Comedy news: Six comedy nominations that didn't make the Baftas

So the Bafta nominations were out this morning and comedy has down pitifully badly, garnering less than ten per cent of the nominations. Take out comedy drama and Bridesmaids, and the comedy presence withers to almost naught.  

Now, comedy films do admittedly turn out a lot more dross than their dramatic counterparts, but not everything was The Dilemma and Hall Pass in 2011. Here's six suggestions for who should have been on the list.

Catherine Deneuve, Potiche

Catherine Deneuve, innit. We never 'got' Deneuve until a film about ten years ago called Kings and Queen, where she played a psychiatrist to a flailing, charming Mathieu Almaric. She was stately; he was heartfelt in his efforts to find a better place for himself in the world. We remembered the film about half way through Potiche because Deneuve manages to pile the two ideas in to one character. This is dramatic farce – a French Alan Ayckbourn that somehow works – and that's thanks to Deneuve holding what had the potential to be a mess together.

Ewan McGregor, Beginners

The idea of Obi Wan Kenobi putting in one of the performances of the year seems to have proven so ridiculous that pretty much everyone has instead fixated on Christopher Plummer's warm and carefree performance, but McGregor really did do some sterling, introspective work here. Beginners also deserves a nomination for Daftest Plot Point Of 2011, as a freshly out Plummer sets up home with ER's Dr Kovac.

Weekend

Two not-getting-any-younger gay men spend a night together in Nottingham, but do they have a spark that can last past the weekend? While The Gays' new darling Tom Cullen dealt with most of the wide-eyed drama side of things, Chris New's brash, knowing turn made this a rom com that took on some pretty brave new territory.

The Future

The love/hate reaction to The Future was inevitable; it's a film that features a talking cat and is based on some emotionally-incompetent pretty folk we would call slackers if they were a bit younger and bit poorer. But the film grabs the idea of being a thirtysomething who's failing to get on with life and throttles it with some true innovation that's wrapped up in some touchingly funny scenes. (FULL DISCLOSURE: this is the sort of film where the loveable/hateable qualities weren't actually nailed in our mind until reading a review, that happens to be over here at the AV Club.)

Alex Turner, Submarine

If awards don't care too much for comedy, they REALLY don't like music in comedy. Alex Turner was the perfect choice for the premise of a fairly average film: his giddy way with words, and guiding voice, the triangulation between vulnerable youth, adolescent disdain and adult confidence. It's brief, simple and does the trick. 

Tooty's Wedding

Not that we've seen it, but if it's good enough for Sundance, it's good enough for us.