Tarnished Gold

I need more than a spoonful of sugar to make me feel happy about those Golden Globe nominations announced yesterday. Only ONE nomination for Saving Mr. Banks? The Hollywood Foreign Press Association really upset me by snubbing this wonderful film in the Best Picture category. Although I wholeheartedly approve of the group giving out separate awards for a movie drama and a musical or comedy, it’s almost a joke that Saving Mr. Banks was missing from either of those lists. Starring the great Emma Thompson -- who DID get nominated as Best Actress -- and Tom Hanks, this delightful movie deals with how Walt Disney finally persuaded the cantankerous author of the Mary Poppins stories to let him make the Mary Poppins film – and the music treatment simply sparkles here. Personally, I feel it could have qualified as a drama or a comedy or a musical, but especially a musical/comedy. Instead, the HFPA gave nods to Her and Nebraska as Best Musical or Comedy, along with American Hustle, Inside Llewyn Davis and Wolf of Wall Street. I haven’t seen American Hustle or Wolf of Wall Street yet, but the previews for both suggest they will be comedies. And Inside Llewyn Davis deals with a struggling folk singer, so it could be a “musical.” But Her and Nebraska? Please. The former is a strange love story – much more poignant than humorous -- between a man and a computer voice; the latter follows an elderly man (played by Bruce Dern, who earned a Best Actor nomination) on a trip to collect a million dollars he mistakenly thinks he won. Yes, it evokes a few laughs – but it’s clearly more dramatic than comedic. Oh well, congrats to all the Golden Globe nominees anyway. Next stop, the Oscars. For a full list of Golden Globe nominees, go to the HFPA official website.