“Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Green Book” won big at the 76 Annual Golden Globe Awards Sunday in a night that broke from other award shows of its type to avoid politics and keep the jokes above the belt with comedy that tried its best to stay positive.
Despite “A Star Is Born” being a favorite to win, Lady Gaga lost her shot at best actress to Glenn Close, however, she did manage to score a win for best original song. Meanwhile, Gaga’s co-star Bradley Cooper lost out for both best director and best actor.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” took home the award for best drama while “Green Book” beat tough contenders to win best musical or comedy, putting them both in a fine position to win an Academy Award later in the year.
“Thank you to Freddie Mercury for giving me the joy of a lifetime,” said “Bohemian Rhapsody” star Rami Malek said after accepting best actor. “This is for you, gorgeous.”
Politics were largely absent from the Andy Samberg and Sandra-Oh-led ceremony Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, before Christian Bale took the stage for winning best actor in a musical or comedy for his lead performance in Adam McKay’s “Vice.”
The critically acclaimed British actor said he was “cornering the market on charisma-free a——s … What do we think, Mitch McConnell next?”
“Thank you for Satan for giving me inspiration on how to play this role,” Bale concluded.
Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg opened the Globes, put on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, on a note of congeniality, including a mock roast of attendees and a string of jokes that playfully commented on critiques of Hollywood. Oh performed an impression of a sexist caveman film executive who casts like the title of Damien Chazelle’s Neil Armstrong drama: “First … man!”
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Noting the success of “Crazy Rich Asians,” Oh alluded to films with white stars in Asian roles like “Ghost in the Shell” and “Aloha,” the latter of which prompted Emma Stone, who starred in “Aloha,” to shout out “I’m sorry!” from the crowd.
While the hosts took the high road in terms of avoiding politics in general, the opening monologue was not without its controversial jabs sycg as a joke about the Dick Cheney biopic “Vice” being categorized in the “musical or comedy” category.
“‘Vice’ is the most nominated film of the night,” Samberg said. “‘It erroneously invaded the wrong category due to false intelligence.”
But Oh, who later also won for her performance on the BBC America drama series “Killing Eve,” and Samberg closed their opening monologue on a serious note explaining why she was hosting.
“I wanted to be here to look out at this audience and witness this moment of change,” said Oh, tearing up and gazing at minority nominees in attendance. “Right now, this moment is real. Trust me, this is real. Because I see you. And I see you. All of these faces of change. And now, so will everyone else.”
Some of those faces Oh alluded to won. Mahershala Ali, whom the foreign press association overlooked for his Oscar-winning performance in “Moonlight,” won best supporting actor for “Green Book.” While the Globes, decided by 88 voting members of the HFPA, have little relation to the Academy Awards, they can supply some awards-season…
