I think everyone was left scratching their heads when The Hollywood Foreign Press nominated The Tourist, Burlesque and Red for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical. But, for me, it was the final revelation that the Emperor TRULY wears no clothes.
I mean, the Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical category has always been a bit off a goof. Especially considering that the two genres have very little (if anything) to do with each other. And besides, how many musicals does Hollywood produce a year? One? Maybe two?
When you look at the nominees in this category, you begin to understand why comedic actors are rarely nominated for Oscars. Because, apparently, what counts as “comedy” in that town is REALLY friggin’ subjective.
I missed the first hour of the Golden Globes because I was busy being a parent (or some such nonsense) and was reading Henry stories before putting him to bed. I kind of wish I had caught the first hour because I heard Trent Reznor won Best Score for his work in The Social Network, went on stage to collect his award and that would have been very surreal to see.
But I started watching in the second hour and after about :30 minutes, thought to myself, “I’d really rather be playing video games right now.”
I managed to stick it out for the rest of the show. Chalk it up to exhaustion and not wanting to get up off the couch. But as I laid there, I asked myself “How do I get sucked into this every year? How does The Hollywood Foreign Press manage to convince me that this is important? That they’re not plying all of these celebrities with booze so the can take pictures with them later? Why does this matter?”
I still haven’t come up with a good answer for you on that one, but I’ll be sure to get back to you when I do.
More than the nominees or the winners, it seems like people are talking about Ricky Gervais as the event’s host. I guess his opening monologue was pretty incendiary and Robert Downey Jr. shot back at one point. I missed that stuff.
The stuff I did manage to see I thought was a little mean-spirited. Not that I’m against knocking celebrities off their high horses (obviously), but I’ve always kind of found Gervais to be insufferable. It’s that snarky, know-it-all tone and ridiculous grin, I think.
No doubt that Gervais is devastatingly smart, but Gervais’s put downs are never about getting the target to laugh at themselves. It’s straight up insults – “You’re a drunk! You can’t get work! You’re stupid!” – and it’s not entertaining to watch.
As I pointed out on the Theater Hopper Facebook page, I was left with the distinct impression that Gervais was doing everything in his power NOT to be asked back as host next year. Mission accomplished, bro.
If you’re curious, I’ve posted all of the Golden Globe winners in the new Theater Hopper blog – Bonus Materials. Be sure to check that out. I float a lot of odds and ends in there, so be sure to check back often. Or, feel free to subscribe to the Theater Hopper RSS feed. The blog posts show up there as well.
In the meantime, did you watch the Golden Globes last night? Were you as flummoxed as I was? What is your reaction to the nominees and the winners? Leave your comments below!
The Golden Globes were fun as a goof when everyone pretended their nominations were a precursor to The Oscars.
But they went too far this year when they nominated The Tourist, Burlesque and Red for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical.
I mean, my Uncle's conspiratorial rants about Hangar 18 and what REALLY happened in Roswell, New Mexico are good for a laugh...
...but the minute he pulls down his pants to show me where the aliens inserted the probe... Thanksgiving dinner is OVER, if you catch my meaning.
I watched the Golden Globes last night and I took them for the booze party it was. To be honest, I have to say the winners were well-chosen, overall. I would have gone for Mila Kunis for supporting actress and Alice in Wonderland for score, but they lost to deserving contenders.
The only category they really effed up on was one that was completely un-forgivable: best original song. Burlesque over Tangled?!? I would really like to hear the HFPA’s reasoning behind that, but that was the one time in the ceremony they really did come off as stupid.
The tone was definitely edgy… Ricky Gervais was an odd choice for a schmooze fest event. But I thought he was pretty damn funny. And I will say this: when the GGs came on, I was about to change the channel until he came out. I basically watched the whole damn show, just to see what outrageous stuff he’d say. And I would *never* have wasted the evening otherwise. So maybe it was a more calculated and planned performance than people think…
I’m pretty sure you said almost the same thing about Ricky Gervais last year. I thought he wasn’t as good this time around (and underutilized), but personally enjoy his willingness to take shots at the celebrity worship the Golden Globes seem to be.
Did I? Now I kind of want to go back and look. Maybe I’m just a hater. (Although I don’t remember Gervais being as cruel last year as he was this year.)
Gervais was under-utilized. He was absent from hosting duties for more than an hour during the second half of the broadcast.
For the record, I don’t have a problem with people making fun of celebrities. But I thought a lot of Gervais’s barbs were lazy. Robert Downey Jr’s rehab stint? That was over a decade ago. How long are comedians going to pillory him for it?
Gervais is too smart to be needlessly cruel.
I thought Gervais was fine. About time a host at one of these awards doesn’t kiss ass throughout the night.
One another note, I’m very happy Christian Bale got the supporting actor. He was stellar in The Fighter, and if there’s a guy that’s put in great performances consistently over the last decade without ever being recognized for them, it’s Bale. Well deserved. Let’s hope he gets the Oscar too!
Bale’s has a reputation for being a prickly pear who doesn’t enjoy doing press or promoting his films. I respect that, but I think it has handicapped the number of accolades he’s received in his career. He gets great reviews, but why nominate him unless you know he’s going to show up for the ceremony? Show organizers count on that sort of thing.
I think with The Fighter, Bale found a project that he was unilaterally proud of and happy to stump for. I hope the trend continues. I find his work to be almost 100% consistent and I think he has the ambition and talent to work the rest of his life if he wants to.
Ricky Gervais is the albatross around Steven Merchant’s neck. Merchant was the truly funny element of Extras, and he did it without Gervais’ squint/sneer/smile.
Hi Tom, love the comic as usual. I’m British and as such have a different view on Gervais….judging by press reports, every non American newspaper seems to have got the joke. His deadpan humour is definitely a winner over here- because we are used to it we can see that he is in fact not at all sneering, he’s an intelligent parody. But I understand how that wouldn’t translate- as you said yourself, Hollywood is not known for comedy that doesn’t involve physical humour or basic wordplay. I loved his rant at Steve Carrell. Thankfully johnny deep is an anglophile and his jibe at Gervais was in the same comedic style as his, although Hollywood press clearly didn’t pick up on that Nd believed it to be serious. All I’m saying is if you watch the office- the original you’ll know what I mean. But given that they knew it wouldn’t translate, you have to wonder why they picked him. If they wanted a British comedian/writer willing to sell his soul to pop culture, they should have just gave John cleese a ring….I’ll never forgive him for replacing Q in James Bond 😉
I’m British as well, I just can’t stand Ricky Gervais when he ‘smiles’; I know it is intentional, but it pushes my ‘must kill now’ button every time he does it.
Personally, I love Gervais, but I also understand, he’s not for everyone. I kind of have the same sense of humor as he does though. I don’t think it’s just that Americans don’t get him, because I’m American and I also know many Americans who really like him. But, I’m also more partial to British culture than I am to American culture, so there is that. I don’t watch award shows, so I can’t say how he was at the Golden Globes; I just know how I feel about him usually.