Smiling, with good reason: Clooney and the film he stars in get top honors from D.C. critics.

The Washington Area Film Critics Association likes to be one of the earliest critics’ groups to get out their year-end picks. In fact, of the major critics’ associations, only the National Board of Review, which revealed its selections last week, gets theirs out earlier. Of course, this does mean that the picks are made before some of the last movies of the year have had their press screenings — but is anyone really expecting Avatar to be a best picture contender? The WAFCA announced their favorites for the year on Monday, and it should come as no surprise that Jason Reitman’s simultaneously dark and crowd-pleasing George Clooney vehicle, Up in the Air, took top honors.

Up in the Air also topped the NBR’s list, and seems the odds on favorite for the Academy Awards at the moment. It’s hard to argue with a film that features Clooney’s top-notch, charismatic performance (which also won him a Best Actor nod from WAFCA), and that sneaks some sensitively handled serious themes aboard a vehicle that would have defaulted to easy comedy in most directors’ hands.