The Golden Globes offered up a bombardment of surprises this year, as it pissed rain on the red carpet, causing 30 Rock star Tina Fey to quip that it was "God crying for NBC," over the current late night debacle that will see the hilarious and talented Conan O 'Brien replaced by the inherently bland Jay Leno on The Tonight Show. Don't get me started on that mess...
Ricky Gervais did the best he could with the ceremony's stringent format. It's not like the Oscars or Emmys, where hosts can essentially do sketches. He was restricted to standing at the podium taking the piss out of whoever he was introducing, and Paul McCartney; which was still, admittedly very funny. NBC, Mel Gibson and Colin Farrell were all jabbed with Gervias' trademark acerbic wit - with Farrell in particular handling it well, giving the host a hug after walking on stage to present Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.
The awards themselves saw box-office hits Avatar and The Hangover pick up gongs ahead of more critically favoured fare like The Hurt Locker and Up in the Air. The Hangover's category was particularly weak, with a mediocre Meryl Streep double bill of Julie and Julia and It's Complicated finding places on the list, but 500 Days of Summer should've won regardless. Streep went one further and managed to win, showing an, admittedly incoherent, humility in her jabbering acceptance speech. Notably, she was wasn't cut off by rising music, despite the producers of HBO mini-series Greys Gardens being mercifully curtailed mid name thanking. Biggest surprise of the night went to Avatar, though, as the movie that's expected to become the highest grossing of all time in the next two weeks, took home Best Film, and Director for James Cameron. I liked Avatar, but it wasn't a patch on either The Hurt Locker or Up in the Air, with only the latter of those two previous favourites picking up any recognition at all - Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner's Adapted Screenplay nod. Jeff Bridges bagging Best Dramatic Actor over George Clooney was somewhat expected, but Robert Downey Jr. nicking a shiny one for Sherlock Holmes was a shock; particularly when both Joseph Gordon Levitt and Matt Damon gave better performances - and I say that as a big fan of Downey.
So, shenanigans were suitably erratic all round, with much glee to be had in the deserved ripping of the network broadcasting the event, NBC. Speaking of which, fair play to the thoroughly enjoyable Fox series Glee for picking up Best Series: Musical or Comedy - even if it did beat my precious Entourage. What last night proved, if nothing else, is that this year the Oscar race is wider open that it has been in years. Don't bet your mortgage on anything.
*Golden Globes Red Carpet Gallerycan be viewed here*
