The 2016 Golden Globe awards were presented last night in Hollywood last night. This year’s awards show must be noted as trying hard to keep is reputation as a light hearted and unserious awards show that doesn’t take itself too seriously (like the Oscars).
Celebs swilled drinks and threw out profanity as if at a Hollywood celebrity soirée. However, as far as the awards go, with the exception of nominating Matt Damon and his movie “The Martian” in the”Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical”, which won as well as Damon in the Best Actor, Comedy or Musical”, the 83-member Hollywood Foreign Press Association seemed to get things right.
Comedian Ricky Gervais seemed a bit incredulous that after outrage over his previously brutal zingers making fun of Hollywood and it’s movers and shakers, that he would be invited back again and again.
Mr. Gervais, hosting for his fourth time, seemed to realize he had a character he was now expected to play. “Shut up, you disgusting, pill-popping, sexual deviant scum,” Mr. Gervais told the crowd. He cracked transgender jokes about Caitlyn Jenner, the “Transparent” star Jeffrey Tambor and the movie “The Danish Girl.” “It’s a bit of metal that some nice, old, confused journalists wanted to give you in person so they could meet you and have a selfie with you,” he said, admonishing winners not to grow emotional.
In an upset, “The Revenant,” a frontier-era revenge thriller, was the night’s big winner, taking Globes for best drama, best actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and best direction (Alejandro G. Iñárritu). “Steve Jobs,” which flopped at the box office, was a repeat winner. Kate Winslet won supporting actress for her portrayal of an Apple marketing executive, while Aaron Sorkin collected the Globe for best screenplay.
On the Television side, Lady Gaga won best actress in a limited series or TV movie for the latest incarnation of FX’s “American Horror Story,” Taraji P. Henson, was a winner for best actress in a television drama on Fox’s “Empire”, Jon Hamm won best actor for “Mad Men,” which concluded its celebrated run last year. USA’s fledgling “Mr. Robot” won the Globe for best drama, beating the HBO juggernaut “Game of Thrones.” Christian Slater won best supporting actor for the series, which peers into the dark corners of the Internet.
With his supporting actor win for “Creed,” Sylvester Stallone appeared on his way to a trip to the Oscars for playing an aging Rocky.
Denzel Washington, winning the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement prize, took the stage saying that he had lost his speech. He finally found it, thanking the press association, his wife and his agents, past and present, before becoming unable to read his notes and trying (unsuccessfully) to borrow a pair of glasses.
