It’s a cherished American tradition: once a year we meet to question the integrity and taste of the Golden Globe Awards. And in 2021, the film and TV ceremony has given us plenty of weird choices to whine about.
Last week, it was revealed that the Netflix show “Emily in Paris” reportedly flew ⅓ of the 90-member Globes ballot box to Paris and put them at the peninsula hotel for $ 1,400 a night for a mess. The chic trip to the City of Lights would have earned the show perhaps two nominations, including best comedy series.
Meanwhile, the Sia nominated film “Music” has been inundated with controversy for its cheerful portrayal of autism. And to top it all off, it was recently reported that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which is hosting the ceremony, has zero black members. An exciting year!
But the Globes have long sparked skepticism and outrage over their dark dealings and cuckoo crops. Here are some of the weirdest Golden Globes picks ever.
Pia Zadora in “Butterfly”
One mystery still not fully explained is Pia Zadora’s new Star of the Year award in 1982 for her performance in the critically acclaimed drama “Butterfly.” The tasteless film is about an Arizona man (Stacy Keach) who starts an incestuous relationship with his long-lost daughter Kady (Zadora), who just happens to be super at that sort of thing. Gross. Times critic Vincent Canby said the newcomer’s sexualized performance was “like a Brigitte Bardot recycled by a kitchen compactor.”
When Zadora received the award, some allegations were made that her then-husband, Israeli billionaire Meshulam Riklis, was influencing the Hollywood Foreign Press Association by hosting a lavish press junk at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, which he owned.
Still, she claims to have won her trophy fair and square. A few months later, her performance would also fairly earn her the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress.
“Scent of a woman”
Nobody would call “Scent of a Woman” a bad movie. It also received Oscar nods and Al Pacino rightly won an Academy Award for playing a blind lieutenant colonel. But it was never the leader of the season. (It competed against “A Few Good Men,” “Howard’s End,” “The Crying Game,” and “Unforgiven,” which ultimately won the Oscar for Best Picture). So when the film received the 1993 Golden Globe for best drama film, the HFPA found itself in the middle of yet another controversy. Hollywood insiders were outraged when it was revealed that many voters had flown to New York to meet Pacino during the voting process. And no one involved would say who paid for the starred outing.
Halle Berry (“Frankie & Alice”)
Another criticism that the Globes often face is that it nominates stars only to get them on the red carpet – A-list talent in D-list duds. That’s certainly the case for Halle Berry’s best actress from 2011 in a drama film with a nod to ‘Frankie & Alice’. The small Canadian film about a stripper with a murderous split personality was peppered by critics, although some praised Berry’s work. Stranger still, most Americans couldn’t see it. Although “Frankie & Alice” had a limited release in 2010 to qualify for awards, the wide release was delayed until 2014.
“The Martian”
What was the funniest part of “The Martian”? When Matt Damon’s astronaut was stranded on Mars, was it seemingly destined to die alone? Or when he managed to grow potatoes to avoid starvation? Perhaps it was his poignant final maneuver to reach the crew sent to rescue him. What was your favorite song in the movie? Oh yes, there were none. All of the above is why people scratched their heads when “The Martian” was nominated for – and won! – the prize for ‘best film – musical or comedy’ in 2016. This replaced real comedies such as ‘The Big Short’, ‘Joy’, ‘Spy’ and ‘Trainwreck’.
Johnny Depp (“Alice in Wonderland”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”)
For twenty years, the drooling HFPA is said to have nominated Johnny Depp for a walking tour. From 1991 to 2011, the actor received a whopping 10 Golden Globe nominations. Compare that to the three Oscar nods of his life. Even crazier than the sheer number, however, were the projects themselves, including 2005’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” in which he played Willy Wonka as a Wisconsin drugstore clerk; 2010’s “Alice in Wonderland” with its flame-haired Mad Hatter; and, worst of all, “The Tourist”, also in 2010.
“The tourist”
Critics absolutely smacked “The Tourist,” which was a remake of a 2005 French movie, but it still managed to get a Best Musical or Comedy Film nomination for Globe and undeserved acting nods to Depp and Angelina Jolie, who had an icy lack of chemistry. The recording was so downright criticized that host Ricky Gervais mocked it in his monologue.
“It was a big year for 3D movies,” he said. ”’Toy Story’, ‘Despicable Me’, ‘Tron’ – looks like everything was three dimensional this year, except for the characters in ‘The Tourist’.
Gervais stepped further, adding, “I feel bad about that joke because I’m jumping on the cart. I haven’t even seen ‘The Tourist’. Who has? But it must be good because it was nominated. “
Burlesque
Remember Christina Aguilera tried acting? If you answered “No”, you’re in luck. In 2010, she played an aspiring artist who moves to LA to make it big, only to work in a basement-not-quite-strip joint run by Cher. The Post’s critic Lou Lumenick said of Aguilera’s turn, “Her acting debut won’t keep Anne Hathaway awake at night.” Still, it managed to make three Golden Globe nods, including the best comedy or musical film.
John C. Reilly (“Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”)
You can bet your lowest dollar that John C. Reilly never dreamed or expected to receive credit for his musical style. Leave it to the Globes to get there first. Reilly wrote the song for his character in 2007’s Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, a comedic parody of Johnny Cash. The tune is fine, but has lyrics like, “You know when I was a boy, people said to me, ‘Slow down, Dewey, don’t run so fast.’ Reilly eventually lost to Eddie Vedder.
Robin Williams (“Patch Adams”)
Robin Williams was one of our greatest comedic actors, but “Patch Adams” was easily one of his worst movies. In the comedy, he played a suicidal man who becomes a medical student and questions the traditional interactions between doctor and patient. He would rather give up. But, as Gene Siskel put it, “Who would want Mork at their bedside?” The film was an awkward mix of lowbrow jokes and extreme sentimentality, and Williams’ performance was scaled up to 11. Naturally, the Golden Globes nominated him for best actor in a comedy or musical, as well as the crappy movie itself.