A little glitz, a bit of glam and a whole lot of celeb power — the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards showed off the year’s best film and television actors, actresses and artists with its usual elegance and excitement.
Hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler spared no expense (or topic) in their opening monologue. From Bill Cosby jokes and subsequent hilarious impersonations by the two comediennes to the Sony hack by North Korea, the third-time hosts charmed the pants off of the A-list crowd once again. My favorite part? A random game of Who Would You Rather, with Fey immediately answering, “Chris Pine. Was that too loud?”
Benedict Cumberbatch joined Jennifer Aniston — at Fey and Poehler’s request — to present Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. J.K. Simmons took home the statue for “Whiplash.”
The star-studded gags kept coming. Urged by the hosts, Michael Keaton snapped a picture of Meryl Streep and a faux North Korean journalist, a stoic Margaret Cho, while Cumberbatch hopped up for a photobomb in the back, prompting the aptly hashtagged #cumberbomb.
The night was full of powerful speeches, from Best Actress in a TV Series (Musical/Comedy) Gina Rodriguez of “Jane the Virgin” to Best Actor in a TV Series (Drama) Kevin Spacey from “House of Cards.” The former, a first-time nominee and winner, thanked her family for inspiring her and ended her speech by quoting her father: “My father used to tell me to say every morning, ‘Today’s gonna be a great day. I can, and I will.’ Well, Dad, today’s a great day. I can, and I did.”
On a more serious note, Theo Kingma, the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, took the stage early in the evening to state that the organization and community stands “united against anyone who would repress free speech, anywhere from North Korea to Paris,” and Meryl Streep was one of the first to stand in a room-wide ovation. Various actors including Kathy Bates and Helen Mirren also sported “Je Suis Charlie” accessories on the red carpet.
Continuing with the night’s freedom of speech trend, “Je Suis Charlie” became a common mention. George Clooney showed his support as he was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award. He also mentioned his wife, Amal Alamuddin — now Amal Clooney — and previous recipient Robin Williams during his acceptance speech.
Other notable wins include “Birdman” for Best Screenplay and The World’s Handsomest Man, aka Matt Bomer, for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Show, Mini-Series or TV Movie in the gut-wrenching “The Normal Heart.” John Legend and Common won the award for Best Original Song and accepted the trophy from surprise presenter Prince — and his bedazzled cane.
The biggest categories of the night showcased the big, and arguably expected, frontrunners this awards season. For leading actors in the Musical/Comedy category, Amy Adams of “Big Eyes” and Michael Keaton of “Birdman” took home the statues. In the Drama category, Julianne Moore of “Still Alice” and Eddie Redmayne of “The Theory of Everything” earned their respective awards. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” took home Best Motion Picture (Musical/Comedy), while “Boyhood” won the award for Best Motion Picture (Drama).
All in all, the Globes can be summed up like this: a lot of celebrity speeches (duh) and (disappointingly) little of Tina and Amy. And where was the In Memoriam segment? Were they that over time?! While this is supposedly the duo’s last year hosting the Globes, we can only dream that their successors will be just as wonderfully hilarious. We’re looking at you, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig.
Did your picks match up? Tweet your thoughts @AlyssaVHolcomb, and stay tuned for the next Trophy Hunting recap of the SAG Awards airing Jan. 25.
[A version of this story ran on page 10 on 1/15/2015 under the headline “Trophy Hunting: Golden Globes Awards"]
