It’s common knowledge The Golden Globes are one of the world’s most ridiculous awards shows. Running the Globes are old white people who love Emily In Paris and British costume dramas. It has neither the prestige of the Oscars nor the collegial tone of The Screen Actors’ Guild Awards. Having said all that, last night’s Globes were an unexpected balm. They provided a little bit of normalcy in a strange time, and for that, I am grateful. Below are my personal highlights from a surprisingly delightful awards show.
There Were Gloriously Embarrassing Speeches
Chloe Zhao was impossibly dignified while accepting her awards and Emma Corrin was perfectly effervescent. However, like most years, there were a lot of duds. For example, Mark Ruffalo gave an incoherent address about “mother earth,” his embarrassed wife cringing awkwardly beside him. For his part, Jason Sudeikis wore a tie-dye sweatshirt and rambled about the moral of a book he reads to his son, Otis. When he won the Best Screenplay award, Aaron Sorkin was reliably self-important as he lectured the audience about democracy. And you know what? The self-indulgent ramblings of middle-aged white male celebrities felt refreshingly normal. Sure, folks were accepting their awards via zoom. But at least we’re privy to some examples of celebrity narcissism, which is what The Golden Globes are about!
The HFPA Picked the Right Winners (Well, for the Most Part)
The Hollywood Foreign Press is comprised of 87 old, mostly white people. There isn’t a single Black person in the organization. And many believe this egregious lack of diversity explains why the mediocre Emily In Paris got nominated. Meanwhile, but the brilliant I May Destroy You got snubbed. However, tonight the winners were, for the most part, pretty en pointe; Chadwick Boseman got a posthumous award for his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Schitt’s Creek won best TV comedy. And Chloe Zhao took home the statue for Best Director for Nomadland, a film that went on to win Best Drama, as well.
Other highlights include the luminous Andra Day taking home the Best Actress in a Drama award for The United States Vs. Billie Holiday, and The Queen’s Gambit winning for limited series. Unfortunately, the otherwise respectable results were marred by The Crown being recognized for Best TV Drama. We all know Season Four was pure drivel!
The Hosts Disappeared For Prolong Periods Of Time
Around 10:20, everyone on my social media feed simultaneously started musing about the whereabouts of hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Which was comforting, because that’s what happens every year, pandemic or no. It felt like clockwork. The Golden Globes’ hosts always seem to give up a couple hours into the broadcast of Hollywood’s most bizarre awards show. This was not the duo’s strongest showing as Golden Globes hosts. But I adored the familiar feeling of wondering whether we’d see them again. It was a little bit of normalcy in a strange time….
