The most important thing to know about this year’s Golden Globes is that Oscar nomination polls closed on Friday.
But if Sunday night’s drunken revels provide zero insight into next Thursday’s Oscar nods, they probably offer not much more in the way of reliable clues about who and what might win on the Big Night.
“The Revenant” copped three top prizes for best actor, best director and best picture on the Globes’ drama side, but only Leonardo DiCaprio seems like a credible Oscar front-runner at this point, while the totally snubbed “Spotlight” still stubbornly leads the Oscar race for best picture.
The ludicrously gerrymandered “The Martian” was named best comedy by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and Matt Damon best actor, but is it really going to be the academy’s populist choice when nominations are announced? Or is it going to be the egregiously overlooked “Mad Max: Fury Road,” which seems to be surging?
One thing I think the Globes did correctly predict is that if Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara of “Carol” go head to head for best actress, they will split the vote (the distributor is pushing Mara in supporting, but it’s up to Oscar voters where she lands). In this case, I was delighted to see Brie Larson of “Room” win. If she snags an Oscar nod this week, the Globes win certainly won’t hurt.
Jennifer Lawrence won best actress on the comedy side for “Joy,” but she won’t be able to go all the way at the Oscars.
Sentimental favorite Sylvester Stallone, who won supporting actor for “Creed,” delivered an acceptance speech that was less than a great Oscar audition. Ditto DiCaprio, though Damon totally aced his.
Most mystifying was the Globes voters’ love for the massive flop “Steve Jobs,” which won for screenplay and for supporting actress Kate Winslet. In the latter case, they obviously wanted to see photos of her with fellow winner Leo together.
Tuesday’s highly predictive Directors Guild of America awards nominations should be more helpful to Oscar handicappers.