In the midst of an emotional and stirring speech that was the norm rather than the exception last night, Brendan Fraser, accepting Best Actor for The Whale, quoted Herman Melville: “There are only five critics in America. The rest are asleep.” (Pause) “I don’t know what that means either!” Huge laugh. “But thank you for waking up for me!” Then, taking a slightly hurt pose: “Where were you for Furry Vengeance?!” (a film I’m pretty sure Fraser wanted us all to forget)
Ever since the official merger of film and television awards in the winter of 2015, the Critics Choice Awards have been, in my opinion, the gold standard that all awards should follow. They’ve been working out the kinks for a bit (one horrible year they only blocked off two hours instead of three) but by and large they are the best awards show you will ever see, the same running booze as the Golden Globes but far less pretension and so far, no scandals. The presentations are invariably more entertaining and the barbs when they come less vindictive. Chelsea Handler, a comedienne I much admire, was superb throughout the night, stinging with her wit far less than being awkward. There were some political lines: “I always celebrate critics right to choose…unless, of course, they’re female critics”, a pretty much on target reference to Tar and Ellen DeGeneres’ problems and the difference between budgets for male and female directors: “James Cameron was given $350 million for (Avatar) and Sarah Polley had to film Women Talking in a barn.” (On a private note, I was glad to see Polley take home the prize for best screenplay.) And these awards shows always seem to finish on time, something Handler took credit for: “Another glass ceiling shattered!” she said before the final award.
It was quite fun watching some of the film awards, but my focus as always is on television, which as I have mentioned on numerous occasions, the Critics Choice have a far better track record than any other awards show to date. I don’t always agree with all their choices (I’m never going to agree with them on Succession) but I can’t argue they don’t make it fun even I don’t agree with the winners (Kieran Culkin’s acceptance speech last year almost made me wish he’d win at the Emmys). And this year, the Critics topped themselves in ways I hardly dreamed would happen – and not only because I was right in the lion’s share of my predictions.
After the Golden Globes, I was worried that Better Call Saul’s luck on the red carpet would continue to be bad. The Critics proved why I should trust them more. Better Call Saul was the biggest winner of the night, taking home Best Drama and giving Bob Odenkirk a well deserved Best Actor prize (his third from this organization). Odenkirk, as always, was ridiculously humble, saying that he’d done nothing to deserve the opportunity Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould had given him, saying he was supporting by the greatest cast ever and finishing up by saying it was wrong for them to give an award to him and not for him to give one to Rhea Seehorn. I will admit it was a blow for me that she lost (I’ll get to that in a second) but that loss was mitigated by Giancarlo Esposito’s deserving triumph for Supporting Actor. Esposito’s speech was a call to arms in the best way possible.
Jennifer Coolidge’s victory was a blow because I hoped Seehorn would win and I think we’re all bother by the placement of The White Lotus in this category. (Though as we’ll say, that wasn’t a universal feeling.) But considering Coolidge’s remarkable graciousness as well as just how incredible a speech-giver she is, I will let this pass, knowing full well she will not be up against Seehorn for the Emmys, giving her another real chance. (As for Esposito, who knows?)
The comedy awards were, if anything, more rewarding. The Supporting Awards went to Sheryl Lee Ralph for Abbott Elementary and in what was a shock to him (though I had only dared hope for it) Henry Winkler for Barry. Winkler got to the stage first, waited for Ralph to get there, helped her up and let her speak first. Ralph’s speech was as magnificent as it was at the Emmys, only with no singing. She admitted her struggles over time, thanked Sidney Poitier in the early stages, cheered all her cast to the rafters and finished with a call to arms of her own. Winkler said: “How do you follow that?” and then, in his own way, gave nearly as brilliant a speech. He told everyone he hadn’t even bothered to prepare (“I didn’t even wash the shirt I wore to the Golden Globes!”), went out of his way to say how grateful he was to Bill Hader and Alec Berg, thanked his entire cast, and in the kind of thank you only an actor of his years could say, gave a shout out to Julia Roberts for her work in Gaslit (“You were more Martha than Martha.”) I know both of them will be busy for awhile on their current projects, but having seen them together, I would love to see anything that Ralph and Winkler could do together, comedy, drama, musical.
As expected Jeremy Allan White followed up his win as the Golden Globes with another here for Best Actor for The Bear, this time going into detail thanking his entire cast. I will admit a slight disappointment that Jean Smart took her second consecutive Best Actress prize for Hacks. No one (certainly not me) can argue she didn’t deserve it, I’m just disappointed that Christina Applegate or Quinta Brunson couldn’t take it instead, and I was slightly sad that she was there to take it. But as we know by now for these awards shows, Quinta Brunson does not lose. Less than three minutes later, she was onstage accepting the prize for Best Comedy Series (from Seth Rogen, who she remarked was an idol on Tuesday). Again she was self-deprecating (“you must be tired of hearing from me by now”) and took an opportunity to point out one of their producers was in the bathroom and cheered when he made it back to the stage.
The Limited Series awards pretty much followed the script I’d laid out, with one intriguing exception. The Dropout took Best Limited Series and Best Actress for Amanda Seyfried. Liz Meriwether took the opportunity to be very gracious and acknowledged the facts: one of the people she thanked was Mike White for not being nominated in this category, something everybody in the audience fully got. (She was also very generous in thanking the journalists and whistleblowers who made sure the scandals about Elizabeth Holmes came to life.) Paul Walter Hauser followed up his Golden Globe for Black Bird with another win for Supporting Actor and now must be consider the man to be for the Emmy this year. His speech was similarly respectful and devoted to his fellow nominee Ray Liotta (“I know you’re at a better party than us.”) Niecy Nash-Betts gave a speech that on any other night would have been the high point: saying that producers had told her to stay in her lane, saying that when she’d asked her mother if she’d could be a great dramatic actress, her mom told her no but then agreed to work to get her through drama school anyway, and her equally joyous and moving speech ended with: “And finally for those of you who though I was never capable of this, I have this to say – “In your face!” Nash-Betts remains one of my favorite actresses and considering that Coolidge will almost certainly defeat her at the Emmys, this is the moment she deserved. I know there are more in her future.
Even Daniel Radcliffe’s triumph for Best Actor for Weird was quite brilliant as the presentation was given by Courtney B. Vance, who started his remarks in a perfectly dry fashion: “Wait a minute. I won this award. I’ve been supporting Angela for thirty years.” When Radcliff was absent was absent, he said: “I accept this award on his behalf…and it’s coming home with me.” Even Al Yankovic was hysterical. (He had a good night: Weird won best TV Movie.)
Even the inevitable victory of Zendaya for Euphoria did not trouble me as much as it should of, partly because she was once again absent, and more honestly because it is very unlikely the third season of Euphoria will air this year. Melanie Lynskey and Imelda Staunton, the race no doubt begins here.
And though it is only slightly related to this, I must confess I was moved by the powerful speech of Jeff Bridges who received the Lifetime Achievement Award from his Big Lebowski co-star John Goodman. (“I would gladly sleep with either man,” Handler told us before she introduced Goodman.) Bridges was both humble and moving, mentioning that today was his father Lloyd’s birthday (“I’m wearing his cufflinks” he said as he showed us) thanked his supportive family (Beau’s award is no doubt coming soon) and his wife, as well as some obvious people (Peter Bogdanovich) and the ones you might forget (his stand in for forty years) Bridges didn’t take the Best Actor for The Old Man, but I don’t think anyone cared. I’m pretty sure one’s in his future.
There was so much joy everywhere: Quinta Brunson and Sarah Hyland giving rules for acceptance of awards: “If you’re not here to accept your award, it goes to the lost and found”; White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon-Moss Bachrach starting their presentations of supporting awards about wine, and Edebiri going on a tangent about getting drunk with Melanie Lynskey the night before; Aubrey Plaza announcing the Supporting Actor award by reminding Bryan Tyree Henry about their co-starring in a Child’s Play reboot, and saying she’d love to act with them in another Child’s Play reboot (I’m looking at you Judd Hirsch) and Handler’s introduction of Kerry Washington by proving you can never trust your neighbors.. especially when they’re Reese Witherspoon (thank you for the Little Fires Everywhere shoutout) and Washington summarizing reactions to so many of last years nominees for Best Drama (my favorite was for House of the Dragon: “She did that with her uncle?!”) The Critics Choice continues to demonstrate why it’s the bets awards show around in both the caliber of its nominees and winners (certainly for television) and in general entertainment value. Now if we can just convince the rest of the viewing public to catch on. Maybe Seth Rogen’s dig at the CW wasn’t entirely out of place. I mean, it has been awhile since Rachel Bloom’s victory.
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