Ricky Gervais brought his dry british humor to the American side of the world in a turn that makes one wish Ellen DeGeneres had been asked instead. He touted a fine line between self-deprecating humor and near offensiveness with celebrities. Note the hostility of Jennifer Anniston's deliverance of an award after being called, "Rachel from Friends." However, a loose Mel Gibson laughed off a slam geared towards his alcoholism. So, perhaps Rachel needs to relax a bit. Or maybe Gervais should keep his comedy Brit side.
Mo'Nique succeeded in delivering the most heartfelt acceptance speech in the history of the awards. For the first award given in the evening, she certainly set the bar high. So high, in fact, it made me wonder if Drew Barrymore was high later when she won for Grey Gardens. Meanwhile, James Cameron, who won for Avatar, obviously, gave a strange speech that left me almost clueless, but then again, Cameron isn't known for delivering anything normal. Yet, the fact he wasn't self-obsessed was a significant improvement from ten years ago when Titanic swept all of the awards.
The major upsets of the evening have to be, undoubtedly, Glee and The Hangover. Glee could not possibly be the best comedy on television. I never expected the Hollywood foreign press to really overlook shows like Modern Family and 30 Rock. Yes, it's innovative and fun, and supports a bunch of late twenty somethings pretending to be teenagers, but why must they give into that hype. The writing has been dull and uninteresting until the last few episodes. The Hangover, while laugh out loud funny, is not a movie that I would expect to win an award such as a golden globe. Is an oscar nomination/win next? It couldn't possibly, what with movies like It's Complicated, Nine, and Julie and Julia out there. But maybe the HFP is trying to surprise us all with going against the norm.
Overall, the globes usually give insight into what to expect for the Oscars. However, this season seems to be a little shaky and unexpected, so who knows what will comes in the months to come.
