Whatever Happened to Charles Krantz?

The Golden Globes are always a litmus test for what to expect when the Oscar nominations roll around. I was rooting for The Life of Chuck; a life-affirming, feel-good film that left a profound impact on me.

So how did Chuck do at the Golden Globes?

Not a single win. In fact, not a single nomination.

I shouldn’t judge the winning films (or the nominees) too much, because - confession time - I haven’t seen most of them. Perhaps this fact undermines my credibility… but on the other hand, it proves my point: Just reading about their contents was enough to stop me in my tracks.

Interestingly, a lot of these movies skirt the boundary between darkness and light: You have to wade through quite a bit of ickiness to eke out the benefits. One Battle After Another is purportedly a comedy and praises family bonds, but it’s also been called jarring and twisted. Bugonia was nominated for a Golden Globe under the category of “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.” (Spoiler alert: Bugonia is not a musical.) Yet Paul Asay of PluggedIn points out its “violent forays into grotesquerie… [and] its willingness to turn abduction into a joke.” Now; I love a good dark comedy now and then, but it sounds to me like Bugonia goes too far.

I’ll admit that some of these may be objectively better films than The Life of Chuck, but I’m still disappointed that the “heavier” movies were the stars of the Golden Globes. (Even some of the lighter fare [Nouvelle Vague, for instance] that was nominated still lost to something murkier). I was excited about Chuck because it’s an example of an extraordinarily well-done film that also has a lovely message - and perhaps most importantly, doesn’t put you through the wringer getting there. It’s still an impactful drama that explores some heavy themes, but it does so in its own quiet way. I thought that surely we’d hear some buzz about it this awards season. It seems like a great time to champion a movie about appreciating the small moments in life, of celebrating people you love and connections that matter (without also having to tackle significant content concerns).

Should a film win or be nominated solely for the purpose of promoting a certain message? Of course not. But if it has credibility as a solid film in other ways, too, why not at least give it a chance? Why not let a straightforwardly nice movie find some space in an awards season already riddled with plenty of emotionally devastating, violent, morally ambiguous content?

It’s not very Chuck-like of me to have made this post about such an uplifting film primarily a lament. So allow me to pause and rejoice in the fact that The Life of Chuck was made at all. It’s a work of art, and it’s out there in the universe for us to enjoy for years to come. I’m so grateful for that.

The Life of Chuck is about joy in the midst of trials. But it’s also a film with great cinematography, wonderful performances, and beautiful directing. Maybe the Golden Globe voters didn’t think so. Maybe the Academy won’t think so. But it’s a winner in my book - and its mere existence makes me hopeful that in the future, films with a similar buoyancy will receive the recognition they deserve.

The 2026 Oscar nominations will be announced on January 22nd.