I watched Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo's absurdist comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar on demand this weekend, and I paid $20 for the privilege. Like Bill and Ted Face the Music before it, the film was hardly worth the premium rental price despite a game performance from Jamie Dornan. However... just because I didn't think Barb and Star was the comedy masterpiece it was widely touted as on social media doesn't mean I won't stand up for a film if an awards injustice has been done. And in this case, it has.

See, as far as the Golden Globes are concerned, Barb and Star is ineligible both this year and next because of its release date this past weekend. Like the Oscars, the eligibility window extends to Feb. 28, but all contenders had to screen for the HFPA by Nov. 30. Thus, the film is forever stuck in no man's land according to the HFPA's calendar, which seems a bit too rigid to account for how fluid the theatrical landscape is these days. The same can be said about Barb and Star with regards the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which closed submissions on Nov. 20, well before director Josh Greenbaum was ready to share the film with voters. At least SAG acknowledged the awards pickle in a statement, where as the HFPA has yet to formally address it.

“This awards season has been and continues to be an ever-changing landscape. Our rules are typically released in July and we will be reviewing this and other scenarios that arise following the 27th SAG Awards on April 4," a spokesperson for the actors guild told Variety, which broke the news of the awards scandal.

Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo in Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Image via Lionsgate

Barb and Star isn't the only movie caught in this kind of snafu either, as The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is in the same boat, so to speak, albeit for the opposite reason. See, in Barb and Star's case, the movie was slated to come out this summer before Lionsgate made the decision in January to release the film in February on Valentine's Day weekend as an ode to female friendship. As such, it wasn't screened for the HFPA before the organization's Nov. 30 deadline to submit.

Presumably, 2021 films like Music and Judas and the Black Messiah were screened for the group's members before then. SpongeBob, however, was submitted for both the Globes and the Oscars this year, but because its release was pushed back to March 5 to coincide with the launch of Paramount Plus, it now falls outside the eligibility window for both.

Of course, you can bet that the Globes and SAG and yes, even the Academy, will revisit their rules and even make exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Is this unfair treatment of Barb and Star, ultimately a big deal? No. We're talking about a movie with a talking crab who sounds like Morgan Freeman. But it's not right, and it needs to be rectified. If not, then I hope the HFPA gets chewed up by mosquitoes this summer. But I think they'll wind up revisiting eligibility periods as well as arcane rules involving foreign-language films such as Minari (and The Farewell before it) not being allowed to compete for Best Picture, a category that should really be open to all films, be they animated, comedy, horror, documentary or, yes, foreign-language.

As far as the Oscars are concerned, Barb and Star have a better chance of hosting than being nominated, as the film was not included about the Academy's shortlists for makeup and hairstyling, visual effects or original song, where it may have actually stood a chance at being nominated among more traditional efforts. Still, this movie could very well wind up a VOD hit for Lionsgate, even if that wasn't what the company had in mind. The studio continues to roll with the punches along with everyone else, and this Golden Globes headache is just the latest. They'll survive, with or without help from their pal Trish.