Golden Globe Musings: Best Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical

Golden Globe nominations for this year will be announced in just a few weeks, so here’s a survey of the contenders and the most likely predictions at this time. Weigh in with your thoughts, and let me know if I’ve left off anyone important. A reminder that the Globes are wildly unpredictable and that it is still a bit early to gauge the reception or awards potential of a number of the so-called “contenders” at this point.

Last year’s nominees:
BURN AFTER READING
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
IN BRUGES
MAMMA MIA!
VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA

This year’s pool:
The surefire bet in this category is musical Nine, which should do well here even if its flounders later in the awards derby this season. The Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man should net them a third consecutive Best Picture nomination after “Burn After Reading” and “No Country for Old Men.” The rest of the field is very murky. Julie & Julia is probably a good crowd-pleaser to take a slot, and Meryl Streep’s other film It’s Complicated is a fine traditional romantic comedy to fill a space. Summer hits The Hangover and 500 Days of Summer are vying for the spot that could represent thinking outside the box, but I can’t imagine either of them actually making it in. Other films like Away We Go and The Proposal don’t seem any more likely, so I’ll opt for a film that is being touted only for its lead performance: The Informant!. We’ll see what happens – I imagine there will be a big surprise here, and hopefully a good one.

Predicted nominees:
THE INFORMANT!
IT’S COMPLICATED
JULIE & JULIA
NINE
A SERIOUS MAN