The Golden Globes has a well-deserved reputation as the (slightly) less stuffy Oscars. Their group of voters, the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association), is a notoriously eclectic group, which results in some unexpected wins for unlikely films.
One of the weirder quirks of their awards is that nominated films have to fit into one of two categories: “Drama” and “Musical or Comedy.” This is why Jordan Peele’s hit horror Get Out has been entered as the latter. Granted, there were several hilarious moments in the movie, but you certainly wouldn’t find it in the comedy section on Netflix.
This is just the latest strange inclusion in that category, though. Back in 2015, Ridley Scott’s The Martian won the musical/comedy category despite being a gripping tale of extraterrestrial survival notably lacking in musical numbers. Other strange goings on at the Globes have included Kate Winslet submitting her 2008 starring role in The Reader into the supporting category so she wouldn’t have to compete against herself in Revolutionary Road (she won both, incidentally) and The Tourist popping up in the musical/comedy category despite it being objectively godawful.
Having said all that, Get Out really deserves whatever accolades awards season sees fit to bestow upon it. It’s been a great (and notably lucrative) year for horror and for my money, Jordan Peele’s subversive exploration of liberal racism was the cherry on the cake. I’m willing to bet the Academy is a little too stodgy to nominate it in a major category, though they have been stung by criticisms of racism in the last couple of years, so who knows?
Either way, I’m seriously excited for whatever Jordan Peele cooks up after Get Out, and a bit of silverware on his shelf can only help things along