Crazy Rich Asians is going to the Golden Globes. It will not win any Golden Globes. But they’ll be at the party, at one of the most watched award shows, and the first major award show of the year, right after the New Year. This is visibility. And visibility is important. So, sure, even though the comedy/musical category at the Globes was a lot more wide open because films like A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody decided to submit in drama for strategic reasons, perhaps not wanting to go up against the likely Comedy/Musical winner, Mary Poppins Returns, and because “dramatic films” are typically better positioned for the big prize, the Oscars, the beneficiaries of that play in previous years may not have been a film that stars people of colour, a rom-com featuring an all-Asian cast. So it’s hard for me right now to find a sucky angle from which to approach this news. Crazy Rich Asians is going to the Globes as a Best Comedy/Musical nominee. And Constance Wu is going to the Golden Globes as a Best Lead Actress in the Comedy/Musical category. We don’t often see Asians period in English-speaking lead roles. We certainly don’t often see Asian women being nominated for major North American acting awards in the lead role. Now… we have two. Because both Constance and Sandra Oh are going to the Golden Globes nominated in lead roles.
If there is any disappointment, at least for me, it’s for Michelle Yeoh in the supporting category. And if it were up to me, I would have given Michelle one of the five spots over Claire Foy. Not that I don’t like Claire Foy, I do. But the Globes weren’t hot on First Man. The film was not nominated for Best Drama. Ryan Gosling was not nominated for acting. No nominations for screenplay or director. Justin Hurwitz was nominated for scoring the film but that carries no momentum for its chances going deeper into the season. You could argue then that Claire’s nomination was more for, you know, being known for The Crown, especially when you consider that the other women in the supporting category (Amy Adams, Regina King, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz) all have the weight of multiple nominations for their films behind them, including Best Drama and/or Comedy for Vice, Beale Street, and The Favourite, just like Michelle Yeoh would have had for Crazy Rich Asians.
Whatever. Michelle will be there. At the Crazy Rich Asians table. A table full of Crazy Rich Asians at the Golden Globes watching an Asian woman hosting the Golden Globes. Wah! Ho hoi sum ah!