Film enthusiasts and casual enjoyers gathered to watch the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, Jan. 7. Between the nominations and awkward hosting, it was an eventful night.
The night was a highlight primarily for fans of “Succession,” which took home four awards for Best Television Series – Drama, Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama for Sarah Snook, Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama for Kieran Culkin and Best Supporting Actor – Television for Matthew Macfadyen.
The series is officially over, and went out with a bang. I’ve personally never given “Succession” a watch, but the scene where Shiv and Roman have a little sibling slap-fight deserves a Golden Globe on its own.
Another major competitor was “The Bear,” which won three awards including Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for Jeremy Allen White and Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for Ayo Edebiri.
“I can’t believe I’m in this room with all these people I’ve loved so much, admired so much for so long. It’s unreal. I love this show,” Allen said in his acceptance speech.
As an avid viewer of “The Bear,” I was proud to see White and Edebiri celebrated for their skills that carry the show, but the only question in my mind — and a huge majority of the show’s fanbase’s — was why is it considered a comedy?
The show is so well made that it makes the audience feel like they’re in the kitchen alongside the characters. It’s stressful.
“Oppenheimer” unsurprisingly had a good run, and won five major awards at the ceremony. Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama went to Cillian Murphy and Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture went to Robert Downey Jr.
“Universal went all in on Christopher Nolan, to direct Cillian Murphy with Emma Thomas producing with Emily [Blunt] and Florence [Pugh] and this cast and crew and helped them render a goddamn masterpiece,” Downey Jr. said in his acceptance speech.
Alongside the acting credit, “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan won Best Director – Motion Picture, the film received the award for Best Original Score – Motion Picture for Ludwig Göransson and, finally, the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama.
Other major awards included Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Paul Giamatti in “The Holdovers” and Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for Da’Vine Joy Randolph in “The Holdovers.”
“Beef” won the Golden Globe for Best Limited Series – Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, “Barbie” won the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award, “The Boy and the Heron” won Best Motion Picture – Animated and “Anatomy of a Fall” won Best Screenplay – Motion Picture.
Of course, we can’t discuss the Golden Globes without discussing Jo Koy’s hosting fails that continued throughout the night.
His introduction to the ceremony felt drawn out, and as the camera panned to the actors and filmmakers, viewers at home could tell it wasn’t just an “us thing.” As the night went on, audiences held out hope that his jokes would improve, but they just got more misogynistic.
One of his jabs went to “Barbie” — directed by Greta Gerwig — as Koy completely missed the point of the movie. He was met with glares from Gerwig, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling — among many other actors.
“Oppenheimer is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies,” Koy said in his monologue.
Despite this, the night went on with its wins and losses — and bad hosting. Hopefully, next year’s ceremony will be an improvement from this one. Regardless, I will be tuned in.
