Los Angeles, Jan 8: They may not have had lukewarm chardonnay on the tables, as nominee Jennifer Lawrence had predicted. But the 81st Golden Globes had a bit of everything else: Some silliness, some seriousness, a bit of history, a few good jokes and many bad ones, loads of stars — and one Taylor Swift, who didn’t ascend the podium but still made her presence known as perhaps only Swift can.
One decisive trend emerged: In the great “Barbenheimer” showdown of awards season 2024, round one went to the “heimer” part. Christopher Nolan’s sweeping biopic “Oppenheimer” dominated the evening, among its wins the prize for best drama, best director for Nolan, and best actor ( Cillian Murphy ) and supporting actor (Robert Downey Jr.).
Greta Gerwig’s candy-coloured “Barbie,” meanwhile, lost to upset victor “Poor Things” in the comedy/musical category, but won the new cinematic and box office achievement award, as well as best song for Billie Eilish’s wistful “What Was I Made For.”
It would be unwise to count “Barbie” out, but it was a disappointing night for her fans, and also for another fearsome force: Swifties. The pop superstar, who spent 2023 smashing all records in sight, lost out on her fifth Globe nomination. But she stunned on the carpet in shimmering Gucci green, and later created a meme-worthy moment when she reacted with a seemingly icy glare to a joke about her by host Jo Koy.
Swift was not alone in her displeasure; at one point the jokes were falling flat enough for Koy to stop and explain that he’d had only 10 days to prepare.
The crowd laughed harder at Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig, who made an amusing bit of pretending — insisting — that the ceremony was “a serious night.” The joke was that few actually take the ceremony seriously. Noted presenter Mark Hamill: “It’s the only awards show with an open bar.”
But it was indeed a serious note that served as an emotional highpoint: Lily Gladstone, of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” became the first Indigenous winner of best actress in a drama, speaking in the Blackfeet language and reminding the crowd that there are still significant advances to be celebrated.
Koy got a few laughs with a joke about the lengthy “Oppenheimer,” saying, “I needed another hour.” But as the monologue went on, it was clear that the comic needed something else: sharper jokes from the writers.
Cameras caught negative reactions from celebs like Harrison Ford and Selena Gomez, and the “Barbie” team did not appear amused when he noted that “Oppenheimer” was based on serious material but their own film was based on “a plastic doll with big boobies.”
Koy sought to defend himself. “Yo, I got the gig 10 days ago. You want a perfect monologue?” He added: “I wrote some of these, and they’re the ones you’re laughing at.”
When Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for her acclaimed supporting actress performance in “The Holdovers,” she duly thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Only problem: The HFPA is now defunct, and many in the audience responded audibly: “They’re not called that.”
After several years of turmoil that followed the revelation that the HFPA had no Black members, the Golden Globes were acquired last year by Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions and turned into a for-profit venture.
Some 300 entertainment journalists now vote for the awards. Later, Randolph spoke about the vibe of the evening. “It’s a party in there,” she said. “It’s a good time. We got through the pandemic. We stuck through our two strikes. There’s a sense of buzz in there.”
Winning an early award for best supporting actor, Downey Jr. told the crowd he had taken a beta-blocker, so “this is going to be a breeze.” He then misspoke the name of his character, government official Lewis Strauss. (PTI)
