Euphoria (2019)
Directed by James Smith (aka Sam Levinson) and Ryan Murphy
Written by Sam Levinson
After HBO turned down Sam Levinson's pitch for an American remake of the Israeli miniseries of the same name, Levinson decided to turn it into a "darker and edgier" Fast Times At Ridgemont High. In and of itself, this was not a bad idea, IMO. Teen comedies/dramas have done decently at the box office, and this could have been a good movie, if done right. However, Ryan Murphy (who joined as executive producer and eventual co-director) decided to do a box office version of Glee, which Levinson was not cool with at all (to the point that he took his name off the director credits). As for how it turned out, well, Zendaya, who played Rue, could actually sing, and did a good job--but the rest of the cast was not up to her level. In addition, there was more nudity, drug use, and sexual situations involving teenagers than audiences were comfortable with, and, when you combine all this, it's little wonder the film flopped at the box office (opening it the same weekend as Avengers: Endgame didn't help with this at all). To their credit, the cast largely agreed with those who hated the movie, with Zendaya saying that a non-musical version of the movie likely would have worked (watch her appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, where she read from bad reviews of the movie).
Nowadays, though, it's seen as a so-bad-it's good movie, in part due to the cast's overacting (Sydney Sweeney and Alexa Demie's staredown during the song "The Boy Is Mine" is a particular highlight) their parts (in various interviews, they admitted they did this because they started realizing that it was going to be a flop). Just a straight-up "darker and edgier" version of Fast Times At Ridgemont High without the music would have likely worked, and I can't say I blame Levinson and the cast for not liking it.
It was nominated for Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actress (for Zendaya), Worst Supporting Actor (for Jacob Elordi), Worst Supporting Actress (for Sweeney and Demie--Barbie Ferreira managed to get praise for her performance as Kat, and avoided a Razzie nom as a result), Worst Screen Combo (for Any Two People onscreen), Worst Remake, Rip-Off, Or Sequel, and Worst Screenplay, winning for Worst Actress and Worst Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel. Zendaya did accept her award at the Razzies, and her speech is one of the most sarcastic speeches of 2019.
Directed by James Smith (aka Sam Levinson) and Ryan Murphy
Written by Sam Levinson
After HBO turned down Sam Levinson's pitch for an American remake of the Israeli miniseries of the same name, Levinson decided to turn it into a "darker and edgier" Fast Times At Ridgemont High. In and of itself, this was not a bad idea, IMO. Teen comedies/dramas have done decently at the box office, and this could have been a good movie, if done right. However, Ryan Murphy (who joined as executive producer and eventual co-director) decided to do a box office version of Glee, which Levinson was not cool with at all (to the point that he took his name off the director credits). As for how it turned out, well, Zendaya, who played Rue, could actually sing, and did a good job--but the rest of the cast was not up to her level. In addition, there was more nudity, drug use, and sexual situations involving teenagers than audiences were comfortable with, and, when you combine all this, it's little wonder the film flopped at the box office (opening it the same weekend as Avengers: Endgame didn't help with this at all). To their credit, the cast largely agreed with those who hated the movie, with Zendaya saying that a non-musical version of the movie likely would have worked (watch her appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, where she read from bad reviews of the movie).
Nowadays, though, it's seen as a so-bad-it's good movie, in part due to the cast's overacting (Sydney Sweeney and Alexa Demie's staredown during the song "The Boy Is Mine" is a particular highlight) their parts (in various interviews, they admitted they did this because they started realizing that it was going to be a flop). Just a straight-up "darker and edgier" version of Fast Times At Ridgemont High without the music would have likely worked, and I can't say I blame Levinson and the cast for not liking it.
It was nominated for Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actress (for Zendaya), Worst Supporting Actor (for Jacob Elordi), Worst Supporting Actress (for Sweeney and Demie--Barbie Ferreira managed to get praise for her performance as Kat, and avoided a Razzie nom as a result), Worst Screen Combo (for Any Two People onscreen), Worst Remake, Rip-Off, Or Sequel, and Worst Screenplay, winning for Worst Actress and Worst Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel. Zendaya did accept her award at the Razzies, and her speech is one of the most sarcastic speeches of 2019.
