With ‘Obsession,’ Is the Golden Globes’ Comedy Race the New Home for Category Fraud?
The article questions whether the Golden Globes will enforce its rules as drama-heavy films seek places in its comedy categories. It argues that category choices can affect awards chances, but that a few comic moments should not make a primarily serious film a comedy.
Curry Barker’s “Obsession”, made for $750,000 and reported to have earned more than $500 million worldwide, was submitted as a musical or comedy, as was Mike Leigh’s “Tender Loving Care”. The Globes’ rules say films primarily intended to have a serious or dramatic tone belong in drama, even if they have comic elements; a committee reviews disputes and makes final decisions. Past cases have gone both ways: “The Martian” won the comedy award, while “Promising Young Woman” was moved to drama.
- “Obsession” was submitted to the Globes’ comedy categories.
- The article questions how consistently the rules are enforced.
- The Globes’ rules place serious films with comic elements in drama.
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The Golden Globes split film awards into categories, including drama and musical or comedy. Studios and filmmakers submit films to a category, but the organisers can review disputed choices and make the final decision.
The rules say a film whose main tone is serious or dramatic should be entered as a drama, even if it has comic scenes. “Obsession” and “Tender Loving Care” have been submitted in the musical or comedy category, raising questions about how the rules will be applied.
Category placement can affect which films a work competes against and its chances of winning. Past decisions have varied: “The Martian” won in comedy, while “Promising Young Woman” was moved to drama.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Placing a film in comedy or musical can be reasonable when its overall effect, style or audience experience is comic, even if it also has serious themes. Flexible categories recognise that films often cross genres, and let voters compare works with broadly similar tones rather than treating the labels as rigid boxes.
The case against
The Globes’ rule that primarily serious or dramatic films belong in drama helps keep categories meaningful and comparable. If studios can gain an awards advantage by submitting a drama with only a few comic moments as a comedy, that may disadvantage films whose main purpose and tone are genuinely comic and weaken confidence in the process.