Well, the 69th Annual Golden Globes are in the books, and after all the hype about what Ricky Gervais might say as host, it was pretty tame. In fact, the most laughs came from the presenters' comebacks to Gervais' lame attempts at biting humor. Clearly somebody pulled the reins on him, or he did it himself. But since it's late, here are tonight's winners along with a few of my comments sprinkled in!
BEST PICTURE: DRAMA
Winner: The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse
Comments: Yes! My favorite film of the year has taken home the biggest prize at the Globes, and I couldnt' be happier. This isn't totally unexpected, but it'll have to face The Artist at the Academy Awards. No small task.
BEST PICTURE: COMEDY OR MUSICAL
50/50
Winner: The Artist
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
My Week With Marilyn
Comments: At this point, any win by The Artist is considered a given. It's the odds on favorite to take the Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
George Clooney, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Winner: Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Comments: Really? The way The Artist has been kicking so much butt I figured Hazanavicius had this one in the bag. Hugo is the sort of film critics and Academys tend to love, but this is a surprise. I still feel like Hugo was only half a quality film, but the 3D and the visual look were out of this world.
BEST ACTRESS: COMEDY/MUSICAL
Jodie Foster, Carnage
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Kristin Wiig, Bridesmaids
Winner: Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Kate Winslet, Carnage
Comments: Despite a late charge by Theron, and perhaps some vocal support to not forget Wiig in Bridesmaids, this was always going to be Michelle Williams' award. She's the only one out of the group who made that role her own and totally dominated it. She can win an award every year for SOMETHING.
BEST ACTOR: COMEDY/MUSICAL
Winner: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid, Love
Owen Wilson, Midnight In Paris
Comments: Ladies and gentlemen, meet your frontrunner for the Academy Award. It's been a remarkable run not only for The Artist but Dujardin in particular. I'd have like to see JGL score for 50/50, but just being nominated is award enough, I'm sure.
BEST ACTRESS: DRAMA
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Winner: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin
Comments: A disgrace. Look, Meryl Streep is good, but The Iron Lady proves she's fallible. Swinton, Mara, or Davis deserved the win over what was a below average performance by Streep.
BEST ACTOR: DRAMA
Winner: George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Comments: Finally! I was getting worried The Descendants wasn't going to be shown any love, but the best film of the year brings home a big one. The race is still between him, Fassbender, and Pitt for the Academy Award, but this is a major boost.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method
Winner: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Comments: Well, it was either him or Albert Brooks, and most of the time it's been Plummer winning out. He deserves it.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Winner: Octavia Spencer, The Help
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Comments: Truly a happy moment, and a deserving win for an actress who has come a long way. After having a chance to talk to her, it's clear she put her heart into that role, and she deserves the win. Congrats!
BEST SCREENPLAY
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants
George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Winner: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, Moneyball
Comments: Midnight in Paris is Woody Allen's best film in years, and the script is full of life. Congrats. Have fun wherever you are, since you couldn't turn up at the show!
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Flowers of War
In the Land of Blood and Honey
The Kid With a Bike
Winner: A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Comments: Tough category! Perhaps the toughest of the show. Angelina Jolie could've won, and so could The Skin I Live In, but A Separation has been the favorite for months so this isn't unexpected. I can't wait to finally see it!
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Winner: The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango
Comments: Rango is amazing, and Cars 2 is underrated, but no other film was as gorgeous, sprawling, and downright fun as The Adventures of Tintin.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Winner: Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Howard Shore, Hugo
John Williams, War Horse
Abel Korzeniowski, W.E.
Comments: So, the soundtrack I said droned on like bad RPG music wins. The music isn't bad, just doesn't change very much, but it beautifully fits this great silent era film.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Lay Your Head Down,” Albert Nobbs
“Hello Hello,” Gnomeo and Juliet
“The Living Proof,” The Help
“The Keeper,” Machine Gun Preacher
“Masterpiece,” W.E.
Comments: Really? Machine Gun Preacher didn't win? Just kidding, that shit sucked, but then again so does W.E....
Best Comedy TV Series
“Enlightened”
“Episodes”
“Glee”
Winner: “Modern Family”
“New Girl”
Comments: Terrible show, but it was really slim picking this year. And can someone please explain why Sofia Vergara's act is funny now after like twenty years of doing the same thing?
Best Actor, TV Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
David Duchovny “Californiacation”
Johnny Galecki “Big Bang Theory”
Thomas Jane “Hung”
Winner: Matt LeBlanc “Episodes”
Comments: Matt LeBlanc, consistently overrated and unfunny, looks lost without someone to write for him.
Best Actress, TV Comedy Series
Winner: Laura Dern, “Enlightened”
Tina Fey “30 Rock”
Laura Linney “The C Word”
Amy Poehler “Parks and Recreation”
Zooey Deschanel “The New Girl”
Comments: I find it hard to imagine that anybody is better than Laura Linney in anything, but there ya go.
Best Drama TV Series
“American Horror Story”
“Boardwalk Empire”
“Boss”
“Game of Thrones”
Winner: “Homeland”
Comments: Wow, that was unexpected. At least for me, who hasn't seen the show. It just seems that the other programs had more of a buzz than the understated Homeland. A big win for Showtime.
Best Actor, TV Drama Series
Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire”
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”
Winner: Kelsey Grammer, “Boss”
Jeremy Irons, “The Borgias”
Damian Lewis, “Homeland”
Best Actress, TV Drama Series
Winner: Claire Danes “Homeland”
Mireille Enos “The Killing”
Julianna Margulies “The Good Wife”
Madeleine Stowe, “Revenge”
Callie Thorne, “Necessary Roughness”
Comments: Another big win for Homeland and Showtime. They'll be poppin' champagne somewhere tonight.
Best Television Series – Miniseries/Movie
“Cinema Verite”
Winner: “Downtown Abbey”
“The Hour”
“Mildred Pierce”
“Too Big to Fail”
Best Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Hugh Bonneville, “Downtown Abbey”
Winner: Idris Elba, “Luther”
William Hurt, “Too Big to Fail”
Bill Nighy, “Page Eight”
Dominic West, “The Hour”
Comments: Idris Elba is the man. Period. He's amazing on Luther, and it's about time he got the props he deserved. Here's hoping his movie career ultimately lives up to his stellar TV one.
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner: Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”
Paul Giamatti, “Too Big to Fail”
Guy Pearce, “Mildred Piece”
Tim Robbins, “Cineme Verite”
Eric Stonestreet, “Modern Family”
Comments: Giamatti killed it, and should have won. Period. Dinklage is awesome, though, and I love his obvious reluctance to be in the spotlight.
Best Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Romola Garai, “The Hour”
Diane Lane, “Cinema Verite”
Elizabeth McGovern, “Downtown Abbey”
Emily Watson, “Appropriate Adult”
Winner: Kate Winslet, “Mildred Pierce”
Comments: Despite Downtown Abbey having all the recent heat, Winslet has been the talk of the year with her performance in Mildred Pierce. Not a a surprise.
Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-series or TV Movie:
Winner: Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story”
Kelly Macdonald “Boardwalk Empire”
Maggie Smith, “Downtown Abby”
Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”
Evan Rachel Wood, “Mildred Pierce”
