Golden Globes Invite You to Remember the Hilarity of “Nebraska”

The HFPA’s division between Drama and Comedy categories is always good for some awkwardly dubious nominations. Usually that means some films of questionable quality getting undue recognition to fill out the whole Comedy slate – recall that year when “Burlesque” and “The Tourist” both got nominated, yeeeesh – this year, thanks to the pure glut of good options, it’s more a matter of dubious categorization.

I mean, I’m sure that Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska” has plenty of comedic moments, but really, any more than his previous film, “The Descendants,” which won Best Drama from this very same group? Same goes for “Her” or “Inside Llewyn Davis,” although I suppose the latter could arguably fit under the “Musical” side of things. The confusion just continues in the acting categories – Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine” is a dramatic performance, but Julie Delpy in “Before Midnight” is comedic?

It’s tough to complain too much about these hilariously useless genre definitions when it lets in so many deserving nominations that haven’t had a chance elsewhere on the circuit. The aforementioned Delpy is a great example, as is Greta Gerwig’s lovely turn in “Frances Ha,” which went so bafflingly unrecognized at the Indie Spirits. Also unexpected was the love for Ron Howard’s “Rush,” which had its critical advocates back when it was released but seemed to fizzle out when the box office didn’t follow. But on the heels of his SAG nomination the previous day, Daniel Brühl’s Supporting Actor campaign has got a major resurrection; will his studio’s publicists make a new push for him after they had basically left the film for dead?

Overall, though, the Globes really shouldn’t be taken as any kind of Oscar “precursor;” they’re a quirky alternative from an eccentric group that just likes to have a big ol’ Hollywood party every January. I’ve come to appreciate that a lot – I mean, who else is going to nominate “Please Mr. Kennedy” for Best Original Song (and over Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” from “The Great Gatsby” to boot)?

2014 HFPA Golden Globe Awards nominations

Best Motion Picture – Drama

• 12 Years a Slave
• Captain Phillips
• Gravity
• Philomena
• Rush

Best Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical

• American Hustle
• Her
• Inside Llewyn Davis
• Nebraska
• The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor – Drama

• Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
• Idris Elba, “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
• Tom Hanks, “Captain Phillips”
• Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
• Robert Redford, “All Is Lost”

Best Actor – Comedy/Musical

• Christian Bale, “American Hustle”
• Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
• Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
• Oscar Isaac, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
• Joaquin Phoenix, “Her”

Best Actress – Drama

• Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
• Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
• Judi Dench, “Philomena”
• Emma Thompson, “Saving Mr. Banks”
• Kate Winslet, “Labor Day”

Best Actress – Comedy/Musical

• Amy Adams, “American Hustle”
• Julie Delpy, “Before Midnight”
• Greta Gerwig, “Frances Ha”
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Enough Said”
• Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”

Best Supporting Actor

• Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
• Daniel Brühl, “Rush”
• Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle”
• Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
• Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Supporting Actress

• Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”
• Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”
• Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
• Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”
• June Squibb, “Nebraska”

Best Director

• Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity”
• Paul Greengrass, “Captain Phillips”
• Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”
• Alexander Payne, “Nebraska”
• David O. Russell, “American Hustle”

Best Screenplay

• Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope, “Philomena”
• Spike Jonze, “Her”
• Bob Nelson, “Nebraska”
• John Ridley, “12 Years a Slave”
• David O. Russell, Eric Singer, “American Hustle”

Best Animated Feature Film

• The Croods
• Despicable Me 2
• Frozen

Best Foreign Language Film

• Blue Is the Warmest Color
• The Great Beauty
• The Hunt
• The Past
• The Wind Rises

Best Original Score

• Alexander Ebert, “All Is Lost”
• Alex Heffes, “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
• Steven Price, “Gravity”
• John Williams, “The Book Thief”
• Hans Zimmer, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Original Song

• “Atlas” from “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
• “Let It Go” from “Frozen”
• “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
• “Please Mr. Kennedy” from “Inside Llewyn Davis”
• “Sweeter than Fiction” from “One Chance”