Johnny Depp and Ricky Gervais share a laugh onstage during the Golden Globe Awards. (Photo by Paul Drinkwater/NBC via Getty Images)
And so it happened that the third time was not the charm for returning host Ricky Gervais, who spent the weeks leading up to his Golden Globes gig promising in interview after interview that he wouldn't hold back on his infamous celeb-skewering and he wasn't all that concerned if the famouses got angry because it was the last time he'd take the stage as our emcee. But it seemed as if all of that talk of keeping his edge was just that, with Gervais coming off as surprisingly toothless and, worst of all, bored, not taking delight in all of the mean things he was saying, usually part of his untouchable persona.
But not even Gervais' uneven hosting could dampen the spirits of the little black-and-white silent film that could from French director Michel Hazanicius, whose movie The Artist was honoured with Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Score accolades, winning half of its six nominations.
The Artist actress Berenice Bejo kisses her husband Michel Hazanavicius, the film's director in the press room at the Globes. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) |
Other winners included Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady, George Clooney for The Descendants and Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn, who more or less dedicated her award to her young daughter Matilda in a way that wasn't too cloying. Thankfully, Canadian Christopher Plummer was rightly honoured for his moving work in Beginners and delivered a beautiful speech that really showed his gift for commanding a stage. (He's a Stratford Festival fixture.)
As is typically the case with the Globes, Gervais only popped in periodically to deliver zingers about The Tourist (he's still holding on to that one but the payoff was impressive), Jodie Foster's Beaver and shamelessly plug his new show "Life's Too Short," which left a lot up to the presenters themselves, who were sometimes oddly paired up, producing something close to a chemistry vacuum.
Or if you're Seth Rogen, you confront the odd-couple pairing, in his case with comely Brit Kate Beckinsale, head-on by making a pitch-perfect innuendo that made the actress blush and giggle uncontrollably.
The 69th annual Golden Globes also saw Martin Scorsese get kudos for his first foray into 3D family flicks with Hugo, Steven Spielberg get honoured for his motion-capture epic The Adventures of Tintin and an absent Woody Allen was awarded the Best Screenplay Globe for his romantic fantasy comedy Midnight in Paris.
And even though, according to one of Gervais' earliest and most biting cracks, the Globes are like the Oscars only without all that esteem, we were hoping for more genuine laughs from the talented comedian, who seemed to phone in the second-half of the surprisingly swift-feeling three-hour ceremony.
Considering both of his hit TV shows ("The Office, "Extras") only ran for two seasons, Gervais displayed a surprising lack of self-awareness when he decided not to go out on the high note that was last year's hosting gig.
At least we'll always have that Eddie Murphy/Norbit joke to make us giggle.
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Full list of winners at the 69th annual Golden Globes
MOTION PICTURES
- Picture, Drama: The Descendants.TELEVISION
- Series, Drama: "Homeland," Showtime.Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Morgan Freeman
What did you think of the ceremony and Ricky's hosting job? Tell us in the comments and head here for everything awards.
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