The Golden Globes: Is it the Year of the Funny Travel Movie?

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  12.16.08 | 1:24 PM ET

popcornPhoto by ginnerobot via Flickr (Creative Commons)

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has released the list of nominees for the upcoming Golden Globe Awards—and to my very pleased surprise, a few travel movies have made the cut.

Scroll right past all those dramas: the action is in the “Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy” category, where In Bruges, Mamma Mia and Vicky Cristina Barcelona have all gotten the nod. “In Bruges” also landed a pair of acting nominations for Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, and Meryl Streep took her umpteenth nomination for “Mamma Mia,” while Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall and Penelope Cruz represented “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” in three of the four acting categories.

So what does all this mean? Is it the year of the travel movie?

Can we expect to see the hitmen-turned-tourists of “In Bruges” or the lusty backpackers of Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” being honored across the awards circuit, and even at the Oscars themselves? (I’m not even going to suggest that the destination-wedding-goers of “Mamma Mia” might make it to the big show. In fact, I’ll make you a promise: if “Mamma Mia” gets nominated for Best Picture, I will eat my passport.)

ABBA-themed musicals aside, the answer is still: not too likely. The catch with the Golden Globes has always been their division between “Best Motion Picture—Drama” and “Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy.” It’s an unusual distinction, and, while it means the Globes honor some otherwise overlooked films—which is a good thing—it also means that the “Musical or Comedy” nominees don’t usually expect much luck at the Oscars. Most years, a lone comedy sneaks into the Academy’s roster of nominees (Little Miss Sunshine‘s family roadtrippers, for example), but they rarely take the prize. In fact, a comedy hasn’t been named Best Picture at the Oscars since Annie Hall, back in 1977.

Still, considering the talent involved in some of these flicks, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them land another round of acting nominations when the Academy unveils their list. And whatever happens at the Oscars, it’s nice to see this trio of travel movies putting the “globe” (groan!) in the Golden Globes.

Tags: In Bruges, Mamma Mia, Movies, Pop Culture Travel, Woody Allen, Europe, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Barcelona, News and Briefs

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


1 Comment for The Golden Globes: Is it the Year of the Funny Travel Movie?

Arun 12.17.08 | 6:21 AM ET

Are the days of full RSS feeds over?

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