BLAIR WOYNARSKI
Arts Writer

This past Sunday, celebrities strolled the red carpet in glitz and glamour (as they are wont to do) for the 68th annual Golden Globe Awards — otherwise known as the enthusiastic younger brother of the Oscars and the Emmys.

It is notable for being the award show that brings together both movie and television stars (though I’m uncertain whether they are allowed to talk to each other or whether they just have to exchange indifferent nods).

The awards are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (whoever they are), and their main purpose seems to serve as a barometer for Oscar hopefuls.

I don’t usually watch the Golden Globes, but I chose to do so this year because I am more familiar with the nominees than in most years, but primarily because Ricky Gervais was hosting for the second time.

Gervais, for those of you who don’t know, is the funniest man alive (best known as creator of The Office), and he successfully lit it up for the time he was on stage. The vibrancy of the night helped the three hour time span, with presenters riffing off one another.

Gervais is not known for pulling punches, and happily went for the jugular on anyone in his radar, which included a thinly veiled slight on Tom Cruise’s sexuality and a disparaging remark against the age of the HFPA president.

Robert Downey Jr. commented, “Aside from the fact that it’s been hugely mean-spirited, with mildly sinister undertones, I’d say the vibe of the show is pretty good so far, wouldn’t you?” Not to be outdone, his own presentation for best actress in a comedy included a speech about his theory that an actress does her best work after she sleeps with him (a routine which would have sounded a lot creepier coming from, say, Charlie Sheen).

Awards handed out to movies were not terribly surprising. The Social Network swept the top three awards for best picture direction and screenplay. The front-running actors all walked away with their respective trophies: Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) and Natalie Portman (Black Swan) for acting in a drama, and Paul Giamatti (Barney’s Version) and Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right) for acting in a comedy.

The awards for television were a bit more surprising. Acting in a mini-series or TV movie went to obvious picks Claire Danes (Temple Grandin) and Al Pacino (You Don’t Know Jack), but Carlos upset critical favourite The Pacific for best mini-series. Boardwalk Empire triumphed over Emmy darling Mad Men for best TV drama, and Steve Buscemi beat out favourites Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) in acting.

The most questionable decision of the night, however, was awarding best comedy or musical to Glee for the second year, over Emmy-winner Modern Family (if this article were about my personal opinions, I might complain about the best comedy of the past decade being passed over by a feel-good musical in the throes of a lacklustre second season; but it’s not, so I won’t).

Robert De Niro was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. It was presented by Matt Damon, who began by saying that he had no idea who Robert De Niro was until five years earlier, then started imitating characters in De Niro movies that were played by other actors, and finally congratulating him on his turn as a blonde, 13-year-old hooker in Taxi Driver. Following a three-minute montage of his films, De Niro gave a warm and humourous acceptance speech, responding to Damon by saying, “I thought you were great in The Fighter.”