If nothing else, the 2020 Golden Globe Awards was a mercurial and occasionally jarring tonal affair, veering from deeply-earnest tributes and speeches to moments of bitter sarcasm (ahem, Ricky Gervais), often in the space of only a few seconds. Part of that had to do with Gervais’ knife’s edge performance as host — no doubt, the star-studded auditorium didn’t exactly warm up to his occasionally-savage opening monologue — and part of it had to do with the truly surprising crop of winners, from “Missing Link” (beating out two Disney blockbusters for Best Animated Motion Picture) to the night’s big victor “1917,” which triumphed over expected winner “The Irishman” for Best Motion Picture – Drama. It’s worth noting that despite Gervais’ opening plea to avoid political statements, the night was one of the most emotional and passionate Globes ceremonies in recent memory.
Below, we run down a list of the night’s best and worst moments, from Patricia Arquette and Michelle Williams’ rousing speeches to Gervais’ shaky performance as emcee.
Worst: Ricky Gervais’s opening monologue
Joe Pesci mistaken as Baby Yoda. Jeffrey Epstein jokes. The HFPA are racist. “There might be a sequel to ‘Sophie’s Choice’” with a cut to Meryl Streep. Martin Scorsese too short to go on the rides at theme parks. Yikes, bomb after bomb after bomb. We’ll give him the Leo joke. And maybe the Judi Dench one was funny in the room, but, overall, it couldn’t end quick enough. Bonus points for being relatively short? And at least he promised it’s the last time? If we believe him…
– Gregory Ellwood
Best: Ramy Youssef
The first real surprise came with the first award when Ramy Yousseff won Best Actor in a TV Series – Comedy or Musical. The Hulu service star joked, “I know you guys haven’t seen my show” and then added, “Everyone is like, ‘Is this an editor?’” to a ton of laughs. Yousseff is the sort of winner the Globes like to give a spotlight too and his series, “Ramy,” totally deserves it.
– Gregory Ellwood
Best: Tom Hanks
“A man is blessed with a family like that,” a jittery – thanks to a cold – and emotional Tom Hanks said pointing to a table as he received his Cecile B. De Mille Award. “I’ve stolen from the people who only had one name, like Meryl, Denzel…and even Sally Field who isn’t one name but is.” It was a very giving speech as he did everything he could to thank the makeup artist, the other actors, the directors and “everyone I’ve ever worked with” to “get to that place.” And he gave some very sage advice, “Showing up on time is one of the most liberating things you can do on a movie.” Listen up kids and rewatch his speech. “If the gate was good you move on…I have checked the gate. The gate is good.
– Gregory Ellwood
Worst: Renee Zellweger’s speech
All due respect to Renee Zellweger’s incredible transformation in “Judy” — no doubt, her Best Actress trophy tonight was well-deserved — but, like any number of films this year, her rambling, occasionally random speech could have done with a bit of editing. That said, props to her for valiantly charging through even as the band tried playing her off. The show must go on, after all.
– Chris Eggertsen
Best: Stellan Skarsgard and his eyebrows
Leave it to Stellan Skarsgard to turn a surprise win into a hilarious Milos Forman joke. He randomly recollected how the Czech filmmaker said he never remembered him in a movie and he realized, “It’s because I have no eyebrows.” And he points and, he’s sort of right, he doesn’t. And then, he was off. Iconic? Legendary? Whatever it was we might need Skarsgard to win more awards.
– Gregory Ellwood
Worst: Wait, what just happened?
Was that the fastest moving awards telecast in history? I’ve seen MTV awards shows revealing winners announced off camera that had a more leisurely pace. Trust, we’re all for an awards show that doesn’t move at a glacial pace but the speeches came so fast it was hard to remember what happened only a few minutes before.
– Gregory Ellwood
Best: Tom Hanks’ face
Leave it to national treasure Tom Hanks to rate two “best” entries on this year’s list. The Cecil B. Demille Award winner’s facial expressions during Ricky Gervais’ occasionally cringe-inducing monologue were priceless reflections of how we were all feeling at home: baffled, aghast, exasperated (and, alright, occasionally tickled). Hanks’ tight mouth and raised eyebrows after Gervais’ diatribe on celebrities giving political speeches was arguably the most GIF-able moment of the entire ceremony.
– Chris Eggertsen
Tom Hanks is all of us during that monologue. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/JDwTaQ8sTy
— Ethan Anderton (@Ethan_Anderton) January 6, 2020
Best: Surprise winners
Predictable awards shows are never fun. Thankfully, tonight featured more than its fair share of surprise winners, from “Missing Link” beating out such heavy-hitters as “Toy Story 4” and “Frozen 2” for Best Animated Motion Picture to Awkwafina’s history-making win for “The Farewell” to comedian Ramy Youssef’s unlikely victory in the Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series category for his eponymous Hulu series. However you felt about the unexpected victors tonight, their wins made the show infinitely more interesting.
– Chris Eggertsen
Worst: Ansel Elgort singing
Ansel Elgort came out to present Best Original Song and decided to sing his intro. And let’s just say that while his co-presenter, Dakota Fanning, giggled through it the rest of America was horrified that Elgort is one of the leads in Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story.” Did you shudder? We shuddered.
– Gregory Ellwood
Best: Michelle Williams’ plea
Accepting her Globe for her work in “Fosse/Verdon,” Williams took the time to do exactly what Ricky Gervais stupidly asked presenters not to do, make a meaningful statement. “Women, 18 to 118, when it is time to vote, please do so in your own self-interest. It is what men have been doing for years, which is why the world looks so much like them. But don’t forget we are the largest voting body in the country,” she noted. Then adding, “Women, please vote in your own self-interest. It’s what men have been doing for years.” It was wonderful.
– Gregory Ellwood
Best: Kate McKinnon’s speech
Ellen DeGeneres might have been a questionable choice as only the second recipient of the Carol Burnett Award for Television, but McKinnon reminded us why it was actually well deserved. Her childhood recollection of realizing she was gay and then learning that DeGeneres was also was hilarious and genuinely moving. She also gave the show a much-needed jolt when it really, really needed it. Honestly, as a great former Independent Spirit Awards co-host, we shouldn’t have been surprised.
– Gregory Ellwood
Best: Patricia Arquette
Leave it to Patricia Arquette to completely ignore Gervais’ entreaty for winners to ditch political talk in their acceptance speeches (notably, she was far from the only one). Taking home Best Actress in a Limited Series for her chilling performance in “The Act,” Arquette emotionally cited the brewing Iranian conflict and the devastating wildfires in Australia before imploring everyone in the audience to “beg and plead for everyone we know to vote in 2020.” In the process, she rightly acknowledged the near-impossibility of ignoring today’s frightening crop of current events — even in the midst of one of Hollywood’s most glamorous evenings.
– Chris Eggertsen