2021 Golden Globes Rapid Reactions
The 2021 awards season is upon us! Last night’s Golden Globes kicked off a belated awards season and gave us our first look at what to expect from this year’s Academy Awards, both from a winner and technical production perspective. Here are some of my immediate reactions:
1. The Golden Globes Have a Diversity Problem (And They Know It) – the biggest news going into the awards show was the report that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the 87-person governing body responsible for voting on awards, does not include a single black member. The HFPA put out a statement prior to the awards stating they are committed to bringing in a more diverse membership, but it all felt too little too late. The controversy was handled up-front during the awards show as well, with hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler throwing quick jabs about the situation during their opening monologue, and a trio of HFPA members speaking midway through the show to highlight their renewed commitment to diversity. Will it make an impact? We will have to see if the fallout continues and what changes are made over the next year.
2. Tina Fey & Amy Poehler Always Kill It – While tackling intermittent technical issues throughout the show, the bi-coastal hosts made it work and continue to be the strongest awards hosts in recent history. Balancing the fine line of humor, wit, and biting remarks against their Hollywood counterparts, they kept the proceedings lively and fun. A few moments during the ceremony fell flat, most notably a spoof where Amy Poehler brought Maya Rudolph and Kenan Thompson onstage as a pair of off-kilter award winning composers, but even then, they still are the hosts with the most.
3. Chadwick Boseman – Of all the celebrity deaths in the past few years, Chadwick Boseman’s was the one that hit me the most. Seeing a life in its prime being taken away so suddenly, especially when he played a role in a franchise so close to me, will always hurt. If the Golden Globes are a precursor, it looks like his memory will play a strong role throughout awards season. His wife gave a lovely and impassioned speech on his behalf for his win in the Best Actor – Drama category, something I assume we will continue to hear all the way through to the Academy Awards.
4. Zoom Parties Are Always Uncomfortable – we’ve all lived through an awkward Zoom birthday party by this point in the pandemic, and the Golden Globes highlighted just how weird they can be sometimes. Each category of nominees was seemingly placed into a 3 hour Zoom meeting for the extent of ceremony (or at least until the category was announced) and was leveraged as a lead into ad breaks. This led to moments of nominees talking over each other to introduce themselves, awkward silence, and the occasional celebrity zoning out on their phone completely unaware their group meeting was being showcased on national television. With an extra two months to prepare, it will be interesting to see how the Academy Awards will tackle this issue with herd immunity seemingly unlikely by that point.
5. The Favorite & The Spoiler(s) – with Golden Globes wins for both, Nomadland and director Chloe Zhao look to cement their status as frontrunners for Best Picture and Best Director at this year’s Academy Awards. But what role could Sacha Baron-Cohen and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm play as a potential spoiler, after wins in both the Best Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Musical or Comedy categories. It may be a longshot, but Borat Subsequent Moviefilm certainly was the right film for the right time last year. The Academy Awards will most likely include crowd favorite Minari in the Best Picture category as well, another potential spoiler to Nomadlands’s ultimate reign. Either way, it looks like Netflix will potentially be shut out from a coveted Best Picture win for another year, and that the Year of Chloe Zhao is just beginning.
What were your reactions to this year’s Golden Globes? For a full list of winners, click here.
