Awkwafina made history.
Russell Crowe, who couldn’t be there in person to accept his trophy because he’s in bush-fire-plagued Australia, sent a message urging people to act against climate change.
The winner of best performance by an actor in a motion picture — musical or comedy — was actually in a musical.
Ellen DeGeneres gave a killer speech. Joaquin Phoenix was as surreal as we’d expect him to be.
And with wins for best motion picture (drama) as well as director Sam Mendes, “1917” just picked up some Oscar momentum.
As for the host…
Ricky Gervais was so consumed with reminding us this was his fifth and final time hosting the Globes, so intent on congratulating himself for being edgy and not caring the least about anything, so obsessed with taboo, bleep-inducing zingers, he forgot something.
He forgot to be funny.
Sporting a tux with no tie, with a glass of beer on the lectern, Gervais set the tone for a condescending, smug routine by calling the membership of the Hollywood Foreign Press “all racists” and telling the star-spangled attendees, “Let’s have a laugh at your expense. …They’re just jokes, we’re all going to die soon, and there’s no sequel.”
It was hardly a surprise when Gervais targeted every showbiz elephant in the room and got controversial with his comments. That’s exactly what the hierarchy expected when they brought him back once again to host. Let’s get viral! Let’s embrace the irreverence!
Excellent. Bravo.
I wasn’t offended by Gervais’ subject matter. I was disappointed the content wasn’t up to his usual standards.
Gervais scored a mild laugh by poking fun at Leonardo DiCaprio’s dating habits (though that’s hardly fresh material). I enjoyed his crack about a sequel to “Sophie’s Choice” (as well as a spot-on one-liner about Hollywood and Harvey Weinstein that came very late in the broadcast) — but far more of Gervais’ so-called “jokes” were just crude cheap shots.
His swipe at James Corden wasn’t worthy of a Monday night open-mic routine. The “Two Popes” punch line was lazy.
The execrable Jeffrey Epstein deserves to be mercilessly skewered, now and forever and for all time, but Gervais’ jab at Epstein was weak and uninspired — and he came across as petty (and pandering to the anti-Hollywood crowd) when he told the audience, “I know he’s your friend, but I don’t care.”
On three separate occasions during the increasingly disastrous opening routine, the NBC cameras cut to Tom Hanks — whose unsmiling reactions seemed to speak for the room, and for many of us watching at home.
Eh. You’re not nearly as funny as you think you are.
Not that the broadcast was lacking in memorable moments. Carol Burnett Award honoree Ellen DeGeneres conducted a master class in how to accept an achievement award. Tom Hanks (a lifetime achievement winner) and Laura Dern (supporting actress winner for “Marriage Story”) delivered beautiful speeches in accepting their respective awards. “Parasite” director Bong Joon-ho, while accepting the best foreign language film trophy, urged movie lovers to not let the “one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles” discourage them from expanding their universe.
Joaquin Phoenix, accepting best actor in a drama for “Joker,” dropped multiple f-bombs as he said, “To my fellow nominees, we all know there is no f-—ing best actor. … It’s like this thing that is created to sell advertisements for the TV show,” and closed his rambling speech by saying, “It’s great to vote but sometimes we have to take that responsibility on ourselves and make changes and sacrifices in our own lives. … We don’t have to take private jets to Palm Springs for the awards sometimes.”
“Missing Link” winning best animated film over “Frozen 2” and “Toy Story 4” was an upset, but I still expect one of the latter two movies to take home Oscar.
Time and again, in both the TV and film categories, the HFPA crowned one deserving winner after another, from Awkwafina’s groundbreaking victory as the first artist of Asian descent to win for best performance by an actress in a comedy or musical film for “The Farewell” to Taron Egerton’s comedy/musical actor Globe for “Rocketman” to Brad Pitt’s supporting actor win for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” to wins for “Chernobyl,” Brian Cox (for “Succession”) and Russell Crowe (for “The Loudest Voice”).
Long after Gervais’ stumble is forgotten, these Golden Globes should be remembered for a more lasting legacy: singling out truly outstanding work in nearly every category.
