For a movie that's billed as an action-filled drama, "The Tourist" has had people in stitches this week.
First there was the noticeable laughter from the press when it was announced that "The Tourist" was nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for a best comedy or musical Golden Globe. Then one of the "Tourist's" own stars, Angelina Jolie, couldn't hold back laughter when she heard she'd been nominated for her performance in the film.
The mom of six snagged a Globes nomination in the best actress in a comedy or musical category for her role, and according to the Hollywood Reporter, she said she laughed "because it's the first time that I've been in the comedic category, so it's new for me."
(Her “Tourist” co-star Johnny Depp is also nominated for his performance in the comedy or musical motion picture category, in which he's received another nomination for “Alice in Wonderland.”)
With all of this snickering going on, is it any surprise that "The Tourist" - which arrived to unimpressed critical reaction and pulled in only $17 million at the box office its opening weekend - was nominated as a comedy?
The Hollywood Reporter explains that it was actually the director, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who suggested that the film compete amongst films like "Burlesque" and "Red."
The HFPA's Phil Berk explained to THR that while "The Tourist" was submitted as a drama by the studio, the filmmakers had other ideas.
"Given the differing opinions, we asked the studio to screen the film for us in advance," Berk said, "and collectively we decided that the elements of preposterous fun lent the film more to a comedy than a straight drama category. The issue was raised not by the HFPA but by the director himself."