Seed NewsvineNight Of The Bad Boys
A year after that dismal SAG-Strike-riddled Golden Globes telecast, Hollywood came back in full force, with all the beauty and pricey champagne the west coast has to offer. And we just lapped it up.
If anything, the 2009 Golden Globe Awards proved to be an evening of happily welcomed upsets. With two music nominations (one for song in "Gran Torino" and one for score in "Changeling") under his belt, Clint Eastwood had the edge going into the night. He lost in both categories; more notably losing to Bruce Springsteen for Best Original Song in "The Wrestler." Springsteen joked about how this was the only opportunity he had to be in the same competitive category with Eastwood--and that it felt really good to win.
Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" performed well in a major dramatic category as well: Best Actor. 2008's Comeback Kid Mickey Rourke had a very thoughtful acceptance speech. Right away, former colleagues of mine from the A.V. Club as well as other pundits criticized Rourke for not thanking screenwriter Robert Siegel (also a former Onion scribe) upon receiving his award. Of course, I am more sympathetic to the man. It was a huge moment, and a very emotional one. So I won't hold it against him for thanking his pet dogs, who he says were the only ones there for him when he was in exile from Tinseltown.
Colin Farrell joked about his cocaine problem while presenting an award early in the night and later on shocked many by actually winning Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical for "In Bruges." For once, the always sure and cocky Farrell was a bit shaken up with high spirits and found it hard to not stutter his words of gratitude. It was a very warm side of the fellow. And to no one's (and I mean those in the machine) surprise, the late Heath Ledger won for his supporting turn in "The Dark Knight." Director Christopher Nolan accepted on his behalf in an articulate speech stressing the idea of the glass being half full rather than half empty when it comes to Ledger's career. There was a very awkwardly placed/staged clip of Ledger in the film that was played before Nolan was allowed to speak, and well, it just didn't work. Nolan's words hit deeper.
But that's Hollywood for you.
