Monday 9 January 2017

Golden Globes 2017: Winners and Losers


The Golden Globes have been and gone for another year! There were some highs (La La Land is on a roll!) and some lows (how the hell did Portman lose?), making this a rather typical ceremony filled with the usual shocks, snubs and the occasional flub (we're looking at you Fallon). Here are some thoughts and comments on the winners and losers from the 2017 Globes.

Fallon fumbles and flumps his lines


It all started off so well for Jimmy Fallon; this opening song and dance number that riffed on La La Land was genuinely really great (I loved that Amy Adams got to share in the singing). The Ryan Reynolds and Justin Timberlake cameos were great, the Stranger Things kids got to rap a little - it was all good, harmless fun.


And then Fallon walked onto the stage and the whole show unravelled in an instant. All of a sudden it we were presented with a blithering mess who rolled out a Chris Rock impression within seconds of the teleprompter failing. Ricky Gervais wouldn't have stuffed that up; Fey and Poehler would roll with the punches. Fallon fell apart the second things didn't go to plan and it didn't improve much after that.

Going Ga Ga for La La


Okay so we all knew that La La Land was going romp through awards season - but did anyone expect this? Damien Chazelle's musical racked up seven wins (in all of the categories it was nominated for) including Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), Best Actress for Emma Stone, Best Actor for Ryan Gosling, Best Screenplay and a couple of wins for soundtrack and score also.

It's the first time a film has won 7 awards in the same night at the Golden Globes which certainly affords the film a lot of forward momentum as we head into February where Oscar season really kicks into gear. Can we expect the film to sweep the board there too? I don't think it's as certain as the results this weekend would suggest.

If Gosling is nominated for Best Actor (a likely outcome), he won't have the luxury of being up against folks like Ryan Reynolds or Jonah Hill. Instead he'll most likely be up against guys like Casey Affleck, Viggo Mortensen and Denzel Washington. Hell, he might not even sneak a nomination in the first place - if he does it will be at the expense of Mortensen or Joel Edgerton.

Likewise, La La Land will face tougher opposition in the Oscar Best Picture category against the likes of Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea and Lion. The current form guide is very reminiscent of 2014's Birdman vs. Boyhood scenario; the former was a comedy about show businesses, the latter a more serious and contemplative reflection on youth. We all know how that panned out - my money is on a repeat of that exact same thing going down again.

My personal highlight of the night (aside from Streep's killer speech and that Ryan Reynolds/Andrew Garfield snog) was Emma Stone's wonderful acceptance speech for Best Actress (Musical or Comedy). Honest, emotional and filled with warmth and humbleness; even though she faces the prospect of toppling Huppert, Portman and Adams at the Oscars, I think she already has one hand on the statuette.


Huppert and Taylor-Johnson the surprise winners


At least to me anyway. I don't think a lot of us expected Isabelle Huppert to scoop Best Actress - at least not when the likes of Natalie Portman and Amy Adams were waiting in the wings. Granted, I've only see two (Jackie, Arrival) of the five films nominated but her win was a surprise nonetheless. It does take the wind out of Portman's sails somewhat; a win in this category would have propelled her towards a showdown with Stone at the Oscars, presumably.

Elsewhere Aaron Taylor-Johnson scored a win for Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals - he beat the likes of Mahershala Ali, Jeff Bridges and Dev Patel to win Best Supporting Actor. It was a surprising choice to say the least. Even though I've yet to see Moonlight, it felt this was definitely going Ali's way. I really liked Nocturnal Animals and even I don't think Taylor-Johnson should have been nominated, let alone win (should have been Michael Shannon instead).


Rule Britannia


In a string of surprise wins, the HFPA went gooey for British prestige drama over in the TV categories; Netflix's The Crown and BBC/AMC coproduction The Night Manager scooped a lot of the televisual wins including Best Drama for The Crown, Best Actress (Drama) for Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II and a raft of acting wins for The Night Manager. The HFPA does like to award shows that are burst onto the scene and make a lot of noise, both of which these two did. It was either The Crown or Stranger Things and the former has a bit more of a prestige vibe to it so it makes sense that it would win.

On a side note, does anyone know what the hell Goliath is? Billy Bob Thornton won for his role on the show but this is genuinely the first time I'm hearing of it. Am I missing something or is that a really glaring typo that somehow went too far?

On a further side note, what in the name of Zeus was Tom Hiddleston waffling about in his acceptance speech? I mean, I'm sure he meant well but it was just a little out of touch.


Dishing out diversity


For all that talk the last two years of awards season not being representative of all audiences, 2017 has so far shown promising signs of amending this.

Viola Davis scored a win for her role in Fences, Donald Glover romped home with two wins for his new show Atlanta, Tracee Ellis-Ross nabbed an award for her on Black-ish and The People vs OJ also bagged a couple of awards. And even though Moonlight missed out on all of its nominations save for one, it did at least take home the big prize - Best Picture (Drama).

This sets up a sweet showdown for Best Picture in a few weeks time between Moonlight and La La Land, the latter carrying the momentum right now (as well as being a movie musical about Hollywood and stardom - something that the Academy have favoured in the past).


Feeling Fuzzier's Fashion Corner


I gave this a crack after the Oscars last year. No explanations for any of these picks, just some frocks that stood out on the red carpet from the night. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am in the comments!

L-R: Elsa Pataky, Blake Lively, Gina Rodriguez, Emily Ratajkowski, Naomie Harris 
On the whole the Golden Globes were a bit of a non-event this year - the surprises weren't all that shocking and La La Land sweeping the board was an expected (but not unpleasant) development. Other than that smooch between Garfield and Reynolds, nothing was hugely gifable either - certainly not like that Lady Gaga/Leo moment from last year.

Anyway, let me know what you thought of the Globes in the comments down below! What are your predictions for Oscar night now that we've seen the who the frontrunners are?

1 comment:

  1. Naomie Harris looked amazing indeed! I also really liked Evan Rachel Wood's suit instead of a dress. As for awards I'm really stunned La La Land got so many awards, I have yet to see it but wow it's the most honored movie in Globes history

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...