Melissa McCarthy Awarded ‘Worst Actress’ And ‘Razzie Redeemer’ Awards At 2019 Razzies
Melissa McCarthy might have landed the undesirable Worse Actress Razzie this year, but the actress has a lot to smile about this awards season, W Magazine reports. Despite her dual-role Razzie for her performances in both The Happytime Murders and Life of the Party, McCarthy is also up for one of the most desired prizes in the industry — an Academy Award.
In addition to her Razzie-worthy performances, she is also being recognized for her role in Can You Ever Forgive Me? with a prestigious Best Actress nomination for this Sunday’s Oscars. The Razzies had already acknowledged McCarthy’s substantial range in performances this past year, bestowing on the actress their Razzie Redeemer Award, acknowledging her “more complex” role in Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Also vying for the redeemer award were a number of additional nominees:
- Peter Farrelly, for his redemption arc between The Three Stooges and Movie 43 to his own Oscar contender Green Book
- Tyler Perry, for overcoming a Worst Actress nod for Madea to playing Colin Powell in Vice
- Sony Pictures Animation, for delivering both Worst Picture winner Emoji Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
- The Transformers franchise, for being a serial Razzie target to wildly exceeding expectations with the Bumblebee installment.
Despite the many contenders, McCarthy did bring home the win, snagging the Razzie Redeemer award. Her redeeming character in Can You Ever Forgive Me? is that of Lee Israel, a real-life celebrity biographer who took up forgery in order to pay the bills when paid work was slow. The role earned McCarthy her second Oscar nomination — she was previously recognized for her 2011 Bridesmaids role, which earned her a nod in the Best Supporting Actress category.
While that role was well in line with McCarthy’s traditional comedic wheelhouse, taking on the role of Lee Israel provided a much more nuanced opportunity to portray a bitter character with a hardened heart and steely nerves. Reviews have been extremely strong in McCarthy’s favor.
“It’s McCarthy who lets us see Lee as a woman in full — a role that shows she has what it takes to tackle drama, comedy and all stops in between,” wrote Mary Cybulski for Rolling Stone.
'Holmes & Watson,' Melissa McCarthy Win Razzie Awards for 2018's Worst https://t.co/vahKxWPr4I
— The Razzie® Awards (@RazzieAwards) February 23, 2019
The Razzy Awards, short for The Golden Raspberry Awards, were created by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John Wilson and Mo Murphy. The awards have been given out since 1981 when the award ceremony took place in Wilson’s living room. The 2019 awards represent the 39th instance of the awards.
