A quick game of Would-You-Rather offered a few good jokes about the films and nominees themselves with the Richard Linklater/Alejandro Iñárritu match-up scoring the best by comparing the twelve-year production of Boyhood with the jazzy one-shot of Birdman and as the directors’ own distinctive style in the bedroom. The show got really edgy, though, when one the hosts introduced Into the Woods, scored a joke about Meryl Streep putting the cast members on a quest to earn her another Golden Globe, and then found a segue to roast Bill Cosby for his own alleged potions. Tina did her best Bill Cosby confession and then Amy one-upped it (I think there was a hoagie joke in there, too) and the timely dig scored the best laugh of the night.
Here’s the full opening number
(with the Bill Cosby joke at 8:50.)
The intro was a highlight in an especially good night for
the Golden Globes, which seemed to assert their relevancy very well in a season
that’s becoming increasingly loud and cluttered. Most of the frontrunners
prevailed, but a few upsets shook up the night. I didn’t do especially with
predictions by guessing only nine out of fourteen winners, but the mix of foregone
conclusions and unexpected coups made it a consistently good night.
Boyhood easily
cements its frontrunner status with its trio of wins, especially since it isn’t
conventional fodder for the Golden Globes, which usually reward mainstream
star-driven productions over independent fare. Boyhood Best Supporting Actress winner Patricia Arquette (one of
the heaviest favourite among the winners) and Best Director Richard Linklater
conveyed the personal significance of the film by stressing their families
while accepting the awards and, in turn, showing everyone why there’s a lot
more to Boyhood than just a twelve
year commitment. Birdman, on the
other hand, seemed to have a Best
Picture in the bag for the Comedy/Musical category when it scored a win for
Best Screenplay—arguably one of the most competitive awards of the night—and a well-deserved
Best Actor win for Michael Keaton (a foregone conclusion). It then lost in an
upset to The Grand Budapest Hotel,
which is mildly surprising since Birdman
was the overall leader in the nominations tally and, more strangely, Birdman beat out Budapest in the screenplay category where Budapest is generally seeing the most favour throughout the season.
The Globes win makes The Grand Budapest
Hotel the dark horse of the race.
The biggest upset of the night, though, was in the feature
animation category where How to Train
Your Dragon 2 bested The Lego Movie.
The animation race has largely been seen as a two-way race between The Lego Movie and the Japanese film The Tale of Princess Kaguya (which wasn’t
eligible due to foreign language restrictions), so Dragon’s roar is a major boost for a film that’s been overlooked
throughout much of the precursors. The better film won, in my opinion, so
everything is awesome as far as the animation race is concerned.
The significance of the Golden Globes, which are the first
major award show in the interval between the time that Oscar ballots are
received and the nominations are announced, was most evident in the strong crop
of speeches from the winners, most of whom made a fine impression for a
favourable night at the Oscars. It was a surprisingly emotional night as many
of the winners, especially for the television awards, highlighted the
significance of their work in terms of onscreen representation and authenticity.
Eddie Redmayne was genuinely gushing in his expected win for The Theory of Everything in the extremely
competitive Best Actor – Drama category. He’s probably the one to beat come
Oscar night. Birdman winner Michael
Keaton, on the other hand, probably offered the most touching moment by choking
up and calling his son his best friend, while the long-overdue Julianne Moore trumped
wild card Jennifer Aniston and gave one of the classiest speeches of the night
by highlighting collaborators who made the project possible while noting their
personal connections to the project. Like the Boyhood team, Moore’s moment made her work and win feel relevant.
As for those who got a much-needed boost, Amy Adams might be
one to slip in one’s final Oscar predictions for her work in Big Eyes. She’s great in the film but
has been on the bubble since the movie itself is performing mildly at best, but
a Globes win on the heels of an unexpected BAFTA nomination means she could
take the fifth Best Actress slot at the Oscars that could go to Jennifer
Aniston. Aniston’s loss for Cake is a
bit of wrench in her campaign, but Adams also has the Weinstein Company behind
them, and they’re the masters of the campaign game! Losses in the major
categories for Selma, on the other
hand, aren’t encouraging, especially since it was shut out at the BAFTAs and
seemed like Boyhood’s biggest
competition until this week. Common’s win in the Best Song category was one of
the finer moments of the night, however, especially since he best articulated
the significance of the film in terms of democracy and free speech—a point many
tried to make in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack and Sunday’s marches.
Sunday’s Golden Globes, finally, were an overall good show
because they brought a hefty abundance of Meryl Streep—that annual staple—into living
rooms. Meryl didn’t win for Into the
Woods, but Fey and Poehler gave a nod to Streep’s selfie moment with Ellen
during last year’s Oscars by taking a jab at the controversy with North Korea
and The Interview. The hosts
introduced the newest North Korean member of the HFPA—Margaret Cho in disguise—and
had Streep pose for a photo, which Benedict Cumberbatch promptly photobombed. This
is why you always nominate Meryl Streep, people!
The winners:
Best Film – Drama:
★ Boyhood
★ Boyhood
Best Film - Comedy/Musical:
★ The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Director:
★ Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Best Actor - Drama:
★ Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Actress - Drama:
★ Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Best Actor - Comedy/Musical:
★ Michael Keaton, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Best Actress - Comedy/Musical:
★ Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Best Supporting Actor:
★J.K. Simmons in Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress:
★ Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Best Screenplay:
★ Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo
Best Original Score:
★ Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything
Best Original Song:
★ "Glory" by Common and John Legend, Selma
Best Animated Feature:
★ How to Train Your Dragon 2
Best Foreign Language Film:
★ Leviathan - Russia
★ The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Director:
★ Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Best Actor - Drama:
★ Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Actress - Drama:
★ Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Best Actor - Comedy/Musical:
★ Michael Keaton, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Best Actress - Comedy/Musical:
★ Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Best Supporting Actor:
★J.K. Simmons in Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress:
★ Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Best Screenplay:
★ Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo
Best Original Score:
★ Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything
Best Original Song:
★ "Glory" by Common and John Legend, Selma
Best Animated Feature:
★ How to Train Your Dragon 2
Best Foreign Language Film:
★ Leviathan - Russia