The SAG and Golden Globes nominees for comedy: Who got it righter?

Oh, the Golden Globes. The Pia Zadora of awards shows. How you make up such silly ideas in your heads about who delivered award-worthy work in TV and film, always determined most importantly by whom the Hollywood Foreign Press Association would like to dine and get drunk with each January. And how we tune in to see the stars get drunk and say silly things on live TV. And how, with each successive year, host Ricky Gervais mocks the whole charade with increasing precision.

So.

Now that that’s out of the way. What did the HFPA do right this year for comedy fans?

Oh, that’s right. Comedy and musical fans. Because those are two things that should be stuck together. For every time you want to applaud the Globes for recognizing comedy work in film, you realize that some musical is going to get just as much if not more recognition in the end.

You know there’s a reason that the EGOT does not include the Golden Globes. No. That G stands for Grammy. Anyhow. The Golden Globes nominees! Let’s see who will be showing up this time!

Best Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical

My Week With Marilyn

Everybody laughed throughout Bridesmaids, Midnight in Paris is Woody Allen’s biggest box-office success, and critics said nice things about both The Artist and Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe. Not a bad start.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical

Jodie Foster – Carnage

Charlize Theron – Young Adult

Kristen Wiig – Bridesmaids

Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn

Kate Winslet – Carnage

So no surprise to see Williams here. How about the nod for Wiig!!!

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical

Jean Dujardin – The Artist

Brendan Gleeson – The Guard

Joseph Gordon-Levitt – 50/50

Ryan Gosling – Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Owen Wilson – Midnight In Paris

 

Really, guys. This is the movie that earns Gosling an acting nomination? Oh, what’s that? They nominated him in drama, too. For The Ides of March.

They don’t separate the supporting acting categories, though, which is a shame because Melissa McCarthy got snubbed here for the dramatic competition. Albert Brooks did earn a nod for his role in Drive. And was Jonah Hill funny in Moneyball? Cannot believe how many movies I failed to see so far. It was fat Jonah, so I’m going to guess yes based on that, and what I remember from the trailers.

Woody also earned a nod for best director and screenplay.

In TV, the Golden Globes choices were out of left field most of the time in comedy.

Best Television Series – Comedy Or Musical

Enlightened (HBO)

Episodes (SHOWTIME)

Glee (FOX)

Modern Family (ABC)

New Girl (FOX)

No love for Parks and Rec, no love for Curb Your Enthusiasm, no time for love, Dr. Jones.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical

Laura Dern – Enlightened (HBO)

Zooey Deschanel – New Girl (FOX)

Tina Fey – 30 Rock (NBC)

Laura Linney – The Big C (Showtime)

Amy Poehler – Parks And Recreation (NBC)

Yay for Amy Poehler! She should win this award! Election over!

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical

Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)

David Duchovny – Californication (SHOWTIME)

Johnny Galecki – The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

Thomas Jane – Hung (HBO)

Matt LeBlanc – Episodes (SHOWTIME)

Interesting picking Galecki over his bigger co-star, Jim Parsons.

Again, the supporting actors get screwed in this race, but it’s even worse for TV, because the sitcoms are lumped in with not only dramas, but also miniseries and made-for-TV movies!?! So Sofia Vergara snags the lone nod for supporting actresses in TV comedy, while Eric Stonestreet does the same for the men. Although Peter Dinklage is pretty funny on Game of Thrones. We all agree to this.

Now. How about the SAG Awards. How did they fare in their nomination process this go-around. It is actors nominating for and voting for actors, after all.

MOVIES

No snub for Melissa McCarthy by her SAG colleagues. In fact, her entire Bridesmaids ensemble is nominated for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture!

BRIDESMAIDS (Universal Pictures)
ROSE BYRNE / Helen
JILL CLAYBURGH / Annie’s Mom
ELLIE KEMPER / Becca
MATT LUCAS  / Gil
MELISSA McCARTHY / Megan
WENDI McLENDON-COVEY / Rita
CHRIS O’DOWD / Rhodes
MAYA RUDOLPH / Lillian
KRISTEN WIIG / Annie

As was the cast of Woody Allen’s MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (Sony Pictures Classics)
KATHY BATES / Gertrude Stein
ADRIEN BRODY / Salvador Dali
CARLA BRUNI / Museum Guide
MARION COTILLARD / Adriana
RACHEL McADAMS / Inez
MICHAEL SHEEN / Paul
OWEN WILSON / Gil

TV

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy – “30 ROCK” (NBC)
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott  – “THE OFFICE” (NBC)
JON CRYER / Alan Harper  – “TWO AND A HALF MEN” (CBS)
ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron Tucker – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)

Cryer? Really? But big ups for Steve Carell. Please give him this. He really went out with a comedic and touching bang last season.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
EDIE FALCO / Jackie Peyton – “NURSE JACKIE” (Showtime)
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon – “30 ROCK” (NBC)
SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett  – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
BETTY WHITE / Elka Ostrovsky – “HOT IN CLEVELAND” (TV Land)

Why no supporting categories in the SAG Awards? Someone please explain themselves on this one.

Also:

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

30 ROCK (NBC)
SCOTT ADSIT / Pete Hornberger
ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy
KATRINA BOWDEN / Cerie
KEVIN BROWN / Dotcom
GRIZZ CHAPMAN / Grizz
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon
JUDAH FRIEDLANDER / Frank Rossitano
JANE KRAKOWSKI / Jenna Maroney
JOHN LUTZ / Lutz
JACK MCBRAYER / Kenneth Parcell
TRACY MORGAN / Tracy Jordan
MAULIK PANCHOLY / Jonathan
KEITH POWELL / Toofer

THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS)
MAYIM BIALIK / Amy Farrah Fowler
KALEY CUOCO / Penny
JOHNNY GALECKI / Leonard Hofstadter
SIMON HELBERG / Howard Wolowitz
KUNAL NAYYAR / Rajesh Koothrappali
JIM PARSONS / Sheldon Cooper
MELISSA RAUCH / Bernadette Rostenkowski

GLEE (FOX)
DIANNA AGRON / Quinn Fabray
CHRIS COLFER / Kurt Hummel
DARREN CRISS / Blaine Anderson
ASHLEY FINK / Lauren Zizes
DOT MARIE JONES / Coach Beiste
JANE LYNCH / Sue Sylvester
JAYMA MAYS / Emma Pillsbury
KEVIN McHALE / Artie Abrams
LEA MICHELE / Rachel Berry
CORY MONTEITH / Finn Hudson
HEATHER MORRIS / Brittany Pierce
MATTHEW MORRISON / Will Schuester
MIKE O’MALLEY / Burt Hummel
CHORD OVERSTREET / Sam Evans
LAUREN POTTER / Becky Johnson
AMBER RILEY / Mercedes Jones
NAYA RIVERA / Santana Lopez
MARK SALLING / Noah ‘Puck’ Puckerman
HARRY SHUM, JR. / Mike Chang
IQBAL THEBA / Principal Figgins
JENNA USHKOWITZ / Tina Cohen-Chang

MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
AUBREY ANDERSON-EMMONS / Lily
JULIE BOWEN / Claire
TY BURRELL / Phil
JESSE TYLER FERGUSON / Mitchell
NOLAN GOULD / Luke
SARAH HYLAND / Haley
ED O’NEILL / Jay
RICO RODRIGUEZ / Manny
ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron
SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria
ARIEL WINTER / Alex

THE OFFICE (NBC)
LESLIE DAVID BAKER / Stanley Hudson
BRIAN BAUMGARTNER / Kevin Malone
CREED BRATTON / Creed Bratton
STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott
JENNA FISCHER / Pam Beesly Halpert
KATE FLANNERY / Meredith Palmer
ED HELMS / Andy Bernard
MINDY KALING / Kelly Kapoor
ELLIE KEMPER / Erin Hannon
ANGELA KINSEY / Angela Martin
JOHN KRASINSKI / Jim Halpert
PAUL LIEBERSTEIN / Toby Flenderson
B.J. NOVAK / Ryan Howard
OSCAR NUÑEZ / Oscar Martinez
CRAIG ROBINSON / Daryll Philbin
JAMES SPADER / Robert California
PHYLLIS SMITH / Phyllis Lapin-Vance
RAINN WILSON / Dwight Schrute
ZACH WOODS / Gabe Lewis

How can the actors not see how strong the performances by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman have been on Parks and Rec? How can they not see this? Argh.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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