This was probably not the Golden Globes ceremony that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Dick Clark Productions, and NBC were dreaming of just weeks ago. And, no, we’re not even referring to the controversy over the HFPA’s lack of Black membership or questionable practices within the organization itself (which was mentioned numerous times by the hosts, nominees, and winners). No, despite the fact we’re almost 12 months into television programs having to use multiple zoom interfaces to pull of interviews or remotes due to the COVD-19 pandemic the Globes telecast started off with more embarrassing gaffes than you’d catch in a local high school homeroom newscast.
READ MORE: Golden Globes 2021 winners and nominees [Complete List]
Essentially the first awards ceremony of the extended 2020-2021 Oscar season, the HFPA shocked everyone on the awards side by truly spreading the wealth. Outside of “Nomadland” winning both Best Picture – Drama and Director (Chloe Zhao) and anyone associated with “The Crown” on the television side, most studios and networks found some love with one or two wins here or there. But as a technical exercise, this year’s Globes telecast should give Oscar producers Stacey Sher, Jesse Collins, and Steven Soderbergh – who have already leaked their intention to use multiple locations – a lot to think about. (And dear god, AMPAS, do whatever you need to do to rehire Emmy-winning director Glenn Weiss who mastered both the DNC and the Inauguration Concert remotely this year).
Keeping all that in mind, here’s your Best and Worst for what we can kindly say will be a “memorable” Globes telecast for mostly the wrong reasons (winners excluded).
WORST: Tech issues
The 2020 Emmy Awards got through an entire primetime telecast without one technical issue. For the first category, the Globes had winner Daniel Kaluyaa…on mute. Thankfully, after cutting away from him and Laura Dern accepting on his behalf, they cut back to his zoom and he had his moment. Less than 20 minutes later, the lighting on Tiffany Haddish wasn’t on when she began to introduce the Best Animated Feature category. Just 40 minutes in, the mics on Poehler were cracking and the cameras made awkward cuts between both her and bit presenters Maya Rudolph and Keenan Thompson. 52 minutes in and those audio issues continued. At one point they couldn’t even sync up NY and LA when Poehler and Fey tried to congratulate Carol Burnett Award winner Normal Lear. Considering the COVID era has seen virtual ceremonies for the Emmys, BET Awards, MTV Music Video Awards, and events such as the NBA and NFL Drafts and two political conventions, this was an often humiliating night for NBC and Dick Clark Productions.
WORST: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s opening monologue
Listen, this semi-virtual ceremony was almost a worst-case scenario that would have hampered any host or hosts. Having Fey in New York and Poehler in Los Angeles probably seemed like a great idea on paper. In execution, it didn’t work. The two talents were incredible when they hosted from 2013-2015, but without any stars to rip on in the audience, their whole opening monologue was simply, flat. This was a major disappointment as their first three ceremonies were on par with the excellence of Billy Crystal’s initial Oscar telecasts in the late ’80s and early ’90s. While the pair rightfully knocked the HFPA on the lack of Black member representation, they could have gone in some political or societal joke directions that would have landed harder than some forgettable swipes at this year’s nominees. Maybe their hearts weren’t in it?
BEST: Deserved winners
From Daniel Kaluyaa for “Judas and the Black Messiah” to Catherine O’Hara for “Schitt’s Creek” to Emma Corrin for “The Crown” to Jason Sudeikis for “Ted Lasso” to Chloe Zhao for “Nomadland” to “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” to “Nomadland” overall, the HFPA actually made some fantastic choices in handing out their winners. Yes, we’ll give them credit where credit is due.
WORST: Maya Rudolph and Keenan Thompson
Another painful misfire. Conceiving of a bit that centered on Rudolph and Thompson filling in for that one inebriated acceptance speech that seems to occur during every Globes ceremony was, again, good in theory. In execution, it simply didn’t work in front of a barely filled ballroom. Of course, the telecast director’s awkward cutting diminished any of the SNL vets’ comedic rhythm for viewers at home anyway.
BEST: Fringe
Susan Kelechi Watson‘s fringe ensemble (from designer Georges Hobeika) while presenting alongside “This Is Us” co-star Sterling K. Brown was next level. We might be obsessed
BEST: Ben Stiller
Stiller continues to be one of the great awards presenters of the past 20 years. He joked about his transition to grey hair over the pandemic, threw out a zinger “I read a book” (and waited for the audience to get it) and the fact he (or someone) baked a loaf of banana bread in the form of a Golden Globe was above and beyond. (O.K., we’re reaching for positives during this telecast, but where’s the lie?)
BEST: Surprises, I guess
I mean who thought Rosamund Pike was gonna win for “I Care A Lot”? Certainly not Netflix who acquired it as a mostly commercial play out of a virtual TIFF this past September. And who thought Jodie Foster would win Best Supporting Actress for “The Mauritanian”? Not Foster, STX Films or anyone associated with the movie! And those turned out to be minor compared to the surprises at the end of the telecast (more on that later).
BEST: Kids and pets crashing the zoom
From Mark Ruffalo to Lee Isaac Chung to Jodie Foster to “Queen’s Gambit” co-creator Alan Scott, this was a night of kids and pets crashing their parent’s acceptance speeches. It wonderfully broke some of the faux awards glamour NBC was so desperate to keep alive most of the night.
BEST: Chadwick Boseman’s wife, Taylor Simone Ledward
“He would thank god. He would thank his parents. He would thank his ancestors,” Ledward said accepting Boseman’s Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Globe for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” “He would say something beautiful, something inspiring.” It was a heartbreaking and unexpected moment in the context of the celebratory telecast. And as the tears rain down her face she ended with, “And huh, you keep ’em coming.” Perhaps the most memorable moment of the night.
BEST: Andra Day winning Best Actress
In her feature film debut, Day became only the second African-American woman to win the Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Globe. The first winner was Whoopi Goldberg for “The Color Purple” in 1986. “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” star was the underdog and might have benefited from what turned out to be an insanely competitive field, but it was a huge public relations boost for her Oscar nomination prospects. It was also the second to last surprise in a night full of them on the film side.