Roeper: It’s shameful to overlook all the great women directors in Golden Globe nominations

Though women directed ‘The Farewell,’ ‘Little Women,’ ‘Queen & Slim’ and other top-tier films, not a single one was nominated.

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Greta Gerwig (center, in stripes) is surrounded by the stars of her “Little Women” adaptation.

Paul Marotta/Getty Images

Whenever Emmy, Oscar or Golden Globes nominations are announced, you know we’re going to see an avalanche of stories about the biggest snubs, as if a bunch of high school meanies deliberately excluded someone or something that deserved to be in the club.

I prefer to traffic in sports clichés! If you received a Golden Globe nomination on Monday morning, that means you’re probably IN THE HUNT or even EVEN IN THE CONVERSATION for other awards as well. But if your name wasn’t called, well, YOU’RE ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN.

The historically … quirky Hollywood Foreign Press Association almost never fails to fail when it comes to surprising us and often disappointing us with their selections, and 2020 was no different.

In a year in which Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”), Marielle Heller (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”), Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”), Kasi Lemmons (“Harriet”), Melina Matsoukas (“Queen & Slim”), Gurinder Chadha (“Blinded by the Light”), Lorene Scarfaria (“Hustlers”) and Julia Hart (“Fast Color”) directed some of the very best films of the year, not a single woman received a directorial nomination.

That’s shameful, and just plain wrong, at least to this critical eye. In fact, at least four of those films will be appearing on my list of the best movies of the year.

On the television side, it was equally stunning and inexplicable to realize Ava DuVernay’s landmark miniseries “When They See Us” was utterly bypassed. And it was nearly as surprising when HBO’s brilliant and buzz-heavy “Watchmen” and its acclaimed stars Regina King, Jean Smart (in the best performance of her career) and Jeremy Irons received no Golden Globes love either.

Adam Sandler’s searing and unsettling work in “Uncut Gems” is one of my favorite performances of the year in one of my favorite movies of the year, but his serio-comic excellence didn’t make the best actor cut — nor did Robert De Niro’s powerful work in “The Irishman.” No offense to the wonderful Jonathan Pryce, but “Two Popes” was an underwhelming film, and I would have slotted either Sandler or De Niro in that spot. (It’s hard to find fault with the nods for Adam Driver for “Marriage Story,” Christian Bale for “Ford v Ferrari,” Antonio Banderas for “Pain and Glory” and Joaquin Phoenix for “Joker.”)

As for the J. Lo express: I was big fan of “Hustlers” and I thought Jennifer Lopez turned in her best work since “Out of Sight” some two decades ago, but I don’t believe hers is among the five best supporting performances by actresses this year. Heck, I could make the case “Little Women” alone has five superior supporting performances (from Meryl Streep, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern and Eliza Scanlen).

Understand, I’m not saying it was an upset for Lopez to receive a Golden Globe nomination; I’m just saying I disagree.

Same goes for Renee Zellweger’s Judy Garland impersonation in “Judy.” Not only was Zellweger given the expected Golden Globe nod, she’s the favorite right now to win best actress at the Oscars.

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Renee Zellweger plays Judy Garland in “Judy.”

LD Entertainment/Roadside Attractions

Zellweger clearly worked hard to capture Garland’s troubled greatness and she pulled off a passable imitation of Judy’s singing voice, but as I’m looking at the list of other top lead actress performances of 2019, I can find at least a dozen superior works before I’d get to Renee. (For example: Jodie Turner-Smith’s blazing work in “Queen & Slim” is listed as a 100-1 shot to get an Oscar nomination on the always-solid Gold Derby website, but it’s a far more resonant and more richly layered piece of acting than Zellweger’s Judy act.)

Julia-Louis Dreyfus could fill a garage with all the acting awards she’s (deservedly) garnered in her legendary television career, so I’m guessing she won’t be too disappointed about not getting a Golden Globes nomination for the final season of HBO’s “Veep.”

That doesn’t mean it’s right. There is no known universe in which Louis-Dreyfus’ razor-sharp, insanely funny work doesn’t deserve a nod.

I also would have found room for Mahershala Ali’s multi-generational performance on HBO’s “True Detective,” Kevin Bacon’s scumbag FBI agent in Showtime’s “City on a Hill,” Lupita Nyong’o’s dual role in “Us,” Nicole Kidman’s work in “Bombshell” and Song Kang Ho in “Parasite,” to name just a few snubs — er, overlooked performances.

On the plus side, kudos to the HFPA for recognizing some of the very best work of the year, including some of my personal favorites: Awkwafina (“The Farewell”), Ana de Armas (“Knives Out”), Beanie Feldstein (“Booksmart”), Russell Crowe (“The Loudest Voice”), Kathy Bates (“Richard Jewell”), Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), Eddie Murphy (“Dolemite Is My Name”), Charlize Theron (“Bombshell”), “The Morning Show,” “Succession” and “Chernobyl.”

Also, big thumbs up to the Golden Globes for not only having a host, but having one of the all-time best awards show hosts with the return of Mr. Ricky Gervais, who will almost certainly amuse and offend come Jan. 5.

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