The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards Show was held and broadcast live on Sunday, January 15th. Ricky Gervais hosted the awards; it is his third consecutive year in this capacity. Gervais, who is known for his acerbic wit and humor, lived up to his reputation on Sunday as he cracked jokes about Madonna, Jodie Foster’s film “The Beaver”, and even Kate Middleton. The celebrities attending, however, did not rise to his bait for the most part. Winners included Meryl Streep and George Clooney.
The Golden Globes’ winners are chosen by the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, or HFPA. The HFPA is, as its name suggests, a group of foreign journalists who cover Hollywood films. This unique designation for the Golden Globes makes it slightly different from many of the other big awards shows due to its identity as the only awards show whose winners are chosen by a group outside of the US. The Golden Globes are also unique as an awards show in the night’s rambunctiousness; unlike the Oscars, at the Globes, the guests are seated around tables and served food and champagne. This generally makes for very interesting, albeit slightly inebriated, television entertainment and awards speeches. This year, though, the awards were subdued, with very little excitement.
As a bit of a contrast to the calm tone of the rest of the evening, Gervais’ commentary was, as always, biting and very interesting to watch. He introduced himself as, “Britain’s biggest comedian, hosting the world’s second biggest awards show, on America’s third biggest network.” (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/9016987/2012-Golden-Globes-Awards-Ricky-Gervais-gives-a-sober-performance.html). He was not expected to be invited back after last year’s awards show, in which he insulted the HFPA’s president. The Golden Globes, however, loved the often cheeky humor which Gervais brought to it, and so gave him another year. However, despite more witty attacks on the HFPA and many of the celebrities in attendance, the most exciting moment of the evening was Meryl Streep’s seventh Golden Globes acceptance speech, which was slightly awkward due to her forgetting her reading glasses at her table, resulting in her stumbling through her remarks.
Meryl Streep, the winner of best dramatic film actress, received her award for her performance in “The Iron Lady” portraying Margaret Thatcher. Octavia Spencer won the best supporting actress title for her role in “The Help.” She quoted Martin Luther King Jr. in her acceptance speech for the role, which was that of a maid in a civil rights era southern home (http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/16/showbiz/golden-globes/index.html?c=showbiz&page=1). Other winners included George Clooney as best actor in a drama film for his role in “The Descendants,” Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin” for best animated picture, and “The Descendants,” again, for best drama film.
The Golden Globes can occasionally predict what happens at the Oscars, but because the Globes separate dramatic and comedic performances, the Oscar winners are often somewhat different. As an example, while both Meryl Streep and Michelle Williams won best actress awards at the Globes, Streep’s was for a dramatic film, while Williams’ was for a comedic role. The Oscars may take on the difficult role of deciding which Globes winners deserve two accolades, or they may go in an entirely different direction and choose someone else (http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/01/15/golden-globes-fun-facts-frequently-asked-questions/).