BWW Blog: Broadway at the Golden Globes

It's officially awards season! It's that wonderful time of year when the best of the best in TV and film are celebrated and honored for their achievements from the year before, culminating in Hollywood's biggest night: the Academy Awards. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made for a pretty strange awards season, though, with the Oscars now scheduled for late April as opposed to the usual February date.

Until then, we've still got other awards shows to watch, most notably the Golden Globes.

It's definitely a step down from the Oscars, but it gives film fans something to watch and a night to cheer on their favorites. Even theatre fans will be able to cheer on their favorites because there are several film adaptations of Broadway shows on the list of Golden Globe nominees this year.

Let's take a look at who's nominated, and I'll do my best to predict what awards they may or may not win.

Hamilton

This proshot of the Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning musical is nominated for two awards at the Golden Globes this year: Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (Lin-Manuel Miranda).

First off, I want to applaud the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for considering "Hamilton" an actual film rather than a made-for-TV movie like most other organizations have done. Its release on Disney+ was a decision made to give folks something to watch at home while they quarantined. Had Disney not made this decision, the film would have been released theatrically this October. That being said, it was most definitely not made for television. Thank you for realizing that, HFPA.

The Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy nomination came as no surprise; this film was one of the best of the year. However, I was a little surprised by the sole acting nomination for Lin-Manuel Miranda. I was, at the very least, expecting nominations for both Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr., much like how the two were nominated in the same category at the Tony Awards in 2016. They made up for it by not only giving Odom two nominations of his own: one for his performance in Regina King's adaptation of "One Night in Miami" and another for his work on the song "Speak Now" from the same film. I would have also loved to see acting nominations for Phillipa Soo and Daveed Diggs, but beggars can't be choosers.

I think "Hamilton" is definitely the frontrunner for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, with "Palm Springs" being right behind it in the race. Or maybe I'll get it completely wrong in the end and the award will go to "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm". The Globes are always full of surprises. As for Lin-Manuel Miranda winning Best Actor? It's possible, but I really think the award will go to either Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat Subsequent Moviefilm") or Andy Samberg ("Palm Springs").

The Prom

Also nominated for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy is Ryan Murphy's film adaptation of "The Prom". If you read my "review" of this film that I wrote back in December, you'll remember that I really enjoyed this film. Actual critics were divided in their opinions, but it was just good enough for the HFPA to include it in this year's ceremony. It's certainly not my pick to win the Best Motion Picture award, but I'm happy it received the nomination; it's the perfect fit for the Musical or Comedy category.

James Corden is also nominated for his performance as Barry Glickman. Corden received backlash from members of the LGBTQ+ community, who found his performance offensive and stereotypical. The decision to cast a straight man in a gay role was also heavily criticized. Now he's facing even more backlash after receiving his nomination. I personally enjoyed his performance, but I won't ignore the fact that the choice to cast him was problematic. I'm also very surprised (as are many others) that he received an acting nomination, yet Meryl Streep didn't. Like I said, the Globes are always full of surprises.

Will it win either of the awards? Probably not. It may fit perfectly in the Musical or Comedy category, but it's up against "Hamilton", so the odds aren't exactly in its favor.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

In January I wrote a review of the film adaptation of "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", in which I praised the performances and predicted some Oscar wins. Unsurprisingly, the film picked up a couple nominations for its two leads. Viola Davis received a nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for her performance as the titular character, while Chadwick Boseman received a nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for his performance as Levee. The film itself wasn't nominated for Best Motion Picture - Drama, which came as a surprise to me, but I'm really just happy to see that Davis and Boseman are still being recognized for their performances.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I have a feeling that "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" will end up winning both of the awards for which it's nominated. Having seen three of the five performances in the Best Actor category, I think it's safe to say Chadwick Boseman will win. Having seen two of the five performances in the Best Actress category, I think the award will go to either Viola Davis or Carey Mulligan ("Promising Young Woman"). A win for Frances McDormand is also possible, but I haven't seen "Nomadland" yet, so I can't really say.

I'm happy to see Broadway being well-represented at the Golden Globes this year. I mean, they could have included "The Boys in the Band" somewhere, but it's fine. I'm looking forward to seeing which films will win (and if my predictions will come true).

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