The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards were held tonight and it’s hard to say there were very many surprises as much as there were disappointments. Of course, I think the fact a film like Sherlock Holmes gets recognized for an award while The Hurt Locker goes home empty-handed is a complete sham. I believe Avatar is worthy of awards, but technical awards, which it will win at the Oscars, but since those aren’t handed out at the Globes it means the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) feels the need to dote on it in categories where others are more deserving.
Avatar took home Best Picture (Drama) and director James Cameron won over the presumptive winner Kathryn Bigelow. This only causes agitation for me personally, because the whole show continued celebrity love while the smaller more deserving names were consistently overlooked.
Sandra Bullock won for The Blind Side and Robert Downey Jr. wins for Sherlock Holmes. The Downey win for Sherlock is one thing, but coupled with the snubbing of The Hurt Locker and a win for Bullock as she beats out Gabourey Sidibe and Carey Mulligan means the bigger name was frequently awarded. Tack onto that a Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) win for The Hangover and the HFPA also managed to completely knock out 500 Days of Summer.
Twice tonight winners were heard saying they expected the win to go elsewhere; Cameron noted Bigelow when handed Best Director and Jason Reitman noted Quentin Tarantino when Up In the Air won for screenplay. I guess we can all find solace in the supporting wins for Mo’Nique and Christoph Waltz, but those two were winners before the show even started so it’s not as if the HFPA was doing anything we didn’t expect.
Perhaps I’m making too big a deal about all of this and you will all disagree with me. And don’t get me wrong, the movies, actors, actresses and directors that won tonight were all qualified. I just get upset when it all feels so lopsided. I guess I can be happy Jeff Bridges took home Best Actor (Drama) instead of George Clooney… I guess that is my one not-necessarily expected “happy moment” for the night.
Check out the complete list of winners directly below and let me know your thoughts on the night in the comments. Oh, and who didn’t love Ricky Gervais as the host? And who thinks there is a snowball’s chance in Hell he’s invited back?
Always remember I am keeping track of everything award related under the sun in “The Contenders” and will be updating my Oscar predictions very soon. It’s an absolute must after tonight.
Television winners can be found on the next page.
