My Take: The Golden Globes

Last night's Golden Globes, Kim Kardashian to the Oscars' Kate Middleton according to host Ricky Gervais, were a different beast than last year's rowdy show.  Gervais has claimed in recent interviews that he was free to do and say as he pleased, meaning that most expected the host would be as rude and offensive as he was at last year's show.  Instead, we found ourself with a neutered Gervais who made a few jabs but seemed eager to show that everyone was in on the jokes.  It was a more traditional hosting gig, one that - while I personally didn't mind - was certainly less memorable than his all-out attack on Hollywood in 2011.  Perhaps Gervais is settling comfortably into the role and wants to make sure he can count on holding it for years to come.

The awards themselves were rather anticlimactic, too, even if most of them were well-deserved.  The night's only real surprise came when Madonna's "Masterpiece" took home Best Original Song, a win that won't be repeated at the Oscars, as the song is ineligible there due to its placement in the credits (only the first song to play over the credits is eligible with the Academy, a spot which "Masterpiece" doesn't hold).  Perhaps the win isn't all that surprising considering how celebrity-obsessed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is.

That obsession carried over into wins for George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Martin Scorsese, the night's most deserving winner.  The three-way split for the Best Pictures (The Descendants and The Artist) and Best Director (Hugo) mirrors the three movies that are going into the Best Picture race with the most heat. It's hard to imagine anything else having a viable chance at winning, based on the guilds (which eliminates The Help) and reiterated by the Globes, which don't have much bearing on the Oscars but can produce chatter and focus Academy members' attention on certain performances and films.

The big winner of the night was Harvey Weinstein, that wily produced who knows how to make a movie a winner.  He's the one who shepherded The Reader into the major categories over The Dark Knight at the Oscars three years ago, and this year, he has a whole flock of films that are making the rounds.  Last night, he saw wins with The Artist, My Week With Marilyn, The Iron Lady, and W.E.  He's a force to be reckoned with in the world of campaigning, and it's really doubtful either Hugo or The Descendants will be able to top the Weinstein-backed Artist for Oscar glory.

Most of the night's speeches were the typically long list of names we don't recognize, but there were some exceptions.  Meryl Streep was something of a mess, frazzled without her glasses and spouting off actresses who gave great performances that year, some of whom weren't nominated (nice gesture, strange timing/delivery).  George Clooney took the stage with the ease and charm one would expect from Hollywood's favorite leading man, making jokes about Michael Fassbender's naked golf playing ability.  The best moments came courtesy of The Artist, with star Jean Dujardin "quoting" Douglas Fairbanks at the end of his speech in charming silent fashion, and canine costar Uggie performing tricks before Thomas Langmann, the film's producer, tearfully dedicated his award to his father, who was unable to travel overseas and accept his Oscar decades ago.

All in all, it wasn't a terribly eventful Globes, but the winners were well-picked if somehow anticlimactic, which is a feat in a season that has been so unpredictable thus far.  With the Oscar nominations in sight, perhaps it's time for things to settle down into easily predicted territory.  Personally, I hope there are still a few surprises in store.