When Ricky Gervais hung up his Golden Globes hosting shoes in 2012, it felt like he had grown tired of the gig and the controversy it inspired, especially given the increasing pressure he was under to offend, yet simultaneously charm, Tinseltown.
Whether he returned this year to outdo outgoing hosts Amy Poehler and Tina Fey or because he felt armed with a new bag of punches isn’t clear. But he was funny and mean enough to enliven a pretty dull night.
He tackled everything from Sean Penn‘s El Chapo interview and Caitlyn Jenner to the inequality of women in Hollywood and Jeffrey Tambor in a dress. It was exactly as Gervais kept insisting: He really didn’t give a crap.
And what a heavily bleeped party it was. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum reenacted the bear attack scene from “The Revenant,” making inaudible jokes that only the live audience heard, thanks to NBC-imposed silences. There were many more censored moments that couldn’t help but make those at home feel left out.
Sylvester Stallone and his “imaginary friend” were a highlight, thanks to an impromptu standing ovation. (Deserved, considering he never won for “Rocky.”) Most who accepted their awards simply read off a list. Sometimes, in the case of Ridley Scott, they read them well past the cutoff music. There were no dramatic Jodie Foster or Michael Keaton moments to speak of.
There were blips of drama here and there, as when a teleprompter went down and “Blindspot” star Jaimie Alexander swore alongside Amber Heard. And Eva Longoria and America Ferrera delivered a pointed riff on the fact that the Golden Globes mixed up Ferrera and Gina Rodriguez’s names during this year’s nominations.
The funniest moments came from the reactions, such as Matt Damon‘s sheepish response after Gervais introduced him as the only partner Ben Affleck had never cheated on. Aziz Ansari held up a “How to Lose Gracefully to Jeffrey Tambor” book when the camera panned to him.
But for all of those glimmers of hope, there were plenty of lows. Melissa McCarthy and Jason Statham couldn’t liven up the broadcast with a tired “Spy” bit; Jamie Foxx pulled his own mock-Steve Harvey moment; and Quentin Tarantino should probably never use the word “ghetto” again.
The Globes made some of the same old broadcast mistakes, such as spending just a little too much time revisiting the film nominations for best comedy and drama through pointless vignettes. If you’re tuning into the show, odds are you have a base knowledge of the movies nominated. With “Trainwreck” and “Joy,” it was obvious the Golden Globes just wanted to take the opportunity to showcase Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence together. But if the duo’s introduction was any indication of how their film project will pan out, it might be a hard pass.
The broadcast’s biggest mistake was letting the show get so far off the rails that half of the seemingly funny bits were bleeped out. It was hard to tell if someone actually took the time to sit down and write the terrible presentations (here’s looking at you, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt), or if the celebs were just allowed to riff and do whatever the hell they wanted. That would certainly explain Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg‘s hokey glasses, at the very least. (The jury is still out on Tom Hanks‘ Denzel Washington impersonation.)
In the end, the show suffered from not enough Gervais, and from too many other people trying to be him. With the show already clocking in at three hours, more Gervais isn’t the ticket to solving the inevitable boredom that settles in around the two-hour mark, though — especially if it means more bleeping alongside the likes of Mel Gibson. Getting rid of ancillary categories (or relegating them to off-camera presentations) would make sense. But then again the Golden Globes are all about self-aggrandizing the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. These guys would never pass up an opportunity to spend a little extra time showcasing their reach. In fact, this show would probably be four hours if NBC allowed it.
Instead, it only felt that way.
Golden Globes: The Best And Worst Moments (Photos)
Worst: Jonah Hill dresses up as the bear in "The Revenant" Presenters Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill stumped the audience and viewers at home with inside jokes that never quite took off, while Hill's deliberately bad bear costume was met with slow applause.
NBC
Best: Matt Damon's reaction to Ricky Gervais' Ben Affleck joke Host Gervais had everyone gasping when he introduced Damon as “the only person Ben Affleck hasn’t been unfaithful to." But it was Damon’s subtle reaction that got the real laugh -- as he simply nodded his head and smiled politely.
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Best: Oscar Isaac's acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor Isaac dedicated his award to the memory of Nick Wasicsko, whose battle to bring subsidized housing to Yonkers is the basis of the HBO miniseries “Show Me a Hero.” The "Star Wars" actor was also the first winner who wrapped up his speech on time.
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Best: Eva Longoria and America Ferrera's presenter speech While presenting Best Actor in a TV series, Drama, Latina star Eva Longoria reminded audiences that she is notEva Mendes, while America Ferrera made sure people knew she wasn't Gina Rodriguez. The joke was a subtle nod to when the Golden Globes Twitter tagged Ferrera as Rodriguez during the nomination announcements.
Worst:Jaimie Alexander cussing at the teleprompter writer Jaimie Alexander got frustrated at whomever wrote the script for her bit as she introduced the award for Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie. After trouble with the teleprompter resulted in a long awkward silence, she finally asked, “Dude, who’s typing this sh-t?”
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Best: Jamie Foxx recreates that famous Miss Universe mistake Jamie Foxx and Lily James presented the award for Best Original Score, Motion Picture, but before they announced that Ennio Morricone won for "The Hateful Eight," Foxx joked that "Straight Outta Compton" had won. Steve Harvey, eat your heart out.
Best: Jason Statham's headlock Jason Statham’s comedic talent is all over Paul Feig’s “Spy” — but in introducing the film for its Best Comedy or Musical nomination, Statham again got to shine. In setting up the clip package, the action star majorly overplayed his own role in the Melissa McCarthy film. When director Paul Feig argued that he was just a minor player, the star “punched” Feig in the stomach and put him in a headlock.
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Best: Aziz Ansari's reaction to being nominated in the same category as Jeffrey Tambor Having your face squeezed into a box along with the other nominees can sometimes be a bit awkward. But every once in a while someone manages to do something that makes us smile. Instead of giving us the usual uncomfortable clap, actor Aziz Ansari decided to read a book called, “Losing to Jeffrey Tambor with Dignity.” The Golden Globe for best actor in TV comedy eventually went to “Mozart in the Jungle’s” Gael García Bernal, but Ansari may have won best reaction shot of the night.
NBC
Worst: Quentin Tarantino's mistakes during his acceptance speech Tarantino accepted the Golden Globe for Best Original Score on behalf of his “Hateful Eight” composer, Ennio Morricone, but his acceptance speech featured a glaring inaccuracy that had film buffs venting on social media. Tarantino said that Morricone had “never won an award for any one individual movie” at a U.S. awards show -- but that’s not exactly true, and he has two prior Globes to his name.
Best: Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling's beautiful banter Pitt and Gosling got a thunderous applause when they walked on stage to introduce "The Big Short," nominated for Best Picture in Musical or Comedy category. The crowd cheered extra long not just because of their cheeky banter, but also because they provided the audience with a double dose of eye candy.
NBC
Worst: Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell's speech “Daddy’s Home” costars Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell came on stage wearing 2016 colored glasses while presenting the award for Best Screenplay, Motion Picture (which went to Aaron Sorkin for "Steve Jobs"). However, during the speech, Ferrell called out the audience for being too noisy: "Can we stop all the talking and the laughter and the snickering? Because right now you people are coming off as real buttonholes!" Prompting Wahlberg to cut him off at the bar: "It’s alright, no more drinks for Will." Talk about awkward comedy.
Worst: Tom Hanks' nasal-y presenter speech Hanks had a semi-disgusting phlegmy cold voice as he presented the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures. Next time, please stay home sick and send another A-list actor as a replacement -- we suggest George Clooney.
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Best: Lady Gaga tearing up when she won for "American Horror Story: Hotel" Lady Gaga was brought to tears as she thanked all her fellow "American Horror Story: Hotel" cast mates for letting her "shine" while accepting the award for Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie. Gaga won the audience with her humility, saying she "wanted to be an actress before I wanted to be a singer." Also, she kind of knocked Leonardo DiCaprio on her way to the stage, which provided Twitter with one of the best GIFs of the night.
Best: Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Schumer kill the presenter game Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Schumer had one of the best banters of the night as the duo presented clips from their own Best Comedy or Musical-nominated films “Joy” and “Trainwreck.” “I’m J. Law,” Lawrence said of her tabloid nickname, to which Schumer responded, “I’m A-Schu.” “You can’t just give yourself a celebrity name,” Lawrence begged to differ. “Like Amy-Tom Hardy?” Schumer joked. Lawrence told her to aim for someone she could actually date, not just “people you want to have sex with," so Schumer suggested “Amy-All the Hemsworths."
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Worst: Awkward exchange between Mel Gibson and Ricky Gervais Gervais and Gibson delivered some funny lines but their overall exchange was uncomfortable at best. The host joked about the actor's alcohol problem, but said he’d rather have a drink with Gibson than Bill Cosby. As Gibson came out he shot back,“I love seeing Ricky every three years because it reminds me to get a colonoscopy,” which prompted Gervais to return to the stage with a drink in his hand Gervais, with drink in hand. As he swung his arm around Gibson he asked a question that viewers at home never got to hear because it was bleeped. What was it that offended the censors so? Gervais wanted to know “What the f--k does sugar tits mean?”
Best: Cookies from Cookie Taraji P. Henson gets the best walk to the stage moment. The actress, who plays Cookie Lyon on Fox's hit show "Empire," must have had a hunch she might win Best Actress in a TV drama because she brought a whole bunch of cookies which she gave to people on her way to the mic. Then, in true Cookie fashion she scolded producers for playing the wrap-up-your-speech music for going too long. "I've waited 20 years for this. You're going to wait," she said.
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From awkward icebreakers to the funniest speeches, TheWrap picks moments to remember and those we’d rather forget from Sunday’s awards show hosted by Ricky Gervais