The Razzie Awards nominations are out, and there’s a sad new category they invented just for this year.
It’s Worst Performances by Bruce Willis in a 3032 Movie. It’s not just one or two, but EIGHT different movies. That’s right, the former box office star of “Die Hard” and “The Sixth Sense” was featured — albeit briefly — in 8 different low budget, “B” movies that went straight to video and to foreign markets where knowledge of the English language isn’t necessary.
In all these films, Willis barely speaks and is shown intermittently. He gets second billing credit to washed up, younger action stars, too, which is embarrassing. It’s unclear if Willis has any idea what’s going on. In recent years there have been reports of cognitive difficulties, trouble remembering lines or understanding situations. That can be the only reason for his frightening career decline.
This all began in 2015 when Willis was hired to be in a Broadway stage production of the movie, “Misery,” with Laurie Metcalf. He was playing the James Caan role. At the same time he was supposed to star in Woody Allen’s “Cafe Society.” The Broadway run was cut short by terrible reviews. Willis was said to be “sleeping through” the show, and he missed performances. For the Woody Allen movie, he worked on set for one day and was replaced the next by Steve Carell. The reason was Willis could not remember lines.
Then there was this regrettable appearance on Stephen Colbert in 2015, which was pre-taped and used a stunt double.
There was also this strange 2010 appearance on “Between Two Ferns” which was supposed to be ironic satire, but there’s some underlying weirdness that was an omen.
Willis’s next movie is coming February 25th. “Gasoline Alley” is yet another crap fest in which Willis plays third banana to Luke Wilson and Devon Sawa. It’s the first of another seven or eight junk Willis movies we’ll see in 2022. All of them boast at least 20 or more “producers” who are really investors who want to see their names on movie screens.
What Willis gets out of all this is not money, certainly, since little is made, and he has plenty from real estate investment and past multi million dollar salaries. Just being part of a movie, if only for a couple of days or a week keeps him busy, out of the house and on location somewhere. But he doesn’t do much press, I think, because he can’t. And when he does, the former bad boy seems subdued and indeed somnolent.
So a whole category of Razzies. Not even Nicholas Cage has that. Quite an achievement.
42nd Annual RAZZIE® Award Nominations
WORST PERFORMANCE by BRUCE WILLIS in a 2021 MOVIE
(Special Category)
Bruce Willis / American Siege
Bruce Willis / Apex
Bruce Willis / Cosmic Sin
Bruce Willis / Deadlock
Bruce Willis / Fortress
Bruce Willis / Midnight in the Switchgrass
Bruce Willis / Out of Death
Bruce Willis / Survive the Game
WORST PICTURE
Diana the Musical (The Netflix Version)
Infinite
Karen
Space Jam: A New Legacy
The Woman in the Window
WORST ACTOR
Scott Eastwood / Dangerous
Roe Hartrampf (As Prince Charles) Diana the Musical
LeBron James / Space Jam: A New Legacy
Ben Platt / Dear Evan Hansen
Mark Wahlberg / Infinite
WORST ACTRESS
Amy Adams / The Woman in the Window
Jeanna de Waal / Diana the Musical
Megan Fox / Midnight in the Switchgrass
Taryn Manning / Karen
Ruby Rose / Vanquish
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams / Dear Evan Hansen
Sophie Cookson / Infinite
Erin Davie (As Camilla) Diana the Musical
Judy Kaye (As BOTH Queen Elizabeth & Barbara Cartland) Diana the Musical
Taryn Manning / Every Last One of Them
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ben Affleck / The Last Duel
Nick Cannon / The Misfits
Mel Gibson / Dangerous
Gareth Keegan (As James Hewitt, the Muscle-Bound Horse Trainer)
Diana the Musical
Jared Leto / House of Gucci
WORST SCREEN COUPLE
Any Klutzy Cast Member & Any Lamely Lyricized (or Choreographed)
Musical Number / Diana the Musical
LeBron James & Any Warner Cartoon Character (or Time-Warner Product) He
Dribbles on / Space Jam: A New Legacy
Jared Leto & EITHER His 17-Pound Latex Face, His Geeky Clothes or
His Ridiculous Accent / House of Gucci
Ben Platt & Any Other Character Who Acts Like Platt
Singing 24-7 is Normal / Dear Evan Hansen
Tom & Jerry (aka Itchy & Scratchy) Tom & Jerry the Movie
WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL
Karen (Inadvertent Remake of Cruella deVil)
Space Jam: A New Legacy
Tom & Jerry the Movie
Twist (Rap remake of Oliver Twist)
The Woman in the Window (Rip-Off of Rear Window)
WORST DIRECTOR
Christopher Ashley / Diana the Musical
Stephen Chbosky / Dear Evan Hansen
“Coke” Daniels / Karen
Renny Harlin / The Misfits
Joe Wright / The Woman in the Window
WORST SCREENPLAY
Diana the Musical / Script by Joe DiPietro, Music and Lyrics by DiPietro
and David Bryan
Karen / Written by “Coke” Daniels
The Misfits / Screenplay by Kurt Wimmer and Robert Henny,
Screen Story by Henny
Twist / Written by John Wrathall & Sally Collett, Additional Material
by Matthew Parkhill, Michael Lindley, Tom Grass & Kevin Lehane,
from an “Original Idea” by David & Keith Lynch and Simon Thomas
The Woman in the Window / Screenplay by Tracy Letts, from
the Novel by A.J. Finn
NOMINATIONS per PICTURE
Diana the Musical (9 Nominations, including Worst Picture, Actor & Actress)
Karen (5 Nominations, including Picture, Actress, Screenplay & Director)
The Woman in the Window (5 Nominations, including Picture, Actress
& Remake/Rip-Off)
Space Jam: A New Legacy (4 Nominations, including Picture, Actor
& Screen Couple)
Infinite (3 Nominations, including Worst Picture, Actor & Supporting Actress)
The Misfits (3 Nominations, including Supporting Actor, Director & Screenplay)
