Hollywood’s booziest awards show had a messy night this past Sunday, and the drinks cannot be blamed. Water puddled on the red carpet due to a light allegedly setting off a fire sprinkler, the small ballroom of the Beverly Hilton was tightly over-seated, the curse word “bleep” sounded for an unusually long time during Diane Keaton’s speech and several cues were missed or muddled. Co-host Tina Fey acknowledged the night’s less than smooth going at the end of the show: “This was the beautiful mess we hoped it would be.”
Fortunately, it was also a fun mess. The red carpet was filled with bold, colorful gowns as Ryan Seacrest’s sole question to Amy Adams was how she managed wearing all those low-cut dresses in “American Hustle.” Emma Thompson presented an award carrying her heels in one hand and her martini in the other, asking, “Where is the envelope?”
Fey and co-host Amy Poehler were more comfortable at the helm of the show in their second go-round, and their jokes, for the most part, went well, particularly Fey’s summary of “Gravity” as “the story of how George Clooney would rather float away into space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age.” As they commented, it was a “mega-watt” audience in attendance: Julia Roberts and Meryl Strepe for “August: Osage County,” Robert Redford for “All Is Lost.” With most of the big names in attendance, the only absences felt were that of George Clooney, Christian Bale and Woody Allen, the latter of whom won a lifetime achievement award.
The awards themselves were fairly predictable when it came to the film industry, with “12 Years a Slave” winning Best Drama and “American Hustle” scooping up Best Comedy. Matthew McConaughey for “Dallas Buyers Club” and Cate Blanchett for “Blue Jasmine” won Best Actor and Actress in a drama. For comedy, Leonardo DiCaprio won for “Wolf of Wall Street” and Amy Adams for “American Hustle.” Best Director went to Alfonso Cuaron for “Gravity.”
Television garnered the most surprises. Amy Poehler was all wit and composure until she won Best Actress in a comedy for her role in NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.” Nominated three consecutive times for her role as Leslie Knope, Poehler was flustered as she thanked her team and cast, saying, “I never win, so I can’t believe I won.” Fellow “Saturday Night Live” alum and similarly speechless Andy Samberg took home Best Actor in a comedy for his role in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which the Hollywood Foreign Press Association must adore because it unexpectedly grabbed Best Comedy as well. Other TV wins include “Breaking Bad” for Best Drama, with Brian Cranston picking up Best Actor as well. Best Actress in a drama went to Robin Wright for her role in Netflix’s “House of Cards.”
In a night when the prompter showed the wrong scripts, the walks to the stage felt endless and the send-off music cut off many a speech, the Globes were anything but boring. Now that the champagne’s been had and the red carpet’s been soaked, the more formidable Academy Awards loom ahead. Fortunately, there’s another round of Fey and Poehler to look forward to next year.
Click here for the full list of Golden Globe winners.