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 anything 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:
American Hustle
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
The Wolf of Wall Street

This category doesn’t have much consistency, often going for R-rated humor like “Bridesmaids” and “The Hangover” and other times concentrating on more serious fare. Musicals tend to do extremely well here, which gives the edge to Into the Woods and might help Annie unless it’s a complete flop. Begin Again is a sort of hybrid with plenty of music, so maybe it might show up too. In front in the race is Birdman, the only film with a firm shot at the Oscar Best Picture field. Comedies like The Grand Budapest Hotel and St. Vincent shouldn’t have trouble placing here, and Big Eyes, Top Five and Chef will get some votes too. Odd choices like Inherent Vice and Guardians of the Galaxy might show up, and I’m betting on a heartwarming choice for the fifth slot: Pride, which seems to have plenty of fans and seems like it’s right up voters’ alley.

Current predictions:
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Pride