Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another Competes as Comedy at the Golden Globes

File this under awards-season shenanigans: Paul Thomas Anderson's new one, 'One Battle After Another,' is headed to the Golden Globes as a Musical or Comedy. Sure, OK.

Wait, a comedy?

The Globes love to muddy their own categories, and the newly minted Golden Globe Foundation (the group that replaced the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) has a long history of eyebrow-raising placements. We just watched the Musical or Comedy side hand out trophies to movies like 'Emilia Perez,' 'West Side Story,' and 'Borat 2.' And over the years, straight-faced stuff like 'Get Out,' 'The Martian,' and 'The Substance' have popped up in that lane too. Funny moments? Absolutely. Actual comedies? Not really.

Now it is 'One Battle After Another' getting the same treatment. To be fair, the movie does have legit laughs. Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn are going big and cartoony, and there is an ongoing bit about Bob Ferguson chasing down a password that plays like a running gag. But at heart, this is a tense story about an ex-revolutionary trying to rescue his daughter from a deranged officer. That is drama, full stop.

Why this happens (and why it keeps happening)

This is less some rogue Globes decision and more about how studios play the game. They submit where they think the movie can win, and the Musical or Comedy category is often the path of least resistance. So here we are.

The awards chessboard just changed

Whether you file the film under Drama or Comedy in your head, it is a major player this season. A lot of folks have it in the Best Picture conversation at the Oscars. But the Globes move shakes up that race specifically, because it slides the film into a different set of competitors.

• 'One Battle After Another' will compete for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy at the Globes.
• Because of that, Leonardo DiCaprio and Chase Infiniti will run for Lead Actor in Musical or Comedy.
• Supporting players like Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, and Teyana Taylor are unaffected by the category switch.
• This might open a cleaner lane for 'Sinners' on the Drama side, including Best Drama and Best Actor in a Drama.

Bottom line: it is a savvy move that might net the film some hardware, even if the label on the shelf feels wrong.

Key date

Nominations for the 83rd Golden Globe Awards land on December 8.

So, are you cool with 'One Battle After Another' showing up as a Musical or Comedy, or does that rub you the wrong way too?