With the Golden Globes tonight, Les Miserables is on most people’s short list for taking the awards in at least two of the four categories for which it was nominated: the Best Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical category and the Best Supporting Actress category for Anne Hathaway’s performance as Fantine. You can almost guarantee that the film will win something tonight, but what about the other great musicals in history that didn’t win or that weren’t even nominated? Film appreciation is subjective and my tastes aren’t the same as the GG committee, so I decided to create this list (in chronological order) of My Favorite Musicals That Didn’t Win Shit A Golden Globe*.
*list does not include Disney films because it would be unbearably long.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1972)
Notable actors/actresses: Gene Wilder
GG Nomination: Best Motion Picture Actor- Musical/Comedy
Lost to: Topol, Fiddler on the Roof
Favorite Tune: Pure Imagination performed by Gene Wilder
Why It’s Awesome: Seriously, if you don’t know why Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is amazing then you should be banned from watching films. Forget that weak Johnny Depp remake (which somehow got 32 nominations for various awards), Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks crafted a timeless masterpiece from the Roald Dahl book. The film continues to inspire children to dream big, has one of the most awesome gangs to ever grace the silver screen in the Oompa Loompas, and the opening credits will make you drool harder than Pavlov’s dogs.
The Wiz (1978)
Notable actors/actresses: Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, Richard Pryor
GG Nominations: Zero
Favorite Tune: Can’t choose so here are three: Home, You Can’t Win, and Ease On Down The Road
Why It’s Awesome: A lot of people refer to The Wiz as “the Black Wizard of Oz,” and that couldn’t be more dismissive and wrong. The Wiz is an “urbanized retelling” of the L. Frank Baum story that injects Motown and Harlem where Judy Garland and Kansas once were and it is a film that stars and reflects the African American experience, not one for Africans Americans (just as the 1939 film isn’t a film for Caucasians). Adapted from the 1975 Tony winning musical of the same name, the film is a personal favorite of mine (obviously?) and would be number 1 if this list were ranked. The costumes, setting, and soundtrack chiefly produced by the great Quincy Jones give the adaptation an entirely different feel from the original. Instead of bright landscapes and clean yellow brick roads there are graffiti covered parks, yellow taxis, and subway stations, all of which add to the urban aesthetic of the film. I could talk about The Wiz for days but I’d rather go watch it again. Unfortunately, it currently holds a 4.7 on IMDB and a 29% on Rotten Tomatoes, which means that a lot of people will never give it a chance.
Bugsy Malone (1979)
Notable actors/actresses: Scott Baio, Jodie Foster
GG Nominations: Best Motion Picture- Musical/Comedy, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song
Lost to: “A Star is Born” (all 3 categories)
Favorite Tune: Tomorrow
Why It’s Awesome: Bugsy Malone is a musical set in and around a speak-easy during Prohibition and the cast is all children who have adult voices when they sing. Genius! Surprisingly, this film has gone under the radar for a lot of people and neither Jodie Foster nor Scott Baio consider it their finest work. With egg cream splurge guns, pedi-car chases, and nods to the exploits of gangsters like Al Capone, Bugsy Malone is a great film can be appreciated by grandparents and grandkids alike.
Krush Groove (1985)
Notable actors/actresses: EVERYONE (including Run DMC, Blair Underwood, Beastie Boys, Kurtis Blow, Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, etc.)
GG Nominations: None
Favorite Tune: All You Can Eat
Why It’s Awesome: Krush Groove is the unofficial documentary of hip-hop. It tells the story of the early days of Def Jam Recordings (which was founded only 2-3 years before the film was made) and stars some of the greatest hip-hop icons of all time as themselves, with Blair Underwood as co-founder Russell Simmons. The soundtrack in itself became a classic even though only 1000 copies were pressed. In this film you can see a young New Edition perform (Bobby Brown included), try and spot an uncredited Chris Rock during a fight scene, and rap along to some of the greatest rap lyrics of all time. There is no better hip-hop film and there never will be.
Little Shop of Horrors (1987)
Notable actors/actresses: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Steve Martin (with cameos by Bill Murray, John Candy, and Jim Belushi)
GG Nominations: Best Motion Picture- Musical/Comedy, Best Original Score
Lost to: Hannah and Her Sisters, The Mission (respectively)
Favorite Tune: Feed Me
Why It’s Awesome: Film adaptation of the popular off-Broadway play, directed by the legendary Frank Oz. Rick Moranis was the unsung king of the 80s-early 90s (Ghostbusters, Spaceballs, Ghostbusters II, Honey I Shrunk the Kids (trilogy), The Flinstones, the list goes on) and his role as Seymour Krelborn was one of his best. While the overall story isn’t the happiest thing you’ll ever watch, the film is actually hilarious, the songs are amazing, the animatronics and attitude of Audrey II are unparalleled, and (for the Martin fans) it has Pam and Gina as two-thirds of a Greek chorus throughout. Every part of this film is awesome and it never gets old. You will be belting out Suddenly Seymour and Mean Green Mother From Outer Space for weeks.
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Andrew LaSane 