-getting broadsides. And so once again, as little thought is put into the Razzies as went into the nominated movies themselves.
As per usual, the Razzies will be handed out the day before the Oscars, on March 1. The complete list of nominees:
Worst Picture
After Earth
Grown Ups 2
The Lone Ranger
Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas
Movie 43
Worst Actor
Johnny Depp, The Lone Ranger
Ashton Kutcher, Jobs
Adam Sandler, Grown Ups 2
Jaden Smith, After Earth
Sylvester Stallone, Bullet To The Head / Escape Plan/ Grudge Match
Worst Actress
Halle Berry, The Call / Movie 43
Selena Gomez, Getaway
Lindsay Lohan, The Canyons
Tyler Perry (as Madea), Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas
Naomi Watts, Diana / Movie 43
Worst Supporting Actor
Chris Brown, Battle Of The Year
Larry The Cable Guy, Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas
Taylor Lautner, Grown Ups 2
Will Smith, After Earth
Nick Swardson, A Haunted House / Grown Ups 2
Worst Supporting Actress
Lady Gaga, Machete Kills
Salma Hayek, Grown Ups 2
Katherine Heigl, The Big Wedding
Kim Kardashian, Tyler Perry’s Temptation: Confessions Of A Marriage Counselor
Lindsay Lohan, InAPPrioriate Comedy / Scary Movie 5
Worst Screen Combo
The entire cast of Grown Ups 2
The entire cast of Movie 43
Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen, Scary Movie 5
Tyler Perry and either Larry The Cable Guy or That Worn-Out Wig And Dress, Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas
Jaden Smith and Will Smith on Planet Nepotism, After Earth
Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel
Grown Ups 2
The Hangover Part III
The Lone Ranger
Scary Movie 5
The Smurfs 2
Worst DirectorThe 13 people who directed Movie 43
Dennis Dugan, Grown Ups 2
Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas / Tyler Perry’s Temptation: Confessions Of A Marriage Counselor
M. Night Shyamalan, After Earth
Gore Verbinski, The Lone Ranger
Worst Screenplay
After Earth
Grown Ups 2
The Lone Ranger
Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas
Movie 43