This is Movie Jail, a unique maximum security prison that houses some of the worst writers, directors, actors and producers from Hollywood and beyond. Their crimes? The offenses vary from convict to convict but most of these inmates have contributed negatively to the film world to some capacity* and his or her misdeeds have covered a long enough period of time that the authorities had to intervene. In each column a defendant is put on trial, arguments are made, and then it is up to YOU, the jury, to decide if the person is guilty or not guilty of crimes against cinema. Their lives are in your hands, dude.
The Defendant
The Case
The Prosecution: Reach Me, The Expendables 3, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Think Like a Man Too, Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return, I Don't Know How She Does It, Crazy on the Outside, Fame, An American Carol, Swing Vote, Even Money, 15 Minutes, Down Periscope, Partners, Hank, Back to You
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Kelsey Grammer has won multiple Emmy, Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe awards for his television work, however the actor is one for four with his post-Frasier TV series, and he hasn't fared any better on the big screen, especially as of late. 2014 could have been a big year for Mr. Grammer, but all of his films (Reach Me, The Expendables 3, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Think Like a Man Too and Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return) scored low marks from critics, and he won a Razzie Award for his performances in the latter three. He many not have deserved a Razzie for his turns in those movies, but he did earn one for starring in them.
Mr. Grammer strikes out more often than he scores when it comes to his movies, even going way back to his first feature film lead in the critically panned Down Periscope. He's a talented actor, so the prosecution isn't sure why he hasn't been able to land roles in higher quality projects. Maybe it's due to his history of alcohol and drug abuse and perhaps he's difficult to work with, but for whatever reason, Mr. Grammer has only appeared or voiced characters in a few truly great movies, despite being a fairly well-known actor with a bunch of awards sitting on his mantle.
The prosecution is a massive Frasier fan, however it's clear that we need to do something about the actor. He's appeared in way too many negatively reviewed films and most of his recent television series haven't done that well with critics either. We probably don't need to put Mr. Grammer away for life, but he definitely needs to serve some jail time for his bad career choices.
The Defense: Middle Men, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Big Empty, Toy Story 2, Anastasia, Boss, Frasier, Cheers, The Simpsons
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Grammer hasn't found that much success on the silver screen and last year was rough for the actor, but we don't believe he belongs in Movie Jail. Yes, my client has appeared in more than a few bad movies, however he still gives it all and doesn't phone in his performances. It wasn't that long ago that Mr. Grammer won a Best Actor Golden Globe for his performance on Starz's Boss, and he's a big reason why the show worked. The defense also thought Mr. Grammer was fantastic as Beast in X-Men: The Last Stand and as the villainous Harold Attinger in Transformers: Age of Extinction, even though both films were chewed up by critics, and he's been just as good in other poorly received movie and TV projects.
While the actor's drug and alcohol problems more than likely have had a negative impact on his career, he seems to be doing better now, and it's not like he's been banished to the direct-to-DVD/VOD market. Mr. Grammer is also known for his stellar voicework (Toy Story 2, Anastasia), with his Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons arguably being his most well-known role outside of Frasier/Cheers.
While the defense would like to see Mr. Grammer be a little bit more selective with his acting roles, we don't think his career is on a downward trajectory like the prosecution suggests, and we feel his strong television work makes up for his unimpressive movies.
IN CLOSING…
What should we do with the Frasier actor? Should we throw Mr. Grammer in the slammer due to the scrambled eggs all over his face, or do you think he just needs to stop taking roles in mediocre-to-awful movies and television series? Is Kelsey Grammer GUILTY or NOT GUILTY?
*The cases for and against a defendant going to Movie Jail by the author are not necessarily his views and opinions but they are some of the beliefs that one would use to effectively make an argument for both sides. Not quite a devil's advocate but you get the point. Anyway, this is all in fun so don't take it too seriously. We have a separate jail for those people called "Troll Tower" and believe me you do NOT want to go there.
WHAT SAY YOU, GUILTY OR NOT?
LAST WEEK'S VERDICT
Cabin Fever and Hostel director Eli Roth was found GUILTY of all charges in last week's trial, and the vote wasn't nearly as close as the court expected. Jury members came down hard on the filmmaker, saying not only is he a "hack" director, but also a terrible actor, and that we should have locked him up a long time ago.
PREVIOUS VERDICTS
GUILTY Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Vince Vaughn, Tim Burton, The Farrelly Brothers, Michael Bay, Jessica Alba, Ice Cube, Gerard Butler, Halle Berry, Marlon Wayans, Julia Roberts, M. Night Shyamalan , Katherine Heigl , Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tyler Perry, Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Ashton Kutcher, Happy Madison Productions, Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Willis, Paul W.S. Anderson, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brett Ratner, Rob Cohen, Renee Zellweger, Shia LaBeouf, Renny Harlin, Diane Keaton, McG, Demi Moore, King Joffrey (Game of Thrones Special), David Spade, Spike Lee, Kevin James, Joel Schumacher, Ehren Kruger, Chris Rock, Mark Steven Johnson, Mickey Rourke, Ashley Judd, Uma Thurman, Josh Duhamel, Saw Franchise (Halloween Edition), Zach Braff, Sam Worthington, Melissa McCarthy, The Wachowski Siblings, Kate Bosworth, Garry Marshall, David Goyer, Akiva Goldsman, Avi Arad, Damon Lindelof, Hayden Christensen, Dennis Dugan, Sharon Stone, Jessica Biel, Nick Swardson, Simon Kinberg, Alex & Stephen Kendrick, Eli Roth
NOT GUILTY Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Nic Cage, John Travolta, Oliver Stone, Ben Stiller, Jim Carrey, Wes Craven, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Rodriguez, Kristen Stewart, Roland Emmerich, Kevin Costner, Sandra Bullock, Hilary Swank, Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves, Kevin Smith, Channing Tatum, Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Anna Faris, Robin Williams, Charlize Theron, Ray Liotta, Jason Statham, Paul Walker, Will Smith, Salma Hayek, Michael Cera, Johnny Depp, Ryan Reynolds, Milla Jovovich, John Singleton, Jon Voight, Jack Black, Brian De Palma, Jerry Bruckheimer, Nicole Kidman, Justin Timberlake, Freddy Krueger (Halloween Edition), Johnny Knoxville, Orlando Bloom, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dan Aykroyd, Sylvester Stallone, Gavin Hood, Jason Lee, Jennifer Garner, Carrie-Anne Moss, Kate Beckinsale, John Cusack, Chris Columbus, Clive Owen, Terrence Howard, Andrew Niccol, Drew Barrymore, Steve Martin, Joel Silver, Michelle Rodriguez, Kiefer Sutherland, Dario Argento, Susan Sarandon, Dennis Quaid, Rob Reiner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mel Gibson, Pierce Brosnan, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman, Ivan Reitman, Stephen Sommers, Shawn Levy, Jai Courtney, Ridley Scott, Peter Jackson, Jamie Foxx, Luc Besson, Jason Reitman, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Connelly, Sienna Miller, Ben Barnes, Simon West, Len Wiseman, Brendan Fraser, Megan Fox, Neal McDonough, Cameron Crowe, Katie Holmes, Elijah Wood, Tarsem Singh, Reese Witherspoon, Burt Reynolds, Ed Helms, Sean Astin, Michael Polish
UPDATES: Robert De Niro, Nicolas Cage and Roland Emmerich, Jim Carrey, Robert Rodriguez and Gerard Butler, Jessica Alba, Julia Roberts and The Farrelly Brothers, Ben Stiller, Tim Burton and Shia LaBeouf, Johnny Depp, Kevin Smith & Chris Rock, Ice Cube, Owen Wilson & Vince Vaughn