Every year when major awards are announced there are some surprises. There are more great movies, and great performances, than can ever be nominated, so there are always films that get left behind by awards season. However, bigger than the snub, is the surprise nominee. Sometimes somebody that we never expected to get nominated, no matter how deserving they might be, comes out of left field and takes one of those rare nomination slots.
Such was the case this morning when the nominees for the 2020 Golden Globes were announced, and Booksmart's Beanie Feldstein was nominated for Best Actress - Musical or Comedy.
Booksmart was a critically lauded film but it largely failed to find an audience in theaters. The movie made about $24 million in total at the global box office, which, considering the movie's reported $6 million budget, is still a solid number, but certainly not what the movie would have done if it had truly taken off. Still, as much as critics, like myself, loved the film, nobody expected it to be contending for awards, which is what made Beanie Feldstein's nomination this morning so surprising.
Still, I'll take it. Booksmart absolutely is a film worthy of recognition, and so it's nice to see it get some. And Beanie Feldstein has shown herself to be a fantastic actress. The one-two punch of Lady Bird and Booksmart has shown that Feldstein is an up and coming star who has bright days ahead of her.
Also, it should be said that any acting performance can only be as good as the screenplay, and it's also influenced by the film's director, in this case Olivia Wilde. These are areas where Booksmart also shines and Feldstein showing up at the Golden Globes next month is evidence of success in those spheres as well. The nomination may have been a surprise, but by no means is it undeserved.
Of course, with the nomination done, actually winning the award is going to be a tough road. Beanie Feldstein's competition includes veterans like Emma Thompson for Late Night, and Cate Blanchett for Where'd You Go, Bernadette, though, while the actress is certainly no stranger to the Golden Globes, I found that particular nomination to be nearly as shocking. Feldstein is also up against Ana de Armas in Knives Out and Awkwafina in The Farewell, who I would have to call the favorite on the list considering the praise both the actress and the film have received thus far.
I was a fan of nearly every performance in the Best Actress - Comedy or Musical category, so I'll likely be happy with whoever wins, but I usually root for the underdogs and the long shots. Beanie Feldstein's nomination being unexpected makes her the long shot by default, but I'll be pulling for her.
