2012 Golden Globe Awards Report
Starring: Ricky Gervais (host) and a cast of dozens of Hollywood's favorite celebrities
Genre: Awards Show
Best for: Teens and Adults
PopFam Rating: B+
Show Summary: In a precursor to the Oscars, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association names their favorites in a variety of film & TV categories.
The Review
If you are a movie and/or TV fan, you know The Golden Globes is one of three spectacular nights we wait for all year long where movies and TV are celebrated. The best thing about the Golden Globes is that it's like the Emmy's and the Oscar's rolled into one, with all our favorites showing up in one location for one amazing night. The only thing better would be to actually be there. Maybe that will happen in another life, but for now I'll take watching in my living room.
At last year's Globes, Ricky Gervais ("the number one comedian in England") made the biggest splash with his insults and crude humor. Rumors ran amok that he was kept from appearing during the second half of the show. Surprisingly he was asked back, and, oh was he a hit! Yes, he was still crude (with jokes I won't repeat here), but what else would you expect from him? The difference is that he wasn't offensive toward the nominees or the audience at large, but took his jokes just far enough and then left them there. In addition, the celebrities didn't take his jabs lying down either, but came back with a few of their own, making the night full of laughter.
And the thing we all love to watch...the dresses. From Angelina Jolie in her stunning ivory and red Versace to Charlize Theron in a beautiful blush Dior gown and sparkly headband to Rachel Evan Wood in her emerald green Gucci with peacock feather skirt, the women looked amazing. Of course the men did too, but it's really the dazzling dresses and eye-catching gowns we love to see. And everyone looked spectacular this year.
The other reason we watch, is to see who won. Really, if our favorite will win. Well, the awards were spread out this year, with no one movie or show being an over-all winner. Meryl Streep won Best Actress in a Drama for her performance in The Iron Lady, and George Clooney won Best Actor for The Descendents. The most exciting win went to Octavia Spencer for Best Supporting Actress in The Help, while Christopher Plummer won for his "out of the closet" role in Beginners. Best Drama went to The Descendents, and Best Comedy was won by The Artist.
If you don't subscribe to HBO, Starz, or Showtime, you might have found yourself a bit lost when the winners were announced for best TV, as most of the programming chosen for nominees are from these channels. Homeland (Showtime) won Best Drama and Best Actress - Drama (Claire Danes), while Kelsey Grammer won Best Actor - Drama for Boss (Starz). Best Actress - Comedy went to Laura Dern for Enlightened (HBO), Best Actor - Comedy to Matt LeBlanc for Episodes (Showtime), and Best Comedy to Modern Family (ABC).
I didn't feel lost, though, when Morgan Freeman was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award. One of my favorite actors of all time, he has starred in 50 films to date (and even the Electric Company way back in the early '70's) and certainly deserved to be recognized for his breadth of skill and the entertainment he has provided us all. How appropriate and touching that Sydney Poitier presented this award to such a worthy actor.
Now for the Oscars. Who is going to win the coveted golden statue on February 26th?
--JW
2012 Golden Globe Nominees and Winners:
BEST PICTURE, DRAMA
"War Horse"
"The Ides of March"
"The Help"
"Moneyball"
"Hugo"
"The Descendants" - WINNER
BEST PICTURE, COMEDY
"The Artist" - WINNER
"50/50"
"Bridesmaids"
"My Week With Marilyn"
"Midnight in Paris"
BEST ACTOR, DRAMA
George Clooney, "The Descendants" - WINNER
Brad Pitt, ''Moneyball''
Leonardo DiCaprio, ''J.Edgar''
Ryan Gosling, ''The Ides of March''
Michael Fassbender, ''Shame''
BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA
Viola Davis, "'The Help''
Meryl Streep, ''The Iron Lady'' - WINNER
Tilda Swinton, ''We Need to Talk About Kevin''
Rooney Mara, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo''
Glenn Close, ''Albert Nobbs''
BEST ACTOR, COMEDY
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist'' - WINNER
Brendan Gleeson, ''The Guard''
Owen Wilson, ''Midnight in Paris''
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, ''50/50''
Ryan Gosling, ''Crazy, Stupid, Love''
BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY
Michelle Williams, ''My Week With Marilyn'' - WINNER
Jodie Foster, ''Carnage''
Kristen Wiig, ''Bridesmaids''
Charlize Theron, ''Young Adult''
Kate Winslet, ''Carnage''
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Albert Brooks, ''Drive''
Christopher Plummer, ''Beginners'' - WINNER
Kenneth Branagh, ''My Week With Marilyn''
Jonah Hill, ''Moneyball''
Viggo Mortensen, ''A Dangerous Method''
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, ''The Artist''
Octavia Spencer, ''The Help'' - WINNER
Jessica Chastain, ''The Help''
Janet McTeer, ''Albert Nobbs''
Shailene Woodley, "The Descendants"
BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese, ''Hugo'' - WINNER
George Clooney, ''The Ides of March''
Michel Hazanavicius, ''The Artist''
Alexander Payne, ''The Descendants''
Woody Allen, ''Midnight in Paris''
BEST TV SERIES, DRAMA
"American Horror Story"
"Boardwalk Empire"
"Boss"
"Game of Thrones"
"Homeland" - WINNER
BEST COMEDY SERIES
"New Girl"
"Enlightened"
"Episodes"
"Glee"
"Modern Family" - WINNER
BEST ACTOR, DRAMA
Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Kelsey Grammer, "Boss" - WINNER
Jeremy Irons, "The Borgias"
Damian Lewis, "Homeland"
BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA
Claire Danes, "Homeland" - WINNER
Mireille Enos, "The Killing"
Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
Madeleine Stowe, "Revenge"
Callie Thorne, "Necessary Roughness"
BEST ACTOR, COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
David Duchovny, "Californication"
Johnny Galecki, "The Big Bang Theory"
Thomas Jane, "Hung"
Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes" - WINNER
BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"
Laura Dern, "Enlightened" - WINNER
Zooey Deschanel, "New Girl"
Laura Linney, "The Big C"
BEST TV-MOVIE OR MINISERIES
"Mildred Pierce"
"Too Big To Fail"
"Cinema Verite"
"Downton Abbey" - WINNER
"The Hour"
BEST ACTOR, TV-MOVIE OR MINISERIES
William Hurt, "Too Big To Fail"
Hugh Bonneville, "Downton Abbey"
Idris Elba, "Luther" - WINNER
Bill Nighy, "Page Eight"
Dominic West, "The Hour"
BEST ACTRESS, TV-MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Romlao Garai, "The Hour"
Diane Lane, "Cinema Verite"
Elizabeth McGovern, "Downton Abbey"
Emily Watson, "Appropriate Adult"
Kate Winslet, "Mildred Pierce" - WINNER
SUPPORTING ACTOR, TV-MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones" - WINNER
Paul Giamatti, "To Big To Fail"
Guy Pearce, "Mildred Pierce"
Tim Robbins, "Cinema Verite"
Eric Stonestreet, "Modern Family"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, TV-MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story" - WINNER
Kelly Macdonald, "Boardwalk Empire"
Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey"
Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"
Evan Rachel Wood, "Mildred Pierce"
BEST SCREENPLAY
''Midnight in Paris'' - WINNER
''The Ides of March''
''The Artist''
''The Descendants''
''Moneyball''
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
''Rango''
''The Adventures of Tintin'' - WINNER
''Puss in Boots''
''Arthur Christmas''
''Cars 2''
BEST FOREIGN FILM
''In the Land of Blood and Honey''
''Flowers of War''
''The Skin I Live In''
''The Kid With a Bike''
''A Separation'' (Iran) - WINNER
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
''Masterpiece" from W.E. - WINNER'
''The Help''
''Albert Nobbs''
''Machine Gun Preacher''
''Gnomeo and Juliet''
BEST SCORE
''The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo''
''War Horse''
''The Artist'' - WINNER
''W.E.''
CECIL B. DEMILLE AWARD
Morgan Freeman - WINNER
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