Earlier this month, the highly anticipated Golden Globes Nominations were announced. I always eagerly await this ceremony because I find that it gives a decent prediction of what movies I need to watch in order to prepare for the Oscars — because if I’m being honest, awards season is my favorite season of the year. With that being said, here are a few of my thoughts on the recently announced nominations.
I was thrilled to see nods for some of my favorite shows and movies of the year including “Schitt’s Creek,” “One Night in Miami,” “Promising Young Woman,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” Also, I was incredibly happy to see Daisy Edgar-Jones nominated for her lead portrayal in “Normal People,” as well as Vanessa Kirby in “Pieces of a Woman,” Riz Ahmed’s phenomenal performance in the “Sound of Metal” and Andy Samberg for “Palm Springs.”
I was a bit shocked to see a nomination for “Emily in Paris” in the Best Television Series- Musical or Comedy. Much like many of you, I spent a small portion of 2020 watching Netflix’s series about a woman acclimating to her new life and marketing job in Paris, with many ups and downs (and romance) coming her way. I’m not going to lie, I enjoyed watching the show because of its witty dialogue, great performances and showstopping outfits worn by Lily Collins as the titular character of Emily. However, I think that it took the spot from numerous other shows that deserved recognition like “Insecure,” “The Good Place,” “Never Have I Ever” and “Dead to Me.”
I was thrilled to see that three of the five Best Director nominees were women. This included Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman,” Regina King for “One Night in Miami” and Chloé Zhao for “Nomadland.” Because I have seen most of their films (I plan to watch Nomadland as soon as it drops on Hulu), I agree that they are incredibly deserving of the nominations. Before this award season, only three women had ever been nominated for the category in the 77 years that the Golden Globes have been around. This is a startling statistic and I hope these women are equally nominated for the Oscars because they truly deserve it.
I was a bit surprised to see “Minari” nominated as a foreign film. Even though it focuses on a Korean family and some Korean is spoken, it is still an American film and was released by A24. I feel like it deserved a spot in the Best Picture category. However, I expect it to win in the Best Foreign Film category because it is a phenomenal film. If you haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend giving it a watch.
I was disappointed to see James Cordon nominated for his offensive and problematic portrayal of Barry Glickman in “The Prom.” If anyone deserved a nomination for a Ryan Murphy production, I think it should have been Meryl Streep for “The Prom” or Jeremy Pope for “Hollywood”.
There were so many “snubs” that were not recognized in these nominations. The two biggest ones that I think deserve more praise are “Da 5 Bloods” and “I May Destroy You.” Both include black-led ensembles that beautifully portray intricate characters with great writing. Although they were both revered by critics, they were practically overlooked by the Golden Globes.
In my opinion, “Soul” is an amazing movie and is entirely worthy of the nomination for Best Animated Film — I hope it wins as well. I was really impressed with how it depicted such an intricate theme of souls and death as it did in a children’s movie. I also really enjoyed the dialogue and characters, and I thought about the complexity of the films for days after watching.
As expected with any award show, the Golden Globes nominations for this year were met with a mixed bag of praise and controversy. Personally, I was thrilled with some choices, but significantly disappointed by others. Nevertheless, you will undoubtedly find me glued to my computer screen as I watch the show play out. If you would like to watch as well, tune into NBC on February 28th at 7 pm CST.