Where are The Directors?

The Golden Globes was wildly uneven last night both because of the strange choices made by the folks voting and those made by the Director.  First, the former: yes, Brad and Angelina are pretty.  Got it.  But we don't need them for every reaction shot.  Why not show the folks who are in the show or movie react?  Or their relatives?  Or at least go back and forth from Angelina to Megan Fox and Scarlett.  Did you know that Christina Hendricks was there?  Could not tell from the coverage. 

Ricky, Ricky, you're so fine, you blow my mind!  Lots of mixed reviews of Gervais's performance last night.  He did his job--keeping us interested in the show.  Of course, he offended a bunch of folks there, but it was hard to tell if the offense was real or mock (Steve Carrel was clearly mockly offended).  Some of this stuff was obvious (comparing Tom Hank's resume to Tim Allen's), but it did keep things lively.

The Hollywood Foreign Press has been accused of taking bribes, but it seems that they are more about lechery than greed with the selections of The Tourist as one of the best comedys (Angelina Jolie was surprised to find her performance to be comic),* Piper Perabo's nomination for best actress in a TV drama, nominations for Burlesque.  On the other hand, it may just be strange judgment with Scott Caan as best supporting actor ahead of the folks in Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, Neil Patrick Harris, etc.  And Johnny Depp being nominated for anything and everything.

Biggest surprise: that Natalie Portman has a wonderfully awkward laugh. 

Biggest non-surprise: that the Brits would have clever yet sincere speeches--see Colin Firth.  That and that Toy Story 3 won--not a surprise either.

Best speech: Melissa Leo, who was quite funny.  Paul Giamatti was excellent as well.  Deniro could have delivered his speech well, but the stuff was better than I would have expected.

Biggest disappointment: Mad Men got shut out despite having a phenomenal fall.  And if it had to lose, it should have lost to Breaking Bad or Sons of Anarchy.  Boardwalk Empire might have gotten better, but I dropped the show after a few weeks, which is saying something since I rarely drop shows easily.

2nd Biggest Disappointment: Glee as best comedy/musical.  Um, no.

Hidden Disappointment: No nominations for True Grit.  These foreigners don't enjoy an American Western, even if directed by the Coen brothers.

Still, the show was a nice distraction from the last football game of the day.  I will now not regret missing next week's games while hanging out in the Netherlands.






* Giving awards for unintentional comedy would be fun.