Bruce the Shark and Jaws – from Oscar glory to Razzie prize winner
Jaws (1975) may have been a darling at the Oscars in 1976, but fast (fish) forward to 1988 and it was Bruce the Shark leading the charge in the Razzies that year (no, really) thanks to Jaws the Revenge (1987).
The third sequel to Jaws – you know the winner of three Academy Awards – had the joint most awards that year, seven alongside Tough Guys Don’t Dance. According to Hoagie’s philosophy, the world would be a much better place if more tough guy sons danced with their mothers.
Jaws the Revenge was up for Worst Picture, Bruce the Shark was up for Worst Actor (!), Lorraine Gary as Worst Actress, Michael Caine as Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Director for Joseph Sargent and Worst Screenplay by Michael deGuzma.
Clearly 1987 was a terrible year for movies, as Jaws the Revenge was up against the likes of Ishtar and the eventual winner, Leonard Part 6, which starred Bill Cosby. Believe me, it made his Ghost Dad look bearable.
Cosby also stole the award for Worst Actor from Bruce the Shark, who was also rubbing shoulders, or should that be flexing forearms, alongside Sylvester Stallone for Over The Top.
Madonna took home the Worst Actress award for Who’s That Girl over Lorraine Gary, who never made another screen appearance after Revenge.
Famously Michael Caine wasn’t able to collect his Best Supporting Actor for Hannah and Her Sisters from The Academy, due to filming on Jaws the Revenge. Ironic then that it would lead to his own Best Supporting Actor nomination, at the other end of the scale the following year, which saw him in competition against Gwildor from Masters of the Universe. That’s pretty low, even for the guy who was in The Swarm, The Hand and Beyond the Poseidon Adventure.
Ishtar and Tough Guys Don’t Dance directors joint beat Joseph Sargent to that particular Worst award, with Leonard Part 6 taking home the Worst Screenplay dishonours. Of course, it is still something of a mystery how Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol or Nuclear Man (Marc Pillow and sometimes the voice of Gene Hackman) from Superman 4 didn’t end up in the nomination mix somehow.
There was one award that Jaws The Revenge could not hide in any amount of seaweed from though, and that was Worst Visual Effects. Bad enough to win a Razzie, but even worse when your competition was The Garbage Pail Kids Movie animatronics and the (not so) special effects supervisors for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Having to swallow his pride, whole, was Jaws the Revenge special effects supervisor, Henry Millar.
Bruce may have swum off with his dorsal tail between – well, nothing – but the big loser/winner of the night was Leonard Part 6 with three awards. It can’t stay up with three Razzie Awards on it. Not with three it can’t. And thankfully, it didn’t.
Jaws The Revenge may have been the first Jaws film to win a Razzie, but it certainly wasn’t the first to be nominated, that accolade belongs to Jaws 3D. In total it was nominated across five categories; these were Worst Picture, Worst Director – Joe Alves, Worst Supporting Actor – Louis Gossett Jr, Worst Screenplay – Carl Gottlieb and Richard Matheson, and Worst New Star – Cindy and Sandy (the shrieking dolphins). The latter lost out to that other mammal, Lou Ferrigno for Hercules.
The awards only began in 1980, so we’ll never know if Jackie Peters (Donna Wilkes) or the woman who pours petrol over herself in Jaws 2 would have ever been nominated.
Words by Dean Newman
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