I’m at the point where, as a film fanatic, if I miss an awards show, it’s not the end of the world.
I ate dinner with my family instead of watching the Golden Globes live. It was a really nice time and I didn’t feel out of the loop or like I had to look up the results when I got home.
Some have been wondering if cutting back awards season a few weeks this year was a good or bad move. For me, the sooner it’s over the better. At the end of the day, the arts should be appreciated on their own, not turned into a competition between contenders and gossip blogs. Posting about my faves’ red carpet looks was fun in school, but now it just feels old and tired. Though that could just be me feeling my age.
But since movies, pop culture and film trivia are my forte, I might as well give a brief summary of how things went down, with what I dug and what I didn’t. I never pay attention to the TV categories, so we’ll skip all of those. But I will say, as someone who watched most of FX’s “Fosse/Verdon” last year, Michelle Williams deserves her Globe for Best Actress in a TV Series. (Even if her speech was a little bluntly awkward.)
Film fans are theorizing that “The Irishman” and “Marriage Story” getting largely snubbed for most of the night might be because of the bias against Netflix and streaming in general. Need I remind everyone that last year’s “Roma” was also a Netflix produced film and did quite well during awards season? All three films have gotten theatrical releases on top of going straight to the website.
Sam Mendes winning Best Director for 1917 was indeed a surprise, especially over Bong Joon-ho for “Parasite,” Quentin Tarantino for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” or Martin Scorsese for “The Irishman.” I haven’t seen 1917 yet, but anyone winning over Todd Phillips for “Joker” is a plus in my book.
Laura Dern and Brad Pitt winning the Supporting Actor and Actress categories was fine, I guess. I thought Dern in “Marriage Story” was a bit redundant, but Pitt was a pleasant surprise in “Once Upon a Time.”
Taron Egerton and Awkwafina winning Best Actor and Actress in a Musical or Comedy for “Rocketman” and “The Farewell” were deserving and refreshing; while Renee Zellweger and Joaquin Phoenix winning the same category for Drama with “Judy” and “Joker” were a bit underwhelming (and I’m saying this as a fan of both). I would have gone with Scarlett Johansson for “Marriage Story” and Antonio Banderas for “Pain and Glory.”
The big wins of the night, Best Drama and Best Musical or Comedy went to “1917” and “Once Upon a Time” again. Eh. Granted, the Globes are flashier than prestigious. And in general, I always preferred the SAGs and BAFTAs of the pre-Oscars shows. So maybe the next couple weeks will bring something unexpected and fresh to the so-far-bland season.
Megan Bianco
