After a rocky year in Hollywood dominated by Actors’ and Writers’ Strikes, on January 7th, 2024, the 81st Golden Globes aired on television. Recently, the program faced allegations of racism and sexual assault leading to the 2022 broadcast being pulled off the air. The award show is currently attempting to make a comeback, but despite its efforts, this year’s broadcast was widely panned, including by yours truly. I’ve broken up my review into four sections, The Show, The Winners, The Fashion and The Drama. Now let’s get going with our review!
The Show:
The show was a colossal failure. After several years of scandals and strikes, the negative energy surrounding the Globes was amplified by the disastrous host, Jo Koy. If you aren’t sure who Jo Koy is, you are not alone. He starred in Easter Sunday, a movie that cost 17 million to make but only took in 13.1 million at the box office. In case you’re wondering how they wound up with this guy, they only hired him two weeks before, in a seemingly desperate bid to find someone – anyone – to do the job. From a dull monologue to cringy jokes, the only value that he provided to the Golden Globes was a distraction from their past scandals. One of Koy’s jokes was that unlike the NFL the Golden Globes didn’t rely on pictures of Taylor Swift for ratings; he was immediately contradicted when the broadcast cut to an unimpressed Taylor Swift. Until her early departure, producers continually featured shots of her, despite “not needing her for ratings”.
None of the presenters or winners seemed excited to be there, and almost all lacked energy and enthusiasm. Not only were viewers dissatisfied, but so were celebrities, such as Christine Vachon who complained about the bad seats. The show has often billed itself as having a party atmosphere, but there wasn’t a person in the entire audience who seemed to be having fun. Overall, the show hasn’t improved. Rather than roaring back into the spotlight, the show limped back with a bad case of laryngitis.
The Winners:
The heart of the night is the awards themselves. From big upsets to expected wins, these were some of the most notable victories.
“Oppenheimer” won big with several accolades for Best Actor, Supporting Actor, Original Score and Drama Motion Picture. The biopic of Fieldston’s most famous alum was one-half the uber-famous Barbenheimer which dominated pop culture this summer. From the second “Oppenheimer” went into production, it was destined to win. Given award shows’ tendency to vote for more artsy films with historical context, it didn’t take a psychic to predict “Oppenheimer’s” status as the darling of the Golden Globes.
“Poor Things” upset “Barbie”, the other half of Barbenheimer, in the race for Best Musical/ Comedy. Despite the surprise loss, “Barbie” still won for Original Song, and Cinematic and Box Office Achievement (Hollywood’s version of a participation award: If you had fun, you won!). While “Barbie” was a surprisingly deep movie that delved into the aspects of womanhood, the fact that it was adapted from a toy line didn’t bode well for its chances of winning.
Kieran Culkin (known for his work as Fuller the Bedwetter in “Home Alone”) and Sarah Snook won Best Actor and Actress in a Drama Series for their work in the final season of “Succession”, which took home Best Drama TV Series. I’ve never seen “Succession”, but the rave reviews I heard led me to believe that it would take home multiple prizes.
Fashion:
One of the most exciting parts of the Golden Globes is the fashion. Some celebrities stepped up their game shining in some of the most beautiful outfits, while others dressed in lackluster uninspiring garb.
Three Outfits I Liked:
Margot Robbie continued her trend of emulating Barbie on the red carpet by wearing a bubblegum pink v-neck sequin dress from Armani, which she paired with a pink mesh polka-dot boa. Afterward, she changed to a matching black version of the dress for the after-party.
Brie Larson wore a pale purple 1950s-esque gown from Prada. The dress was a callback to the days of old Hollywood glamor, with a modern flair. The sleek lines helped update the vintage silhouette.
In honor of her recently released film version of “The Color Purple”, Oprah has been rocking several purple outfits lately, and her Golden Globe gown was one of them. The dress took 600 hours to embroider using purple crystals and sequins to form a geometric design.
Three Outfits I Didn’t Like:
Hunter Schafer wore a white mesh dress that looked unfinished due to the presence of long strands of material dangling off her front. To be frank, it looked like an unraveling tissue.
Keri Russell wore another white dress which looked just as bizarre. The top looked like a baggy tank top, and the bottom looked like the brush used to clean toilets. Paired with a furry white bag, which I initially believed to be her pet Shih Tzu, the outfit had a weird effect.
Erica Alexander wore a two-piece mismatch of styles. The top was a corset, and the bottom was a trumpet skirt. Overall, the outfit looked uncoordinated, which wasn’t helped by the choice of fabric which resembled a psychedelic hotel carpet.
Honorable Mention:
Of course, I must mention Taylor Swift’s dress, or otherwise, the Swifties would come for me. I liked her dress, I really did, but it wasn’t my favorite look. The green shade of her dress was striking and suited her complexion marvelously. The snake-like texture added an interesting detail and is fueling “Reputation” (Taylor’s Version) theories. If the “Reputation” theories weren’t enough, the green look is also fueling “Debut” (TV) theories. (As a non Swiftie I’m not really sure what that means, but apparently, it’s a big deal.)
The Drama:
What this year’s Golden Globes lacked in entertainment value, it made up for in drama.
The celebrities were still arriving when the first incident occurred. Brie Larson began to hyperventilate and cry upon meeting Jenifer Lopez for the first time. When they encountered one another on the red carpet, she revealed that J-Lo is an idol of hers and was the reason she became an actress. The moment was touching to all, even for the grinches among us. Who knew that “Jenny from the Block” could bring Captain Marvel, one of the most powerful Avengers, to tears?
Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet were seen kissing at the Golden Globes but to some, it didn’t look real. Some people on Reddit believe that this whole “relationship” is an attempt to “rebrand” Jenner. It is important to note that Mysterious_Sugar7220 isn’t a reliable source by a long shot, and has no involvement with the actual subjects of her claims. “Momager” Kris Jenner has yet to comment on the situation.
Finally for the whisper heard around Tiktok: The Timothee Chalamet, Kylie Jenner and Selena Gomez selfie drama, (yes them again.) During the show, Gomez was seen whispering to Taylor Swift and Keleigh Teller (wife of Miles Teller), to which Teller responded audibly, “With Timothee?” Lip readers on social media soon weighed in, stating that Gomez originally said, “I asked for a picture with him and she said no.” People speculated that Jenner refused on behalf of Chalamet when Gomez asked to take a photo.
Like all celebrity interactions, the situation blew up, especially since Jenner and Gomez were involved in a massive feud last spring. Chalamet soon responded stating that the interaction never happened. Gomez also responded saying that what she was telling Swift and Teller about Jenner and Chalamet hooking up. The events culminated in Gomez announcing that she was taking a break from social media. Ironically this whole situation involving Taylor Swift (again) brought a lot of attention to the Golden Globes (so much for Koy’s assertion that she wasn’t needed to drive ratings).
Sadly, the Golden Globes have continued their pattern of poor ratings and even poorer entertainment value. I, like many others, was not impressed at all. Here’s hoping the Oscars will be better!
