Key Takeaways

• Category Confusion: The film One Battle After Another is nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, despite its dramatic themes.
• Historical Precedent: Previous nominees in this category have included films like Get Out and The Martian, which are not traditional comedies.
• Performance Highlights: The comedic performances by Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn add humor to the film, but it remains a serious narrative.
• Award Predictions: The category shift may impact predictions for the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.

And the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy goes to…One Battle After Another? In yet another bizzaro decision from the Golden Globe Foundation (which succeeded the Hollywood Foreign Press Association), Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another will be competing not in the Drama category, but rather the same one that over the last few years has seen winners in Emilia Pérez, West Side Story, and Borat 2 – you know, musicals or comedies.

But let’s get the obvious out of the way first: the Golden Globes is notoriously shoddy when it comes to properly labeling categories. Some of the more curious choices that immediately come to mind as having been nominated in the Best Musical or Comedy category include Get Out, The Martian, and The Substance. Are there comedic elements in these? Sure (and The Substance is no doubt a satire), but they clearly all belonged under the Drama category. To be fair, this isn’t really the Golden Globe Foundation’s doing – it’s the studio’s, and this is probably a strategic move to ensure victory at the ceremony.

And the same goes for One Battle After Another. Did I laugh for many portions of the movie? Thanks to Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn’s Looney Tunes-esque performance, absolutely. Is Bob Ferguson’s quest to get the elusive password a non-stop laugher? Totally. But One Battle After Another – a film about an ex-revolutionary trying to rescue his daughter from a highly demented officer – is decidedly not fit for the category.

Whichever category you see most fit for the film, One Battle After Another is poised to be one of the most serious (see?!) contenders this awards season. Certainly many are banking on it taking home Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but now the predictions at the Golden Globes have been shaken up entirely. Since One Battle After Another has officially moved to Musical or Comedy, that puts Leonardo DiCaprio and Chase Infiniti there as well since they’re jockeying for Lead (supporters like del Toro, Penn, and Teyana Taylor won’t be affected). This shift could also work out quite well for Sinners, which might be able to properly take advantage in terms of Best Drama and Best Actor in a Drama.

Nominations for the 83rd Golden Globe Awards will be announced on December 8th.

What do you think of One Battle After Another competing in the Best Musical or Comedy category at the Golden Globes?