The Golden Globes Hangover

More taut than the Oscars, but lacking in pompous importance — the Golden Globes ended with a yawn and we’ve got our post show analysis for all who dared and all who didn’t. 

The Host

He could never have lived up to the hype that came from both his own mouth and a promotional campaign that hinted at a night of ribald, damn near deviant humor directed at the Hollywood elite; we should have known that, but I sense many were let down when at the end of the night it was clear that Ricky Gervais failed to deliver much more than docile pokes and jabs (aside from the hilarious Jodie Foster Beaver joke and the bit about Helen Mirren). The brilliance of Gervais’ last go-around as host of the Globes was the unexpected gravel drag he gave stars like Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr., but this time around we knew the jokes were coming. The final verdict? NBC should be thankful that it isn’t likely that we’ll band together to sue for false advertisement. Gervais is still a better awards show host than almost anyone I’ve seen in the last decade, but if he comes back next year I truly hope he and the HFPA can the promises of “danger”, because they’re so clearly bullshit.

The Winners

You can go here to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s official Globes site for a full list of the winners, as I only intend to touch on a few.

I agree with about half the HFPA’s picks, most notably Jessica Lange, who was a bit over the top but splendid in American Horror Story; Chris Plummer, who was delightful and touching in Beginners (my favorite movie of 2011); and Idris Elba as the volatile John Luther in the BBC cop drama, Luther. Michelle Williams’ turn as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn was stellar, but she and the picture didn’t belong in the comedy/musical category.

Biggest disappointments 

Modern Family has quickly turned from fresh to rotted, and the continued adoration bestowed upon this merely middling show is an oft-prodded thorn in my tuchus when it comes to awards season. I didn’t personally care for Midnight in Paris or The Descendants, so Woody Allen’s win for best screenplay, George Clooney’s win for best actor, and The Descendants‘ win for best drama didn’t exactly illicit glee or applause for me. Matt LeBlanc’s performance in Episodes leaves much to be desired, but the entire category was illegitimate thanks to the stunning omission of Jim Parsons. The same thing can be said of Clooney’s win in that he was spared a comparison to Gary Oldman’s performance in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I doubt that will happen again once the Oscar nominations are announced. 

Final Observations

It was nice to see Sir Sidney Poitier present the Cecil B. DeMille award to Morgan Freeman. Also nice to see Martin Scorsese get recognition for Hugo, a film that is so stylistically contrary to what we now perceive as a “Scorsese film”. Merryl Streep was charming, of course, one of the better parts of the night, and Chris Tucker is apparently alive and not stuck in Brett Ratner’s basement next to 50 gallon drums of shrimp grease and an Olivia Munn stalker wall.

In closing, I simply have to say that the thing I will take away from this night is that Gervais didn’t even make those in attendance wrinkle their pretty party suits, and that is a hell of a shock coming from the man who said, in the run-up to the show, “I only do things that could end my career now.” While that may explain Ghost Town, in reference to tonight it was simply a crock as the comedian played it safe.

Update: Don’t want to take my word for it? Here’s Gervais’ gentle opening monologue.

Written by Jason Tabrys (@jtabrys)

The former editor-in-chief, Jason still reappears in the rafters of our fair site from time to time but he now spends his days leaping from one place to another, trying to put right what once went wrong. You can still find his words across the toxic constellation that is the… More »