Monday, January 18, 2010

The Golden Globe Winners: Did They All Deserve It?

First and foremost let's get to the most important wins of the night:
Congratulations to Michael C Hall and John Lithgow for winning awards you absolutely deserve!!!

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama

Simon Baker – The Mentalist (I don't watch this show, so I have no opinion on it)

Jon Hamm – Mad Men (He's great, but his character wasn't overtly changed this season as previous, his life's shaken up but he's still very much Don Draper.)

Hugh Laurie – House (This last season, amazing job doing the recovery/withdrawl and his work with Andre Braugher was wonderful to watch.)

Bill Paxton – Big Love (He's good, but his character is also always fighting on the defensive and while he maintains an accent and emotion, I wouldn't say he was the best, he is believable)


Michael C. Hall – Dexter (WINNER!!!!!!!)
Why Michael C. Hall Won
The win for Michael C. Hall is long overdue. The character he portrays, Dexter, is a vigilante serial killer. Each episode demands a ton of work on Hall's part to depict a man that is void of emotion, full of rage, and has a hunger for killing humans. It's a psychological mind-f*ck to play this kind of role and Hall not only does it with great talent, but in season 4 he transformed into a man with a new found consciousness. This was a huge deal for the show, and he played the part masterfully.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Michael Emerson – Lost (The role of Ben is complex, and extremely mysterious. One has to wonder how much Emerson knows about his character's motivations because they are so involved in the shows top secret story line. Whether Emerson knows how it all ends and if his characters actions justify the means he takes is unknown, but his acting is undeniably great.)

Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother (It may be slightly controversial for me to say, but the fact that NPH is gay and plays a straight womanizer so well that you completely forget he's gay always astounds me. Aside from that his comedic timing and dedication to the continued characterization of Barny Stinson, Neil Patrick Harris is always a pleasure to watch.)

William Hurt – Damages (Don't watch it, have no opinion...yes, I do go outside and stop watching TV every now and then.)

Jeremy PivenEntourage (Let's be honest, while we all adore Ari Gold, Piven's been playing this part a long time, and by other character's names. While Piven is fabulous at it, there's not a ton of stretching and flexing of the acting muscle here.)

John Lithgow – Dexter (WINNER!!!!!!!!)
Why I Was Going to Riot in The Streets if John Lithgow Didn't Win
I won't spoil season 4 for you and tell you all the magical evils that Lithgow embodied as 'The Trinity Killer'. All I can say is, it was one of the best performances I've ever seen. The transformation into a role so purely crazed, evil, and homicidally masterminded not only brought out the best in Lithgow, but also the best from everyone who acted around him. The show's writing should also be credited.
To see more about the psychological strain and creative acting skill Lithgow brought to this role, watch this excellent interview
(SPOILER ALERT, ONLY WATCH THIS VIDEO IF YOU'VE SEEN SEASON 4 of Dexter)



Best Television Series - Drama

Big Love - (Season 3 was well written, and a had spectacular ending. There was a lot of growth in characters and story development. While it belongs amongst the chosen, it was definitely not the best drama.)

Dexter (As you can see, I loved Dexter season 4. While it was wonderful as a whole, I think the actors and writers got the nodd they deserved, but ultimately weren't the best drama.)

House (Again, House was really good last season. It's a great drama, one that is worth watching, but I don't think I'd call it the best or even list it as an all time favorite.)

True Blood (The fact that this is even listed, is laughable. True Blood is a great way to spend an hour, but as for drama? That's like saying Buffy the Vampire Slayer was also a drama. It's well done science fiction/suspense.)

Mad Men (WINNER!!!)
Why Mad Men Deserved The Win
This is currently the best drama. It encompasses the best of so many characters that it does deserve the constant call outs - the costumes/writing/setting of this period piece, along with acting that never disappoints makes this show inexcusable to miss. This past season especially challenged all the actors with writing that really reflected the times, and the characters previous actions. Consequences were served up diligently and the result was compelling television.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama

Glenn Close – Damages (Don't watch it, have no opinion other than all that I read/hear about this show is that she's fabulous in it.)

January Jones – Mad Men (She's brought more to her character this season and her expressions/emotions of Betty Draper are purely fantastic acting skill. I also have to say, I'm a fan of hers and route for her because of the following story -
January Jones started out as a model, and during that time she dated Ashton Kutcher. When she told him of her desire to act he told her she was just a pretty face. Where's your Golden Globe Ashton? What's that? You're still trying to make amends for producing that awful show The Beautiful Life: TBL, we should hope so.)

Anna Paquin – True Blood (Oh, Sookie. What a fun character to play. While Anna Paquin is doing much better this past season with her accent, and her portrayl of the strong willed woman with the ability to read minds is rather good - it's not something that I'd say she's THE BEST at. With that said, I really do want to make it clear that she's wonderful to watch in this role.)

Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (Never seen it, hear she's fabulous though.)


Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife (WINNER!)
Why I'm Not Terribly Thrilled
I feel like Julianna Margulies got this award because The Hollywood Foreign Press was just so happy that she came back to adult dramas. She's good in the role, but I still kind of always see her as Julianna Marguiles acting as a mother in a tough position. I don't think her work in the role demanded an award.

Best Television Series - Comedy Or Musical

30 Rock (Wonderful, funny - you are always guaranteed at least one laugh out loud moment, but I'm glad it didn't win. They've won enough, and this season they just kept on doing what they're good at which doesn't really merit a win - just hopefully more viewers.)

Entourage (It's a fun show, but it's not the best show. I don't think a show that does cut aways to women looking hot to set-up a scene when that's pretty much every scene is necessarily ever going to be "The Best" in my mind.)

Modern Family (While some people say that it's all about Ed O'Neil, this show is really an amazing ensemble. The writing is funny, but they really lucked out with having the perfect actors to fit the quirky characters this show creates. It is one of my favorites and I'm happy to see it called out with the nomination.)

The Office (Love it, but this past season wasn't worth awards. It's not as funny. Personally, I think we need to delve into on of the office workers more this season instead of focusing on the ones we've already seen more of - I'd like more Toby, or the shipping warehouse people's back story. We're still focusing on characters we've seen and it's a little played out.)

Glee (WINNER!!!!)
I Knew Glee Would Win and I'm Not Psychic
Let's be honest, for years it's been called in a comedy/musical, but there's never a musical. Glee comes along, and it's not only musical - but it's really fabulous at being a musical. It's a hands down winner. Creative, original, and something I can watch with my family. It's been a winner from first watch, and has won over millions of viewers to boot. I can't wait for the next season.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Comedy Or Musical

Courteney Cox – Cougar Town (She's funny, but there's not a ton going on in that character that's challenging enough to make me say, "wow she's the best.")

Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie (I wouldn't call this show a comedy, and it's definitely not a musical - but I would say that Edie Falco does a great job in the role, and has wonderful writers and supporting cast. If you haven't seen this show, go get the season 1 DVD.)

Tina Fey – 30 Rock (...isn't she just playing herself? She's great, but I'm not sure it's great acting. I think it's a lot of great job being yourself, Tina Fey - which is something to be called out for as funny, but not really enough to merit an acting award.)

Lea Michele – Glee (Amazing voice, very good at being the perfectionist, but I think it's too soon to give her an award. I do think she has a chance of getting it next season though if she keeps up the stellar performances.)

Toni Collette – United States Of Tara (WINNER!!!)
The Woman Plays 4 Different Characters
And she does each of them convincingly well. Her transitions are amazing to watch, and she makes it seem effortless. Of course she won, she's fabulous. Go watch this show and try to tell me she's not the best actress you've seen on TV.

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series -

Comedy Or Musical

Steve Carell – The Office (He's a great Michael Scott, but he's no David Brent.)

David Duchovny – Californication (His actions, and reactions are constantly a source of humor and make the show one that I love to watch, but he's also kind of playing himself. I don't see a ton of range in his portrayal of Hank Moody, but what you do see from him is quite good.)

Thomas Jane – Hung (Meh, it's an ok show, he's a decent actor, but I wouldn't necessarily shout about his performance)

Matthew Morrison – Glee (Adorable, fun, and did a stellar performance in the last two episodes. I was really impressed by his growth in the role.)

Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (WINNER!!!)
Maybe Now You Won't Give Up on Acting?
I feel like he got this award not only because he's amazing - but also because he announced that once his contract is up with '30 Rock' he's going to retire from acting. It would be a sad day for several reasons - one being that he wants to go into politics.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Jane Adams – Hung (She's perfect in this role. Her voice, her look, it's all dead on.)

Rose Byrne – Damages (Don't watch it, don't hear much about her.)

Jane Lynch – Glee (Fan-freakin'-tastic. Jane Lynch is one of the best people to watch. The role of Sue Sylvester is a comedic actress dream, and what Lynch does for the role is bring the exact amount of toughness/tenderness that the ball-busting Sue is written to be. I'm sad she lost out.)

Janet McTeer – Into The Storm (No idea what this even is.)

Chloë Sevigny – Big Love (WINNER!!)
There's Something About Chloë
It's weird, because while the character she portrays, Nikki Grant, annoys the heck out of me, there's no doubt that Chloë Sevigny is a fabulous actress while she's playing her. The character of Nikki is cold, conservative, and a little bit crazy. In season 3 she really brought a lot of wonderful emotion to the role, and deserves to be honored for her performance. I still kinda think Jane Lynch should've won though.

BEST MINI SERIES / MADE FOR TV MOVIE STUFF
Not huge into this category, can you tell?

Best Mini Series/Movie - Grey Gardens (My reasoning is, it won because it's the only one I watched, it was that good.)

Best Actress in Mini Series/Movie - Drew Barrymore (She was really great in the role, it was a wonderful performance.)

Best Actor in a Mini Series/Movie - Kevin Bacon (Well, at least someone in the family won the night...he's married to Kyra Sedgwick.)


Movie winners: yadda, yadda, I'd rather sit at home and be watching TV...

Best Picture - Avatar

Best Actress - Sandra Bullock

Best Actor - Jeff Bridges

Best Comedy/Musical - The Hangover

Best Actress Comedy/Musical - Meryl Streep

Best Actor in Comedy/Musical - Robert Downey Jr.

Best Supporting Actress - Mo'nique

Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz

Best Animated Film - Up <---I'll throw in best of all time. Pixar tops themselves, again. Best Foreign Language - The White Ribon Best Director - James Cameron Best Screenplay - Up in the Air

Best Original Score - Up

Best Song - "The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart)" – Crazy Heart
Music & Lyrics By: Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

I regret to say, I missed watching the awards live due to a friend's wedding (stupid love and joy celebrations pulling me away from TV). So, in award show fashion, I would like to thank the HFPA for posting all the winners on their site. Without them, I couldn't have written this blog today.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Sue,
You are right on target. My daughter, Emily (you know her), turned me on to your blog. We have similar taste. Keep up the good work. I look forward to reading more. Jane

yousillygoose said...

You should definitely pop Damages into the player when you get the chance. Fantastic show (at least as far as I've seen, which is season 1). And yes, Glenn Close is excellent. She is so terrifyingly convincing as madwoman Patty Hewes that I think I'd be too frightened to meet in her in person now.

Ok, enough plugs. I totally agree that Juliana's win was a puzzler. I thought even her nomination brought a double take. She's fun to watch as a stoic mom/lawyer, but nothing mind blowing.

I lied. One more plug. Friday Night Lights. Where is the LOVE? Recognition at least. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton deserve well overdue awards (or nominations) for their most realistic portrayal of parents on TV. Not to mention the show itself should get credit for its writing and ensemble cast.

Sad to see NPH miss out again.

Also, Best Performance in a Comedy/Musical: how the diddlysquat was Courtney Cox nominated? Does not compute.

Aside from Britton, I'd plug (well almost anyone over Cox) Mary McCormick for her role in In Plain Sight, which is more of a drama, but hey.

What I would give to be on these committees.

And have a Nielson box.