“Only at the Golden Globes do the beautiful people of film rub shoulders with the rat-faced people of television.”
With that line in her and Tina Fey’s opening monologue, co-host Amy Poehler quickly set the mood of the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards, which aired Sunday at 8 p.m. on NBC.
In an awards show where the alcohol never runs dry, the Golden Globes are more of a party than a prestigious night of honor.
The Golden Globes were full of laughter, heartwarming speeches and a lot of wins for “Homeland,” including “Best Drama Series,” “Best Actor in a Drama Series” and “Best Actress in a Drama Series.”
While the Globes went to many talented people for their work in film and television, my favorite parts came from the hosts and presenters.
When it was announced back in October that Fey and Poehler would be hosting the Golden Globes, I set the bar high for these comedy queens. After the first eight minutes of the awards show, they had already surpassed my expectations with their perfectly-timed jokes and celeb disses.
“‘The Hunger Games’ was one of the biggest films of the year, and also what I call the six weeks it took me to get into this dress,” joked Fey in the pair’s opening monologue.
Poehler quickly replied, “Ang Lee’s been nominated for best director for ‘Life of Pi’ which is what I’m gonna call the six weeks after I take this dress off.”
Throughout the night, Fey and Poehler proved nothing was off-limits with their jabs at celebrities including James Franco, Ricky Gervais and James Cameron. One of the biggest disses of the night went to Taylor Swift. Fey and Poehler carried drinks onstage and appeared to be drunk after they both lost in the “Best Actress in a Comedy Series” category to “Girls” writer and star Lena Dunham. Fey then told Swift to stay away from Michael J. Fox’s son, who acted as the show’s Mr. Golden Globe, an annual title given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which is traditionally the daughter or son of a celebrity. As the crowd began its uproar, Poehler added “Or go for it,” with Fey quickly saying, “No, she needs some ‘me time’ to learn about herself.” I’m sure Swift is furiously writing a song about the joke as we speak.
The Golden Globes had many great award presenters including George Clooney and Aziz Ansari, but the most entertaining were Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell, who presented the award for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy or Musical.” As the hilarious pair took the stage, they looked star-struck while looking around at the elaborate stage as if they had never been to an awards show before. The pair then brought back “SNL” characters “Garth and Kat,” as they began to ad-lib the plots of the movies in their category as if they had seen them.
The award show wasn’t all laughs, though. Dunham and Jodie Foster both had heartwarming acceptance speeches that made many audience members and at-home viewers feel all warm and fuzzy.
Dunham took home two awards for her work on the HBO series “Girls,” winning “Best Actress in a Comedy Series” and “Best Comedy Series.” In her acceptance speech, Dunham thanked the other women nominated in the category, including Fey and Poehler, for helping her get through “the darkest moments of her life.”
“This award is for every woman who has ever felt like there wasn’t a space for her,” a teary-eyed Dunham said. “This show has made a space for me.”
Foster, who received the Cecil B. DeMille award, which is given for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment,” thanked her ex-partner, Cydney Bernard, and her mother in her endearing acceptance speech, which brought many people in the audience to tears.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” said Foster to her mother, Evelyn Ella “Brandy” Almond, who suffers from dementia. “I hope that if I say this three times, it will magically and perfectly enter into your soul, fill you with grace and the joy of knowing that you did good in this life.”
While Foster’s speech was very sincere, she still managed to get a laugh when she joked about her sexuality and private life.
“So while I’m here being all confessional, I guess I have a sudden urge to say something that I’ve never really been able to air in public,” said Foster as the crowd waited in anticipation. “I am single. Yes I am, I am single.”
As the Golden Globes came to an end, and the crowd began to appear a bit sloppier, Fey and Poehler said goodnight and snuck in one last joke.
“Goodnight,” Fey said.
“We’re going home with Jodie Foster,” joked Poehler.
The 70th Annual Golden Globes were a huge success in my book. Films like “Argo,” which won “Best Drama” and “Best Director,” and “Django Unchained,” which won “Best Supporting Actor” and “Best Screenplay,” and television shows like “Homeland” and “Girls” were all big winners of the night. Despite this, I think the real winners were Fey and Poehler. Even though they both walked home empty-handed, they made the night memorable for everyone who watched it. So, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, can we make this Fey/Poehler hosting duo an annual thing?