There's little question that Jennifer Lawrence has acting chops — one only needs to look at the 27-year-old's four Oscar nominations to understand that. Yet, this year, the American Hustle star is up for another award — one that's much less flattering. According to Rotten Tomatoes, Lawrence was nominated for a Razzie for 2017's mother!.
Also known as "The Golden Raspberry Awards," the Razzies celebrate the worst things in cinema. This year, Lawrence was labeled one of them — but was that really the case? Or did Lawrence simply choose a not-so-likable flick to star in?
Unlike, say, The Hunger Games, Darren Aronofsky's mother! was very polarizing. Some people loved it. Many hated it. Others said one particular scene ruined their life forever. (And if you've seen it, you know which one.)
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Still, as someone who saw mother! (and, yes, saw many of the so-called "flaws" that perhaps earned it an "F" on CinemaScore) I have trouble seeing Lawrence as the problem. The role she was given, known only as Mother, wasn't anything like Katniss Everdeen or Joy Mangano or any other part Lawrence has really ever portrayed. The movie was like no film she has ever participated in: Instead of a big, Christmas Day-worthy blockbuster, mother! was a small film that relied more on Biblical metaphors than it did, say, a coherent story.
Oh, and a bunch of people also eat a baby. So there was that.
It goes without saying, then, that mother! was not for everyone — and it seems accurate to say that JLaw was blamed unfairly for a film that just didn't resonate with everyone.
If you look at the rest of the Razzie acting nominations, you may find that to be the case with other stars as well. Was Zac Efron really not doing his best in Baywatch, or did people maybe just not enjoy Baywatch? How is it that Johnny Depp, who earned so much praise for his numerous portrayals of Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, suddenly start sucking for the most recent installment?
I smell a conspiracy.
It's also worth mentioning that most mainstream movies don't cast terrible actors, even if, sometimes, people are miscast in a certain role. The Razzies might not have much to pick from, which means that, for actors starring in maligned movies, their names are more likely to come up when it's time to pick the worst of the worst.
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Don't worry, JLaw — this Razzie nod is just a blip on your way to your next Oscars.