Why is May December nominated for Best Comedy at the Golden Globes?

Director Todd Haynes’s latest film was submitted in the Comedy/Musical category

After the nominations for the 2024 Golden Globe Awards were announced, one film’s category inclusion left fans scratching their heads.

Those who had seen May Decemberwere shocked to find that the drama starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore had been nominated in the comedy category.

The film follows television star Elizabeth (Portman) preparing for the role of Gracie (Moore), a woman who was at the centre of a fictional child-rape scandal 20 years prior. Charles Melton plays Joe Yoo, who was 13 when he started his relationship with 36-year-old Gracie.

While there are certainly moments of black comedy throughout the movie, people were shocked to see it competing against more clear-cut comedies such as The Holdovers and American Fiction.

Aside from its nomination for Best Picture in a Musical/Comedy, Portman was nominated for Best Actress in the Musical/Comedy category, while Julianne Moore was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the wider Motion Picture category.

Melton was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.

Julianne Moore and Charles Melton in ‘May December’ (Courtesy of Netflix)

On Twitter/X, fans voiced their surprise that May December hadn’t found itself in the Drama category due to its dark subject matter.

“May December being placed in Comedy at the Globes is baffling btw,” one person remarked. “That’s one of the most heart wrenching films I’ve seen in a long time.”

“May December as a comedy? you can’t make me take the Golden Globes seriously. I refuse,” another said.

“May December is not a comedy,” a third opined, “I find this obsession with finding the humour in that film weird and it detracts from its overall message. Just my opinion.”

In a previous interview with Netflix’s Tudum publication, Haynes said that the film walks a tightrope between melodrama and comedy.

“[Humor] was evident in Samy Burch’s script, but I don’t think you can fully imagine how it plays out until actors of this calibre are navigating it,” the director said.

Awards Season (© May December 2022 Investors LLC)

Producer Pamela Koffler added: “... stylistically, in Todd’s approach, there’s a looseness, there’s a humor, and there’s a control, and there’s a tension that I feel are held in such exquisite balance that takes such an understanding and a skill in filmmaking to achieve.”

Variety first reported that May December had been submitted in the musical/comedy category last month.

Appearing on the red carpet on the big night, producer Will Ferrell, along with Portman, appeared awkward when the category issue was raised.

“It depends on your mood,” Ferrell answered, when asked if the film was a comedy. “There are some very comedic moments and some not-so comedic moments. And that’s called life.”

“I think it is a melodrama with comedic elements,” Portman said. “There are certainly a lot of funny moments.”

Portman has garnered four Globe nods throughout her career, winning two for Closer (2004) as Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture and Black Swan (2010) as Lead Actress in a Drama (for which she went on to win the Oscar).

Moore, meanwhile, has been nominated nine times at the Globes, winning once for HBO’s Game Change (2013) as Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie and again as Lead Actress in a Drama for Still Alice (2015).

You can find a full list of all of this year’s Golden Globes nominations here.

In his four-star review for The Independent, Geoffrey Macnab called May December “a closely focused character study, galvanised by the tremendous performances from Portman and Moore, [which] delves into areas more conventional dramas wouldn’t dare go near”.

Read The Independent’s recent interview with Haynes here.

Follow the Golden Globes live here.