In an awards season that has proven almost impossible to predict, Sunday’s Golden Globes were no exception, providing a multitude of upsets. By the time Alejandro G. Iñáritu’s “The Revenant” won Best Motion Picture – Drama, it was clear the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had no intention of playing it safe — or smart.
Host Ricky Gervais kicked off the night with an offensive (and unfunny) intro, the worst of which was a series of transphobic jokes directed at Jeffrey Tambor of “Transparent” and Caitlyn Jenner. Thankfully, however, long-winded acceptance speeches kept Gervais’s appearances at a minimum.
Some of the biggest upsets of the night occurred in the TV category, beginning with Rachel Bloom’s win for the CW’s well-received but under-watched “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and continuing with wins for Amazon’s “Mozart in the Jungle.”
Lady Gaga, in the silliest choice of the night, took home a statue for her performance on “American Horror Story: Hotel.”
It’s important when analyzing the Golden Globes to understand just who the HFPA is. Consisting of about 90 foreign journalists and critics, they’re an extremely small group. In comparison, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who vote for the Oscars, has 7,000 members.
If their tiny size wasn’t problematic enough, the HFPA is known for voting a certain way. They like to reward young, breakout ingénues and often let star power and shock factor affect their voting.
An understanding of the HFPA helps to shed some light on a few of their choices in the film category. Brie Larson took home the Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama prize, evidently their newest ingénue of choice. Sylvester Stallone, a “star power” choice, earned a standing ovation with his “Creed” win for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture.
Double nominee Alicia Vikander lost the Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture statue to Kate Winslet; although she took home Michael Fassbender, so don’t feel too bad for her. And of course, the only real frontrunner of the entire Oscar race, Leonardo DiCaprio, won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for his grueling performance in “The Revenant.”
So what does this mean for the Oscars? Probably not much. First of all, Oscar nomination ballots were due last week, before the Golden Globes. As for the eventual Oscar winners, the Academy usually doesn’t put much stock in the HFPA. While critical favorites “Carol,” “Spotlight,” and “The Big Short” were completely shut out, their status as Oscar frontrunners likely has not changed.
Wins for Larson and DiCaprio cemented their frontrunner status, but other categories are still up for grabs.
All in all, the Golden Globes are an all but meaningless cousin to the Oscars.
While they may add momentum to frontrunners, many Globe winners take home nothing on the big night. Who knows what will happen when the nominees are announced on Thursday?
I’d say only one thing is certain: Leo, it’s finally your year.
