by FilmInk Staff
First time Golden Globe Awards host Nikki Glaser was a bubbly, pithy delight…and the show itself was pretty fun too, moving along at a nice, entertaining clip, while not exactly offering any true major moments.
In a move that shocked absolutely nobody, last year’s host Jo Koy was not invited back to guide the big, gaudy, loopy, occasionally famously off-course ship that is The Golden Globe Awards. After his frankly, well, fairly shithouse effort last year, stand-up comedian Nikki Glaser – perhaps best known to Australian audiences for her hilariously foulmouthed and on-point appearances on various Comedy Central Roasts – was anointed the first ever solo female host, and she did a very nice job in her opening monologue. Confident and smooth in her delivery, Glaser hit on all the expected comedy points (Trump, streaming services, Hollywood men as notorious predators), but also slid slightly off-piste with amusing bits on Timothee Chalamet, Adam Sandler and Nicole Kidman. “I give that film two fingers up,” Glaser said rather crudely of the Aussie actress’s sexed up flick Babygirl.
Though it still feels a little early in the year for awards shows (isn’t everyone still hungover from New Year’s?), the always casual, slightly flippant nature of The Golden Globes made it an easy proposition. Glaser kept it all moving at a nice clip, though her amount of costume changes was slightly distracting… does every appearance really need a new dress? Anyway, that’s just the nature of the chintzy beast, but it certainly makes all the right-on platitudes a little harder to swallow. Glaser’s Conclave meets Wicked bit was funny, as were most of her pop-ups during the show. Her mid-ceremony wrap-up was excellent (another dress?), with her energy and effervescence never abating.
Interestingly, all the awards were presented with the audience in the background, which gave the whole show a lot more life and energy. As always, something seemingly simple and straightforward made a huge difference. This also offered the hilarious sight of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo having to duck and grab their assets to prevent a wardrobe malfunction as they snuck past during the announcement of one award. Another nice add were the “fun facts” that accompanied all the presenters’ screen titles. Did you know that Andrew Garfield was fired from Starbucks for sitting down too much on shift? Our kind of guy! Did you know that Anthony Ramos used to be a baker? No, neither did we. Ramos’ bit with co-presenter Kathy Bates was excellent, by the way, with the seasoned pro offering the young up and comer some amusing advice.
As always, the presenters (or likely rather, the small army of writers who wrote their material) were a mixed bag. The aforementioned Ramos and Bates were a delight; The Rock gave his spiel on donating his shaven hair to Timothee Chalamet 100% commitment; Sharon Stone was as peculiar as you would hope, with her pronunciation-perfect announcement of winner Emilia Perez particularly amusing; and Seth Rogen and Catherine O’ Hara were a match made in heaven (“The whole room can see my bald spot,” Rogen said of the reverse presenting arrangement) with their bit about Canada.
Harrison Ford’s patented what-the-fuck-am-I-doing-here? vibe never gets old; Vin Diesel (who is apparently passionate about Dungeons & Dragons) gave a nice shout-out to The Rock when presenting the very stupid award for Cinematic & Box Office Achievement (in a true the-mind-boggles moment, a film now gets an award for making lots of money…seriously); Awkwafina was in constant danger of being taken out by Billie Eilish fan Melissa McCarthy’s extravagant dress during their exchange, which poured amusing water on the practice of personal causes at awards shows; access for service dogs advocate Glenn Close dropped a very nice F-bomb; and Nicolas Cage was, well, Nicolas Cage… which was great!
The gaping chasm in terms of differences in acceptance speeches was exemplified early and perfectly in the Best Supporting Actor and Actress categories. While Zoe Saldana shrieked, cried tearfully, dropped pronunciation-perfect beat after pronunciation-perfect beat, and basically carried on like a bit of a pork chop when she copped her gong for Emilia Perez, Kieran Culkin was all sly, self-deprecating, and succinct drollery when picking up his award for A Real Pain.
Demi Moore’s impassioned speech about “being good enough” for her well-deserved Best Actress win for the extraordinary The Substance was great, but felt a little ironic considering the glam arena in which it was unfolding. Unlike everyone else in the room, Emilia Perez star (and first ever transgender woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe) Karla Sofia Gascon didn’t look too enthused by what Moore had to say… or maybe she just has resting bitch face? Sebastian Stan’s pick-up for the also amazing A Different Man was a winner too, with the actor sensitively pleading for greater acceptance of those with disfigurement conditions.
The Brutalist Best Director winner (and previous star of films like Thunderbirds and Mysterious Skin) Brady Corbet’s speech was excellent, but the fact that he read it off his phone just looked a bit, well, indelicate. Call us old and past it, but that’s a practice that really needs to end, now.
With the world in such a dire state (is it ever not though, really?) the ebullient optimism of Wicked director John M. Chu was infectious and endearing, with the filmmaker truly frothing with messages of joy in his pick-up for the Cinematic & Box Office Achievement Award (again, seriously?) With Emilia Perez taking out Best Comedy Or Musical Award, this was a nice consolation. Former child magician Adrien Brody was something of a surprising Best Actor winner for The Brutalist, as was Fernanda Torres for I’m Still Here, beating out a field of huge names, including “Australia’s own” Nicole Kidman; both gave moving, heartfelt speeches, with Brody very weepy and demonstrative…look out if this guy wins another Oscar!
Meanwhile, the disappearance of the once indestructible wall that existed between big screen and small screen stars seems to be complete, with big names like Jodie Foster, (former line dancing instructor) Colin Farrell and more dominating in the television acting categories. Sofia Vergara’s amusing mock-anger at Foster’s win may have even held a little truth.
Watching the interactions in the audience during the (many, many…many) cuts to ad breaks was fun, as always. Did you ever think you’d see Harrison Ford giving Elton John a friendly shoulder rub? This was likely your only-ever opportunity. Stanley Tucci guzzling? Yes, please. Scrap-heaped Marvel stars Andrew Garfield and Tadanobu Asano having a chat? Nice!
And while it was nice to see The Golden Globes back on free to air TV, we would certainly be happy if we never saw another ad for Channel 10’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Survivor, The Amazing Race, and Lingo, and the various shows-we’ll-never-watch on Paramount+…except for Aussie Shore! Woo hoo, sign us up for that one, baby! Also, what the hell is Elsbeth? And how bad was it when they played the ad for it twice in a row??!! That was even more painful than Zoe Saldana’s acceptance speech!
It was worth wading through the awful torrent of unstoppable ads, however, for the wonderfully affirming speeches for Best Drama winner The Brutalist (Brady Corbet – without his phone this time, and improvising his speech to far more enjoyable effect – quietly fought for studios to support risky films like his three-and-a-half-hour epic about mid-century architecture) and Best Musical Or Comedy winner Emilia Perez, which saw star Karla Sofia Gascon speak eloquently and passionately on behalf of the trans community. It was a great end to a Golden Globes that moved along in a consistently entertaining, thoughtful and edifying manner without ever really truly soaring. All in all, it was a fun ceremony which actually seemed shorter than its three-plus hours, which is no mean feat. We’d be happy to see Nikki Glaser back up again next year… but take it easy on the costume changes.
For all the Golden Globe winners, click here.
