The Golden Globes have been honoring comedies since the 1950s and the days of such Billy Wilder gems as The Apartment and Some Like It Hot. But the category — which for the past 60 years has crowned a single winner among comedies and musicals — hasn’t always experienced smooth sailing.
How one defines a comedy — is it punchlines? pratfalls? subtle satire? — has been just one of the issues bedeviling the award. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association began playing even more fast and loose with definitions earlier this century when it increasingly nominated movies that seemed neither particularly funny nor acclaimed, instead using the category to bring popular films and stars into the fold that would otherwise have no way of getting there.
At the moment, the smaller, clubbier HFPA has been disbanded in favor of a larger and more representative group of global journalists. This has cut down on the number of nominated howlers, though some nominees still test the bounds of what makes for a comedy. (Dick Clark Productions now owns and produces the Golden Globe Awards. DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Penske Media Corp. and Eldridge that also owns The Hollywood Reporter.)
To capture just what kinds of movies the show has honored over the past couple decades, we took some of the more prominent nominees and broke them down into categories, judging them for both their awardsiness and hilarity. The result is a highly disparate mix, showing that film comedies are all over the map — or at least the Globes’ definition of them is.
Awardsy-Hilarious
ANA CARBALLOSA/Amazon; Christine Tamalet/Mubi; Fox Searchlight/Courtesy Everett Collection; Yorgos Lanthimos/Searchlight Pictures
Air (2023): There is something darkly comedic about this backdoor celebration of capitalism, but the corporate rags-to-riches sports drama focused on the inside-basketball dish, not humorous storytelling.
Poor Things (2023): The Golden Globes kicked off its next era with panache, handing the prize to Yorgos Lanthimos’ sly comedy that was both funny and good.
Sideways (2004): Funny and great? Alexander Payne’s crowd-pleaser starring Paul Giamatti as a disgruntled wine snob won the prize in 2005, showing how the HFPA could get this category right.
The Substance (2024): A movie worthy of attention. But the over-the-top horror film, while not without its look-away-in-nervous-laughter moments, isn’t going for the funnybone with its serious comments about aging and body image.
Awardsy-Somber
Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection; Universal Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection; Courtesy of NEON; 20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection; Samuel Goldwyn Films/Courtesy Everett Collection
Anora (2024): The new Golden Globes have certainly upped the quality in this category. But the occasional spasms of laughter elicited by this film come mostly with a knowing wince.
Get Out (2017): While “the sunken place” found its way into the canon of internet memes, only audiences blind to the symbolism of Jordan Peele’s terrific directorial debut could find its exploration of modern racial politics amusing.
Her (2013): Probably one of the best movies the old HFPA ever nominated in this category. But AI loving and leaving us didn’t seem so funny then and seems even less funny now.
The Martian (2015): If you squint, you could see this as a comedy; people did laugh at that “science the shit out of this” line. But how funny could growing potatoes on other planets really be?
The Squid and the Whale (2005): Noah Baumbach channeled his own parents’ divorce for this quiet coming-of-age drama set in 1980s Brooklyn. A fine film, notably lacking in yuks.
Hilarious-Plebian
Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection; Amazon/Courtesy Everett Collection; Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Babylon (2022): Damien Chazelle’s divisive three-plus-hour look at a carnival of outrageous Hollywood characters in the 1920s and early 1930s was … slightly funny? And … occasionally awards-worthy?
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020): It brought the laughs and caught Rudy Giuliani redhanded. But an attempt to deliver porn actor Johnny the Monkey to the White House is not generally the stuff of black-tie cinematic celebrations.
The Hangover (2009): Pretty funny. But Mike Tyson’s Maori tattoo on Ed Helms’ face … not so awardsy.
Somber-Plebian
Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection; Focus Features/courtesy Everett Collection; Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett Collection; Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Alice in Wonderland (2010): This adaptation likely would’ve gone completely unrecognized by the HFPA had it not brought in $1 billion in ticket sales, making it harder to ignore.
My Week With Marilyn (2011): It’s telling that the tale of the blond bombshell’s step-out in London didn’t get a best picture nom from any other major group. But the HFPA took care of The Weinstein Co.
Pride & Prejudice (2005): Romantic dramas often get the short end of the acclaim stick, but casting this film in the comedy pool is an ironic twist of fate for a film (and book) that serve as cautionary tales about making hasty judgments.
The Tourist (2010): The sine qua non of old HFPAhowlers. The movie had top stars and a European pedigree— all the elements the group loved. Unfortunately, it didn’t have any of the elements of an awards-worthy comedy.
This story appeared in the Jan. 3 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.