This yearís Golden Globes wasnít exactly the most exciting awards show in recent history. That shouldnít have come as a surprise as†† Hollywood was clearly caught off guard by the rain that drenched their normally sun soaked red carpet. Apparently when it rains in L.A., celebrities get a little grumpy.
After arriving inside, the irritable audience prepared themselves for a rather lackluster monologue presented by host and British television star Ricky Gervais. Needless to say, most of Gervaisí jokes fell flat and by the time he started plugging all of his various film and television projects, it seemed that both the at-home audience and those at the ceremony were getting a bit tired.
Things got interesting again when Moínique, star of ìPrecious,” accepted the first award of the night for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. Her speech was both moving and gracious.
Equally as gracious was the much-deserving winner for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, Christoph Waltz. Although the ìInglourious Basterds” star made his speech into a pun about his ìglobe now being golden,” he was endearing nonetheless.
As for the rest of the awards, many were rather predictable. All you really need to know is that once again, this was a good year for Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and the series ìMad Men.”
There were some surprises, however, with Sandra Bullock winning in the category of Best Actress ó Drama and Robert Downey Jr. winning for his role in ìSherlock Holmes.ì
ìGlee” beat out ìThe Office” and ì30 Rock” for Best Television Series ó Comedy or Musical, with ìThe Hangover” winning in its respective category as well. How it could be judged in the same category as ìNine” remains a mystery.
Jeff Bridges also won a long overdue award for Best Actor ó Drama for his work in ìCrazy Heart.” This was much to the chagrin of fellow nominee Tobey McGuire, who shot a mean look away from the camera after he lost.
Speaking of sore loser Tobey, it seemed that some of the nominees forgot how to be humble this year. Case in point, James Cameron. When his category for Best Director was read, he could be seen mouthing the words ìI could win this one” to his wife and former star of ìTitanic,” Suzy Amis.
Well Cameron was right, he could win that award. And he did, along with the award for Best Motion Picture ó Drama. He showed his appreciation by giving a couple self-important speeches that I wasnít too interested in hearing.
I also wasnít interested in hearing him deliver a statement in his made up language, Naívi, which he said meant, ìI see you. My brothers and my sisters.” No it doesnít mean that, James Cameron. You made it up.
Letís just hope for the sake of everyone that Mr. Cameron waits another 12 years before releasing his next film.
Possibly one of the strangest yet most exciting features of last Sundayís broadcast was the rather shoddy camera work that seemed to be going on throughout the night. It seemed as though the camera men were having trouble spotting the nominees when their names were called and a lot of the time, the camera was just panning around manically, catching whatever happened to be in their line of vision as they swiftly moved around.
Thanks to this (sub-par) camera work, the at-home audience was given many opportunities to see Brendan Frasier making overly excited hand gestures at the camera, prompting everyone watching to ask, ìwho invited Brendan Frasier?”
The tone at the Golden Globes this year was decidedly more somber, as a result of the devastation that has been unfolding in Haiti over the past few weeks. Many of the celebrities in attendance wore special ribbons to show their support for the cause, with some even opting to mention Haitian relief efforts in their speeches.
So, while the show was a little slow and the attendees a little grumpy, it can be assumed that for at least one night, most had their minds on more important things than congratulating each other.