March 03, 2005

A Night At the Razzies

On Sunday February 27th millions of people watched the Oscars and most, I suspect from anecdotal feedback, were bored and a little disappointed. It was truly a lackluster sort of event – an event that had seemed to have been put through a blender and blended to blandness. The set was magnificent. One critic described it as doing everything but talk. Perhaps next year?

However, if you had been daring and a little subversive you might have found yourself the evening before at the Ivar Theatre in the heart of Hollywood. When I arrived in Los Angeles, the Ivar was a run down, second rate venue that was a bastion of burlesque’s last gasp.

Today it is has been renovated and is a small playhouse for legitimate theatre although it is still a bit frayed at the edges. This year it was the home of the Razzies; the awards given out by the Golden Raspberry Foundation for the worst achievements in cinema during the past year.

It was no great surprise that Halle Berry “won” for Worst Actress of 2004 for her performance in the generally reviled CATWOMAN, which, also no surprise, won the Razzie for Worst Picture.

It WAS a great surprise that she made an appearance to accept her award. Most Hollywood personages generally run from the Razzies, distancing themselves from whatever might tarnish their glitter. However, Ms. Berry went up several notches in my estimation for her funny, gracious and even touching speech. She gave credit to her mother, who told her to graciously accept the good with the bad and since the Razzie was the worst, it was good of her to come and get it. She showed more spine than last year’s winner for Worst Actor, Ben Affleck, for his body of work in 2003 which included the very tasteless GIGLI. She swept onstage holding her Oscar high and left clutching it and her Razzie.

There was a political note to this year’s award as George W. Bush won the 2004 Razzie for Worst Performance by a Male for his work in FAHRENHEIT 9/11, coupled with Donald Rumsfeld as Worst Supporting Actor with Britney Spears winning Worst Supporting Actress for their roles in the same film.

Obviously, the majority of members of the Golden Raspberry Foundation are not Republican.

This was the 25th Anniversary of the Razzie Awards and the press was there, the place overflowing with reporters from nearly every other country. The Serbians were there. The Brits seemed to be covering every aspect, from top to bottom. The foreign press seemed to be lapping up the irony. Halle Berry made CNN’s Saturday night and Sunday and Monday morning.

All of this should be credited to John J.B. Wilson, the man who started the Razzies as a joke in his living room twenty-five years ago and who has kept the flame of fun burning for all these years, supported by a faithful band of jesters who think Hollywood deserves to have a little fun poked at it.

The humor came mostly from spirited readings of what various critics said about the films and performances being skewered. I have never thought of movie critics as fun folks but turns out they can poke fun with the best comics.

After accepting her Razzie for Worst Performance by an Actress, Halle Berry departed in her limo for, I’m sure, a glamorous pre-Oscar party in a swankier part of town.

So when it came time to give out the Razzie for Worst Film, it was Julie Newmar, the original Catwoman in the Batman series on television, who came on-stage to accept it. I felt sorry for her. As she said, she needed a writer. But her appearance only added to the fun.

It was a selfless night of work by people who did it out of love – love for the movies and for the love of having fun and for the love of being able to laugh at the center of the town in which they lived.

Good job, JB.