TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Golden Globes, as shrill and unappealing as ever, gave the top prizes to Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “Babel” in the drama film category and Bill Condon’s “Dreamgirls” in the comedy/musical category to the surprise of almost no one.
Well, to be fair, I didn’t call “Babel,” which received an award that in my estimation should have gone to the vastly superior “The Departed.” But the fact remains that in nearly every category, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the governing body that decides the award winners, went for the obvious choices.
As expected, dramatic acting prizes went to Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland” and Helen Mirren for “The Queen.” Top comedy/musical acting prizes went to Sacha Baron Cohen for “Borat” and Meryl Streep for “The Devil Wears Prada.” In supporting categories, the two heavily buzzed stars of “Dreamgirls,” Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson, received prizes.
And justly, the directing prize went to Martin Scorsese for “The Departed.” With any luck, he’ll win an Oscar as well, having yet to receive one. If he doesn’t … watch out, voting members of the Academy.
I’d love to see Scorsese’s Oscar acceptance speech, though he spent most of his Globes acceptance speech talking about his great love for cinema, talking about Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger as if anyone else in the room had heard of them, or cared. This is why Scorsese is a class act: He has a great love for cinema, and he deserves every award he can receive because you can sense this love though every frame of his films, “The Departed” being no exception.
But what makes the Globes seem all the more boring is that these are the same names that have been thrown around since November. Was anyone really surprised when Whitaker and Mirren won? No, and you can expect the same results in February at the Academy Awards. These two in particular have won nearly every significant precursor award, and it’s getting to the point where there’s no fun left in it.
Cohen and Streep, two deserving winners at the Globes, will suffer from the Academy’s reluctance to nominate comedic performances. Streep will receive an Oscar nomination; Cohen has some stiff competition but is a dark horse candidate.
If Murphy and Hudson don’t win in the same categories at the Oscars, I’ll be very surprised. Hudson will walk away with the award, and deservedly so. Murphy faces some very real competition from Jack Nicholson as the crazed mob boss from “The Departed.” Who doesn’t love a Nicholson acceptance speech? But Murphy has a very good performance in the Best Picture front-runner in his corner. Still, it’s hard to actually imagine Axel Foley beating Nicholson in any sort of acting contest.
Supporting Actor is the only crowded category, and this is usually the time of year when I’m running around freaking out and placing bets and picking long shots. However, this year, when the winners are almost preordained, there isn’t much of a point.
Still, you’ll catch me hoping for a few surprises, not the least of which is that come time for the Oscar nominations next week, “Babel” is not on the shortlist of Best Picture nominees, particularly after its undeserving win at the Globes. Phil Owen, CW assistant entertainment editor, wrote a four-star review in The Crimson White of the film that is quickly rising on my list of most overrated films of the year. Needless to say, I completely disagree and would rather see “Babel”‘s likely spot go to far more deserving films. “United 93,” for instance, is one of the best films of the year that absolutely no one wants to see.
On the television side of things … well, I’m too angry to discuss it in any detail. But the only television shows I watch – “The Office,” “Lost” and “24” – got the shaft. I’ve never actually seen “Grey’s Anatomy,” winner of the best drama prize, but I doubt very seriously its most recent season topped the latest season of “24.” And that’s why I now hate “Grey’s Anatomy.”
I’ve gone on and on about the awards, but even for the Golden Globes – the only televised awards show with an open bar as far as I know – it was curiously tame. Charlie Sheen and Tim Allen were appropriately drunk and creepy, and Hugh Laurie, winner of an acting award for “House,” had a pretty good acceptance speech.
But all in all, the show wasn’t worth missing the second half of “24”‘s premiere. For someone who lives for awards season, that’s a bit shocking for me to say.
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