Golden Globes: What I Thought
Before summarizing the coverage (winners here), let me say that not only do Minnie not burn no fried chicken, but the actress who played her in “The Help,” Octavia Spencer (pictured), who won the Golden Globe last night for Best Supporting Actress/Movie, sure know how to rock the red carpet. More generally: The television side of this year’s Globes proved more surprising than the movie awards. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which throws the bash, plucked a few un-overhyped people from the boob tube. Among them: Laura Dern, who won for “Enlightened,” and Idris Elba, for “Luther.” I was happy that “Downton Abbey” won Best Miniseries or TV Movie, and that Peter Dinklage won for playing the imp on “Game of Thrones.” The Globes ratified the ascension of “Homeland” to must-see TV (even Obama watches it), although I was utterly devastated to hear Homeland’s Claire Danes’s name called out for Best Actress/TV Series (Drama) instead of She Who Must Be Obeyed, aka Madeleine Stowe for “Revenge.” As for the movie awards, do I need to point out for the upteenth time that the Globes’ predictive value for the Oscar is far from unerring? Yes, “The Artist,” the winner for Best Movie/Musical or Comedy, solidified its status as Oscar’s Best Picture frontrunner, and the two winners for Best Actor/Movie (George Clooney, Jean Dujardin) remain neck and neck for the Academy Award. But Meryl Streep’s win for “The Iron Lady” does not yet mean that she’s a lock for Oscar’s Best Actress. The better barometer will be the SAG award in a few weeks: if she wins that, she’s probably home free; if it’s Viola Davis, then I’d still bet on Viola for the Oscar.
