Before I begin this review, I
must mention that last night I read another critic’s reaction to last night’s
Golden Globes. I won’t tell you who it was or what publication they worked for,
save to say I am so familiar with their writing about anything regarding
Hollywood, and particularly awards show, that I honestly think they write their
reviews in advance and fill in the names and show’s in detail. I have read many
of their articles on these awards for nearly twenty years, and I have yet to
see an awards ceremony they had any use for.
This is a fair judgment at times (most awards show are almost invariably
overlong, self-congratulatory and dull). What bothers me is that so many of
their reviews are ignorant and just have a barely sustained level of misogyny
and racism. Such was the case here. In the opening line, the reviewer
acknowledged the Golden Globes didn’t air last year. Rather than go into
details why, he then simply wrote that it should be cancelled forever. The
contempt that was in this review couldn’t even be considered veiled. I don’t
think any writer would have insulted Michelle Yeoh’s acceptance speech with
this bizarre sarcasm by saying: “Prove you’re not racist by accepting the
awards given by white people.” He then said Jerrod Carmichael wasn’t funny
because his opening line had to do with his transition from making tea to
hosting an awards show, which I’m not certain was so much homophobic but a
matter of being the only line the reviewer listened to. Then this writer
bragged for the glory days of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler when this very
publication (if not reviewer) had viewed them at the time as little more than
SNL wannabes who were making jokes which didn’t have the context of how hard it
was for men to find roles after a certain age. I have a feeling if Poehler and
Fey had hosted this year, the reviewer would have published something
like this being ‘tired with no originality’ and ‘not letting new blood’ in.
Now I’m not going to defend the
Golden Globes. I don’t think they truly deserve it, and the fact that so many
celebrities were in the auditorium that night speaks to a level of hypocrisy in
Hollywood that if this reviewer had deemed to comment on it, he would have been
within his rights too. And I’m not sure the fact that so many winners were
absent from the podium that night speaks more to their personal integrity than
maybe just the weather. I did not give the Golden Globes as much attention as I
have in years past mainly because I did not agree with the fact I was airing.
But to the immense credit of Carmichael, he did not ignore it in his opening
monologue or indeed throughout the night. He was not as unctuous as Ricky
Gervais has been at puncturing the
Hollywood balloon, but he was just as determined to make the audience
uncomfortable about what was happening.
Not long after that tea joke, he
went on to say the reason he was here: “I’m black.” Before the audience could
stop awkwardly laughing, he then went after the history of the Golden Globes
racist history by telling these ‘good liberal people’ “the Hollywood Foreign
Press Association didn’t get their first black members until after George Floyd
died.” Then he said that in his imaginary conversation with the producer, the
producer said: “We’re not asking you because you’re black. I’m asking you
because you’re one of the most, funny, truth-telling, and boldest comedians of
your generation. But he’s black, so what does he know?” Again Carmichael
pointed out that he himself wasn’t the only stage dressing going on here. Then
he mentioned that while he did have principles, a ‘girlfriend’ had told him to
take the job because he was getting half a million dollars for one nights work.
“You have to remember where I came from. You have to think there were black
families in the 1960s who were proud their children were informants for the
FBI. ‘My son’s getting $8 an hour for ratting out Dr. Martin Luther King.”
(This joke was not just one that would make the good liberals uncomfortable, it
may have been zing at the fact they gave awards to Judas and the Black
Messiah just two years ago.) And then, when he mentioned his meetings with
the women in charge, he continued to double down saying: “What are they going
to do? Fire me? I’m the first black host of the Golden Globes. I’m unfirable!”
And then, he brought it home: “I was going to take the job before I
learned about the rule changed. I don’t care if the HFPA has hired six new
black members.”
Even if Carmichael had said
nothing else like this the rest of the night (and while there were some very
key gags he threw in that I’ll get too, mostly he left the HFPA alone) in five
minutes, he had essentially laid bare of all the pretensions that the Golden
Globes was aspiring to and was no doubt hoping the audience at home would have
forgotten. I don’t know if Carmichael will ever be asked back to host the
Globes, but in the opening monologue he made it truly clear that while he may
have taken the job for the money, he didn’t sell out.
Now speaking strictly for myself
there were many entertaining moments throughout the night, particularly from
the television perspective. Jennifer Coolidge, as she does so often, came out
to present Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama, and spent three minutes
delightfully explaining why she had told the producer she was unfit for the
job, saying she’d slip on the stage, couldn’t read the teleprompter, and had a
habit of messing names up. (The name she mentioned: Bill Ny-e.) Finally
she got around to presenting the award and began it with: “And the Oscar goes
to” before correcting herself, which I know she planned in advance. Combined
with her alternately hysterical and profoundly moving acceptance speech for The
White Lotus that night, it is now clear that Jennifer Coolidge has made
herself the unofficial candidate to host any awards show going forward.
A challenge that Natasha Lyonne
delightfully accepted when she came to present the award for Best Drama Series.
By this point, the show was well over its eleven o’clock end-time and she was
no doubt being told to hurry up. She then spent the next ninety second using
any words as possible to say she was going to move quickly. Then she brought
the house down by saying: “The real enemy is time itself. Which as we know is
an empirical thing. Time is really death’s handmaiden. And so let’s get to Best
Drama series, each of which celebrates death in its own way. I did not think it
was possible for me to love Natasha Lyonne any more.
And of course Carmichael didn’t
entirely let the establishment off the hook: at one point, he showed up holding
three Golden Globes which he said were the one ‘Tom Cruise famously returned.’
Then adding: “I think we should consider exchanging these for the safe return
of Shelly Miskevich.” Later on, after a commercial break he told the audience
while we were out: “we gave Will Smith the Rock Hudson award for Masculinity.”
Ricky Gervais could have not set it better himself (though Eddie Murphy nearly
did later)
Generally I was satisfied with
most of the awards, the lion’s share I did accurately predict. I loved every
award that Abbott Elementary ended up winning, and my sadness as Julia
Garner defeating Sheryl Lee Ralph was more than countered by Tyler James Williams
win as Best Supporting Actor. Quinta Brunson continues to make me love her on
every level, she accepted her Best Actress prize by adjusting herself and
checking her phone, telling everybody her family was texting. When the series
took the Best Comedy prize, she was gracious, thanking her comedy idols (Henry
Winkler, Bob Odenkirk, and Seth Rogen) and then, fangirling over Brad Pitt. The
awards march for the show will no doubt continue this weekend. I was just as
happy to see Jeremy Allen White prevail for The Bear and express his
admiration for the actors he said his spent his early years idolizing.
Limited Series was filled with
similar joys. In addition to Jennifer Coolidge’s triumph, The White Lotus as
expected took the top prize for Best Limited series. Mike White admitted flat-out
he was completely drunk, but was gracious nevertheless, saying he would take a
bullet for his cast and that he loved working at HBO. Paul Walter Hauser accepted
his prize for Black Bird and spent a good part of his speech cheering
the late Ray Liotta and asked the audience to do the same. Amanda Seyfried was
not present to accept her Best Actress prize for The Dropout and while I
don’t agree with Evan Peters for Dahmer, it fit in with a general tone.
The Best Drama wins, I must
admit, left me somewhat cold. Zendaya’s victory was perhaps inevitable but
still not something I wanted. Kevin Costner’s triumph for Yellowstone irked
me because of the Globes final shutout of Bob Odenkirk. (It didn’t help Costner
wasn’t there.) And no part of me will ever be able to accept House of the
Dragon as Best Drama, especially since one of the reasons I’ve defended the
Golden Globes over many years is they were the only major organization that
never gave in to the love spent on Game of Thrones. Honestly, Ozark would
have been a better choice. (Though I’ll admit choosing to give the top prize to
the most recent hip show is on brand for the HFPA. Another sign they haven’t
changed as much as they’ve said.)
But I’ll be honest: the decision
to give Ryan Murphy the Carol Burnett award for Television was one of the most
fitting the Golden Globes have ever done. Murphy is one of the most brilliant
creative forces in television and has been recognized by the Golden Globes six
times in all three categories for five different projects. The man behind such
brilliant and diverse projects (in every sense of the word) such as Nip/Tuck,
Feud, American Crime Story, and Glee was more than worthy of
recognition. And in his typical modest fashion, Murphy spent much of his speech
honoring some of the actors who had to spent years struggling to succeed
(including a shoutout for MJ Rodriguez whose win for Best Actress last year no
one had seen even though it was a great moment for inclusivity and television.)
It was a battle cry to be sure, but one that Murphy has earned for spending
years fighting these fights for so many people. There may have been cruel memes
towards Billy Porter and Ryan Murphy last night; they were unworthy of both
men.
I don’t pretend to know what the
future holds for the Golden Globes. I can’t even truly say whether it deserves
one. Quite a few key major figures were absent despite being nominated or
winning; in addition to the ones I mentioned, Zendaya was absent, so were
Brendan Fraser and Cate Blanchett (who won her record fourth Golden Globe for Tar.
) I don’t know if last night represents a turning point or the beginning of
the end. What I know is that last night was more entertaining and on target
with its barbs than it had any right to be, and that in the case of the lion’s
share of its TV winners, more than established that it is capable of making the
kind of choices that I have come to expect from it over the years. (Both new
sets of Supporting Awards, the first after the separation were announced, did
produce satisfying results; for all my hatred of Ozark Garner was
overdue recognition from this organization.) I do know that the awards does not
deserve to be canceled based on last night. This may be based on the most
recent outcome, but the most recent outcome of anything in Hollywood always
drives the narrative anyway.
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