Golden Globes smile on film comedies

updated 3:50 p.m. ET Dec. 11, 2008

When the casts of “Pineapple Express” and “Tropic Thunder” assembled, they likely weren’t dreaming of their awards speeches.

Despite the outlandishness of the two comedies, each was honored Thursday when Golden Globes nominations were announced in Beverly Hills, Calif.

James Franco is up for best actor in a comedy or musical for his stoner performance in “Pineapple Express.” Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise were nominated for best supporting actor for their performances in the raunchy “Tropic Thunder.”

Franco and Cruise would have seemed to have better awards chances from other, more serious films. Cruise stars as a Adolf Hitler assassin Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg in the soon-to-be-released “Valkyrie.” Franco co-stars in the lauded “Milk,” a performance for which he was already nominated for an Independent Spirit award.

Speaking by phone Thursday from NYU, where he’s taking filmmaking classes, Franco said when his manager called him to let him know of the nomination, he was expecting it to be for his role in “Milk.”

“Up until now, I’ve been nominated for a few things and they were all for ‘Milk,”’ said Franco, laughing. “Yeah, I was surprised — just that ‘Milk’ didn’t get more nominations.”

By splitting awards between drama and musical or comedy, the Globes give more attention to comedies than other awards. Still, Franco’s perpetually high performance was the most purely laugh-seeking among his fellow nominees: Javier Bardem (“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”), Dustin Hoffman (“Last Chance Harvey”) and Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson (both for “In Bruges”).

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“It just felt like, yeah, it was a stoner comedy, but it always felt like it was going to be different,” said Franco. “The cool thing about the Globes is they do have the comedy category so I think a lot of comedic films that don’t get recognized at other award shows have a chance here.”

The nominations for the over-the-top “Tropic Thunder” were even more unusual. Cruise and Downey Jr. are up against the dramatic performances of Heath Ledger (“The Dark Knight”), Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Doubt”) and Ralph Fiennes (“The Duchess”).

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Downey Jr. has drawn acclaim for his portrayal of a white actor playing a black action hero in “Tropic Thunder.” In the film, Cruise plays a dirty-dancing movie mogul in the mold of Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone.

Franco won a Golden Globe in 2002 for his performance in the made-for-TV movie “James Dean.” Cruise has won three Globes for performances in “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Magnolia.” Downey Jr. previously won a Globe for his performance on “Ally McBeal” and shared in the ensemble award for 1993’s “Short Cuts.”

The Golden Globes winners will be announced on the awards broadcast airing Jan. 11.

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