After taking last year off, and after losing just about any credibility the organization had remaining, the Golden Globes Awards returned this month to very little fanfare. 

I understand the Golden Globes hate, but I also don’t care. I don’t take awards shows seriously to begin with. Do you? For me, they’re just a fun excuse to talk about movies and highlight the film industry. 

Are the Golden Globes a joke? Yeah, I guess so. Am I going to write about them this week? Oh, you bet! Even if we think of them as a joke, it’s hard to deny that they’re a big part of the Oscar awards cycle and conversation. 

So here we go:

Best Picture

Drama: Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans took the award this year, beating out China’s new favorite film, Avatar: The Way of Water, music biopic Elvis, critics’ favorite Tár, and fan favorite Top Gun: Maverick. Tár and Fabelmans were the front-runners, with most believing Tár would end up being the movie that takes home most of the Best Picture awards. I don’t agree. I love Tár to death, but just don’t see it as a Best Picture kind of film. It’s not broad enough in appeal. If it does win, it will almost wholly be due to Cate Blanchett’s all-time great performance. As for The Fabelmans, hmm. I’m not really sure what to say. I like the movie a lot, and I am fine with it getting all kinds of awards nominations. But Best Picture? I’m not sure about that. If you’ve not seen Joyce Carol Oates’ opinion on the film, I highly suggest doing a Google search on the topic.

Musical/Comedy: Despite not being a musical or a comedy, the wonderful The Banshees of Inisherin won, beating out Babylon, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Glass Onion, and Triangle of Sadness. Great group of nominees. I’m not sure why Elvis was nominated in drama instead of Banshees, but whatever, category fraud is nothing new for the Golden Globes. Banshees was my favorite film of 2022, so I’m not going to question it winning a Best Picture award. I think it should probably win all the awards. That being said, I recommend every film nominated in this category. Great stuff.

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett won in Drama for Tár, beating out Olivia Colman (Empire of Light), Viola Davis (The Woman King), Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans), and Ana de Armas (Blonde). Michelle Yeoh won Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, beating out Lesley Manville (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris), Margot Robbie (Babylon), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Menu), and Emma Thompson (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande). Thompson should not have been nominated. Happy as I am for Yeoh (one of my first crushes, even), I’m not sure she stands a chance of beating Blanchett when they inevitably get nominated for the Best Actress Oscar.

Best Actor

In the biggest surprise of the night, Austin Butler (Elvis) beat out Brendan Fraser (The Whale) for Best Actor in a Drama. Again, category fraud. Butler should not have been nominated in the Drama category. Regardless, Butler beat out Jeremy Pope (The Inspection), Bill Nighy (Living), Hugh Jackman (The Son), and, of course, one of the Globes’ biggest critics, Fraser. Meanwhile, Colin Farrell won Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy for his brilliant performance in The Banshees of Inisherin, beating out Diego Calva (Babylon), Daniel Craig (Glass Onion), Adam Driver (White Noise), and Ralph Fiennes (The Menu). Weird nominees this year, no? I think the Oscar race will come down to Fraser vs. Farrell. No clue who wins. There’s also an outside theory that Elvis wins several big awards on Oscar night, with Butler winning Best Actor. I very much hope that doesn’t happen, but understand that a win like that is probably seen as “good for Hollywood.” Eww.

Best Director

Steven Spielberg won Best Director for The Fabelmans, beating out James Cameron (Avatar: The Way of Water), Daniel Kwan/Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Baz Luhrmann (Elvis), and Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin). I’m mostly just happy that Cameron didn’t win, but really would have been happy with McDonagh or The Daniels winning. This is the fifth Spielberg film to win a Golden Globe Best Picture awards and the third time he has won the Best Director Golden Globe. I love Spielberg, and this is one of his 10 best films, but I think what McDonagh and The Daniels did in 2022 was very special and rare.

other awards

McDonagh won Best Screenplay for Banshees, beating out “sure-thing” Todd Field (Tár)

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio won Best Animated Picture

Argentina, 1985 won Best Picture: Non-English Language, beating out All Quiet on the Western Front, Close, Decision To Leave (my pick), and RRR

Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) won Best Supporting Actress, beating out Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Dolly de Leon (Triangle of Sadness), Carey Mulligan (She Said), and my pick, Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin)

Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) won Best Supporting Actor, beating out Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin), Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin), Brad Pitt (Babylon), and Eddie Redmayne (The Good Nurse). No, I still don’t take awards shows seriously. Yes, I am very bummed that Gleeson didn’t win.

Stay tuned for thoughts on the upcoming Oscar nominations, set for Jan. 24, and send your Golden Globes thoughts my way at gregwlocke@gmail.com.