18 of the strangest Golden Globe nominees in history, from the awards show that loves surprises

Sure, Freddie Highmore is a good actor, who is good in "The Good Doctor." But the show is not good. Considering all of the other great performances by actors in a drama series that could have been nominated — like Lee Pace in "Halt and Catch Fire" or Matthew Rhys on "The Americans" — we're surprised Highmore made the cut.

"Legally Blonde" helped get Reese Witherspoon the career she has today. It's a good romantic comedy, and Witherspoon's performance as Elle Woods (which was nominated for a Golden Globe as well) was great. But it's really just a silly movie that's best watched on a day when you don't feel like thinking or leaving your couch, so a nomination for best comedy or musical was an interesting choice.

Emilio Estevez directed the 2006 film that followed an excellent ensemble cast the day Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968. Despite a promising premise and an all-star cast, the movie was a dud. But it managed to get nominated for best motion picture in the drama category anyway.

Halle Berry deserved the nomination for best actress, but the nomination came years before the movie was actually released. Save for a very brief qualifying run in 2010, the movie didn't have a wide theatrical release until 2014.

Eddie Murphy played a lot of characters in "The Nutty Professor." But a nomination in the best actor in a comedy or musical category felt out of place for the lackluster comedy.

Sarah Jessica Parker is great in the fun (but tonally confusing) holiday movie "The Family Stone." She plays a girlfriend who spends Christmas with her boyfriend's judgmental family for the first time. Her character struggles to be herself because the Stone family won't give her a chance, no matter how hard she tries. But is her performance noteworthy enough for a best actress in a comedy or musical category? Not really.

Yikes. For some reason, Mel Gibson was nominated for best actor in a comedy for this lame and problematic (spoiler alert: it's sexist) comedy.

Love Hewitt was nominated for best actress in a miniseries or TV movie for "The Client List," a Lifetime movie about a woman who starts working at a massage parlor to support her family, but quickly realizes that some massages require a happy ending. The movie, based on a true story, was excessively dramatic even for a Lifetime movie and Love Hewitt did not pull off any of the cliche dialogue.

In 2011, Lifetime turned "The Client List" into a show that Love Hewitt also starred in. It lasted for two seasons.

In this cute but forgettable romantic comedy, Jackman plays a man from 1876 who time travels to modern day New York City. He is shocked by the modern age, but falls in love with Meg Ryan. The movie relies on Jackman's charms, which could be why he was nominated for best actor in a comedy or musical. The movie was directed by James Mangold, who would later direct Jackman in his best performance to date in 2017's "Logan," a performance he was sadly not nominated for this year.

"Baby Driver" was one of the first big critical hits of the summer, but it's shocking that Elgort got a nomination in the best actor in a comedy or musical category, because his performance was the most glaring flaw in the otherwise great action movie.

You might have loved this movie when you were a kid, but it's terrible. Glenn Close, who was nominated in the best actress in a comedy or musical category, is an amazing actress, but her campy performance as Cruella de Ville was not worthy of an award for acting, or even a nomination.

We're not saying she didn't deserve the nomination for best actress in a comedy or musical: Jamie Lee Curtis is an absolute delight in "Freaky Friday," especially when she is pretending that Lindsay Lohan's character is inside her body. But it is surprising to see a performance in a kids' movie get nominated for a prestigious award. Curtis is an HFPA favorite, though: She's won two Globes (for "True Lies" and "Anything But Love") and has five nominations, including "Freaky Friday."

The film starring Cher and Christina Aguilera received terrible reviews, but in a pre-"La La Land" world, secured a nomination in the best comedy or musical category simply by being a musical. The movie was a complete waste of its talented cast.

"Patch Adams" was not only nominated for best motion picture in the comedy or musical category: Robin Williams was nominated for his performance. The movie is terrible. It's more sad than funny, and unintentionally so. It's regarded as one of the worst movies of the 90s, and was definitely the worst film Williams ever did in an otherwise storied career.

Jim Carrey is a Golden Globe golden child. In 1999, he won best actor in a drama for "The Truman Show," which he was great in, and he was nominated for his phenomenal role in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

But some of his other nominations are questionable, and make us seriously wonder what was wrong with comedies in the 90s and early 2000s. "The Mask," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and "Liar Liar" weren't noteworthy performances, and each movie is mediocre at best.

Somehow, this performance got nominated for best actor in a comedy. No comment.

"The Tourist" was nominated for best motion picture in the comedy or musical category. Its nominations, years later, remain a running joke today. The film, which is described on Wikipedia as a "romantic thriller film," was also nominated for two other awards: Angelina Jolie for best actress in a comedy or musical, and Johnny Depp for best actor in a comedy musical.

With the film's scathing reviews and the terrible accent from Jolie, we have no idea why enough people in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association watched this movie and voted for it.