To quote Tina Fey, “Bitches get stuff done.”
Did you watch the Golden Globes on Sunday? Because nearly 20 million viewers tuned in to watch the awards show, earning the show the best ratings it has seen in six years.
It’s because women are funny. In a 2009 Emmy roundtable, in which an interviewer asked a bunch of Emmy-nominated folk some questions, Amy Poehler was asked if she thought anything had changed for women in the past few years, regarding the “myth” that women “can’t be as funny as men.”
“This question is boring,” Poehler said.
Let’s stop asking them that. Instead, let’s bow down to the display of comedic perfection that displayed itself on TV sets this weekend. Everything they did was hilarious. Was there a weird sort of pressure on them as female comedians to do well? Absolutely. But it’s not necessarily because they are ladies. There’s pressure on most comedians to do well, because that’s the whole point of comedy.
Take Louis C.K., for example. His comedic style is to be super real, to make jokes everyone can relate to rather than just yelling profanities during his set. He earns the laughs with his audience instead of being only loud or weird.
So did Fey and Poehler. The opening of the night was a lot like an extended “Weekend Update” from their days on “Saturday Night Live.” The rest of the awards provided them few opportunities to make us all laugh, but they fully utilized what time they did have.
We have no idea if they’ll be asked back to host next year’s gala, but they could host anything, and the country would support them entirely. Here’s our analysis of why it went so well: We already love them.
When Ricky Gervais hosts awards shows, half the country is angry at his irreverent style, and the other half wants to grab a pint with him. Fey and Poehler, on the other hand, are already America’s sweethearts. They’ve each achieved that after a lot of hard work. They had to overcome a lot of adversity on the field.
“‘Say yes, and you’ll figure it out afterward’ has helped me to be more adventurous,” said Fey in an interview in O Magazine, according to Huffington Post. “It has definitely helped me be less afraid.”
Comedians everywhere are, we believe, grateful for all the things Fey and Poehler have said ‘yes’ to over the years, as they have proven to be, time and time again, role models for everyone. Forget gender. Forget whether you actually enjoy watching rich Hollywood stars win awards for three hours, multiple times a year. Forget all of that.
Just say ‘yes’ to great opportunities that come your way. Who knows? You, too, could pull a Poehler and canoodle on George Clooney’s lap.
