The 2020 Golden Globes must have been great fun for anyone residing in a suitable timezone to enjoy its live broadcast at a reasonable hour. For the rest of us it was most likely a first-thing-on-Monday-morning-watch, which doesn’t sound half bad for a Monday morning. The award show which often overshadows the Academy Awards not only in terms of the quality of their choices, but also with regard to entertainment value, was back to its very best this year. Here are a few highlights.
1. Ricky Gervais is the best host ever
Ricky Gervais’ fifth and final time hosting the Golden Globes will surely go down in the history of the event as one of the best ever performances by a host, worthy of an award by itself. The British comedian had a tirade of freeform digs at his audience in his opening speech, pointing his finger at the diverse types of hypocrisy that many of the high-profile names in the room are guilty of. He also warned the eventual winners of the futility of making politically charged speeches, as they would be considered the ultimate form of hypocrisy – and many didn’t listen, unfortunately.
2. No real love for Netflix, again
Although this year looked like their year, the outcome was not at all great for Netflix, as The Irishman was snubbed in all categories. In many cases, such as Best Picture – Drama, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor, The Irishman was the odds-on favourite to win, and yet 1917, Sam Mendes and Brad Pitt took home the awards instead. It may be caused by a still-existing animosity for Netflix, or it may be down to more objective preferences, but I was at least hoping that Al Pacino or Joe Pesci would receive an honour.
3. 1917 won’t win Best Picture at the Oscars
As we know, at least in recent years, the Golden Globe Best Picture – Drama winner was almost never selected for the same award by the Academy. If such trends are to continue, then 1917 won’t be the lucky one at the Oscars come February. So, who will take the top award? It’s looking increasingly likely for Parasite to prevail, and I’ll personally be rooting for it. Other good candidates would be Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (although I think it’s Tarantino’s weakest film in a while), and The Irishman, if the Academy will be kinder to Netflix.
4. HBO and BBC win in TV
To further Netlix’s pain, two of the big TV winners belonged to HBO (Chernobyl and Succession) and one to BBC (Fleabag). I was particularly delighted to see Chernobyl win Best Miniseries and Stellan Skarsgård win Best Supporting Actor for his role in the masterpiece about the Ukrainean nuclear disaster of 1986.
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