While I was all eager to watch the 68th Annual Golden Globes last night, I was feeling bored from the beginning, after the first award of Best Supporting Actor was handed out. With Geoffrey Rush (The King’s speech therapist) losing the award, I will always miss the acceptance speech from him. I’m sure he had prepared something brilliant and witty to say. That would be the speech I had hoped for, but now, will never get to hear.
Most of the speeches last night were banal and uninspiring, exceptions were few. Even Robert De Niro’s for winning the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award was lacklustre. What sounded like self-deprecating humor could well have de-mythicized the acting profession and brought it down to the level of just another job to feed the kids.
Annette Bening had a sweet ending to her acceptance speech for Best Actress, comedy or musical, for The Kids Are All Right. After thanking the cast, she acknowledged “the 1962 winner of the Golden Globes for Most Promising Actor, my husband Warren Beatty.” They looked wonderful together, after all these years.
Canadian viewers must be delighted to hear Paul Giamatti, Best Actor, comedy or musical for Barney’s Version, as he acknowledged Canadian author Mordecai Richler and his family, and the film’s shooting location “up in an incredible, beautiful city, Montreal, which I dream about, an incredible place in a great nation, Canada. I salute the great nation of Canada.”
The audience stood and cheered as Michael Douglas came on stage at the end, making his first public appearance in Hollywood after receiving treatments for throat cancer: “That’s got to be an easier way to get a standing ovation,” he quipped. He presented the Best Movie Award to The Social Network, which won four Golden Globes last night.
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The best speech of the night came from Colin Firth. Just like his role in The King’s Speech, reflecting his persona and style, his speech was an exemplar of finesse and character.
Here is Colin Firth’s acceptance speech for Best Actor, Drama, for The King’s Speech:
“Getting through the mid stage of your life with your dignity and judgement in tact can be somewhat precarious and sometimes all you need is a bit of gentle reassurance to keep on track. I don’t know if this qualifies as gentle reassurance, but right now this is all that stands between me and a Harley Davidson. I owe a very great debt to my supernaturally talented fellow cast members, my exquisite no-nonsense Queen, Helena and my wayward Royal older brother Guy [Pierce]. Geoffrey Rush and Tom Hooper, my two other sides of a surprisingly robust triangle of man love, somehow moved forward in perfect formation for the last year and a half or so… Tom with his scorching intelligence and Geoffrey who has now become my true friend and geisha girl. David Seidler, I know something of what you went through to create this…. at a time in my life when I truly appreciate the value of longevity in my relationships, Harvey Weinstein has made an improbably number of good films. We have had 20 years together, which is not bad going for a showbiz marriage. Thank you, Harvey. But the very best thing of all has been Livia [his wife] and all the beautiful things she’s given me and I think I can cope with just about any age as long as I can still see her.”
Who can be more deserving to win?
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For a full list of Golden Globes nominees and winners, CLICK HERE to the official Golden Globe Site of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
To read my review of The King’s Speech, CLICK HERE.
Colin Firth’s Speech quoted from The Telegraph.
Photo source: The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/8260914/Golden-Globes-2011-Colin-Firth-wins-Best-Actor-as-The-Social-Network-takes-four-awards.html
Ripple Effects 
Colin Firth is a class act. You can’t be the best Mr. Darcy ever and not have something good going as a human being.
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Yes, of course, that’s the word I was looking for: ‘class’. But ‘character’ is also true too, don’t you think?
A.
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Isn’t he a gorgeous man (Firth I mean) in, it seems, every sense of the word. Nice round-up Arti. I’m sorry I missed watching them … not quite sure how I managed that. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that they were played here at Midday and I didn’t think to turn the TV on.
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whisperinggums,
For those of you Down Under, it’s certainly a different atmosphere isn’t it … I never thought of that. I’ll remind you when it’s Oscars time. Just this morning (our time) BAFTA nominated The King’s Speech in every category of awards, 14 noms! I’m sure Colin has a good chance heading to the Oscars.
Arti
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I completely missed them too. Just before I opened your post today, Don said, “You missed the Golden Globes.” “What?” I said. I am completely out of touch apparently. And I thought these came much later, like March. I’m sorry I missed all the things you mentioned. I love Annette Bening. Her film is on our queue.
And Colin Firth. Big SIGH. How many times have I fallen in love all over again with Mr. Darcy? This man is brilliant, and much because of his sublime grace and presence at these functions. I so love it when Brits win our American awards, because the speeches are actually worth listening too, even when they are seemingly unplanned (I remember one of Emma Thompson’s sometime). There is an elegance of speech and demeanor that we don’t have a clue about here in the U.S. We have other traits, like ease. But to feel confident in these situations and draw from language that is nice to listen to, not so much. Imagine standing there as Colin Firth did, with no podium, and be so at ease with language. Thankfully I found the speech on YouTube and was able to listen. Mmmm. I can’t believe I haven’t seen “The King’s Speech” yet, but Inge and I will get there.
Thank you for paying closer attention than I do, Arti, and for this lovely summary. And thank you for your kind attentions to my blog, always.
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Replace the “ease” about Americans with “casualness.” I feel that most American winners at these functions do not seem to be at ease. Anything but.
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Ok, Ruth, and anyone interested, here are some of the major events of the current awards season: Jan. 30 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Feb. 13 BAFTA (UK), Feb. 26 Independent Spirit Awards, the whole awards season finishing off with the Academy Awards on Feb. 27.
I was tweeting throughout the Golden Globes, quite a new experience for me. I’m thinking of doing the same for Oscars night, anyone interested can ‘follow me on Twitter’ and join the tweeting party as we watch the Awards Ceremony… will be a lot of fun.
Ruth, you’re so right in replacing “ease” with “casualness”. Often the bubbly and chatty front is a guise to hide the nervousness inside. ‘Casualness’ is an American value, isn’t it? And I think it’s because many people mistakenly think that the opposite of “casualness” is “stuffiness”. I think the movie The King’s Speech and Colin Firth’s Speech just show how wrong that notion is. One can be articulate without being snobbish, and exude humour, grace and heart at the same time.
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Arti,
I was glad to read your review yesterday morning. Even in a year without the presence of a new granddaughter, I always forget to watch the Golden Globes.
What I appreciated most about your line of thoughts was your candor, from your own perspective, at the evening’s joys and disappointments. Reviewers always have their personal preferences and I much prefer when they’re stated for the record. And by the way, I loved The King’s Speech as well — after reading your review, I made sure I got to the theater to see it.
All in all, reading your post felt like a shared conversation over coffee.
Janell
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Janell,
Oh thank you so much for your kind words. I think we write best when we’re writing what we genuinely feel and think. I don’t believe there is a ‘neutral’ commentator/reviewer. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed TKS. I trust it will go all the way to the Oscars. Well as in my reply to Ruth’s comment, I have listed some major award events, with the climax on Feb. 27, the Academy Awards. You’re welcome to join in by ‘following me on Twitter’.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your comment!
Arti
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I missed the entire show. I had the weekends mixed up and didn’t realize I had missed it until I saw a re-cap show on the TV Guide channel. I like the GG’s because they seem to be a bit less formal.
Last year’s Oscar show was pretty good. I hope this year’s is just as good if not better. Maybe I should add that date to my calendar now 🙂
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Ti,
It’s Feb. 27 for the Oscars. Anne Hathaway and James Franco will co-host, a gesture of passing the torch to the next generation, trying to keep the flame burning to appeal to younger viewers. Let’s hope they do a decent job and not just try to be funny at everybody’s expense… like what we have in Sunday’s GG.
Arti
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The King’s Speech was by far the best film I’ve seen in decades. Absolute decades. I haven’t been so moved, so inspired, so enraptured by a film in a very long time, but I was completely overcome by his courage and the mood which was created. Colin Firth deserves every accolade possible, and what a shame Mr. Rush didn’t win a thing. Stupid Hollywood. Most of them have their head in their asses in the first place which is probably why I liked this British film so very much.
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Bellezza,
I trust the film will get some Oscar noms, but how many or which ones I really can’t say, especially with The Social Network dominating the Golden Globes. They’ve just announced the BAFTA nom list today, and TKS gets a nom in every category, 14 in all! I think TKS will have a much better reception in their own country than the US. I have my own speculations as to why this is so, but … save my opinion to myself in this respect.
Anyway, Feb. 27 is Oscars night. As I mentioned in reply to Ruth’s comment, I have just recently succumbed to the convenience of twittering (which I’ve long resisted, I must confess). I’m planning to tweet through the Oscars. You’re welcome to join in, so we can share our thoughts in real time ;).
Arti
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I guess I should’ve said the other film I really loved from 2010 was An Education. Score another point for the Brits! 😉
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Bellezza,
I agree with you. In fact, all my Top Ripples for films in 2010 are from the UK, except one (The Secret In Their Eyes, from Argentina). Click on the movie images on my sidebar to read my reviews of some of them: The King’s Speech, Another Year (another must-see), Never Let Me Go, Nowhere Boy. An Education is from 2009. You can also read my review here.
Arti
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Arti,
You know how I’ve been about films, but I did go to see “The King’s Speech” on the very day of the Golden Globes. It was an extraordinary film and a wonderful experience. It’s a film I’ll be writing about myself, once I have my thoughts sorted out, and certainly one I’ll purchase for repeat viewing.
As for the Golden Globes themselves… I’ve never been one to watch the awards shows. Even the Oscars is a bit beside the point for someone who doesn’t recognize half the names, doesn’t care what any of them is wearing and hasn’t been to a film in six months.
But, I was interested this time, because I’d so recently seen “The King’s Speech” and felt it deserved honors. I turned on the show, listened to that utterly despicable host (whom I’d never heard of and whose name I can’t remember now) and after a few minutes, turned it off. After the elegance and depth of “The King’s Speech”, the nasty, snarky tone of the host’s not very humorous humor was simply – unbearable. From what I hear, it got worse.
I understand that the upcoming shows will be differently hosted, but still – that single experience made me think I’d do better to simply watch the films you and others recommend and discuss them here. I don’t have either the time or inclination for such nastiness. 😉
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Linda,
So glad you’ve enjoyed TKS. It’s just too bad that a respectable and decent awards show can be ruined by the host alone. But then again, I watch it to honour those who are truly deserving, like last Sunday’s GG. I waited the whole night for a very honourable and deserving win from Colin Firth and his acceptance speech. I tried to forget the bad experiences the previous two hours had offered me.
This is how I see it: The joke a person says reflects more on the speaker and not the target of the joke. Anyway, I do hope that Anne Hathaway and James Franco will be more classy than Ricky Gervais. BTW, I was in a bookstore the other day and saw a collection of short stories written by James Franco… let’s just hope that the Oscars experience for us viewers will be more enjoyable.
Arti
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Of course, that’s one of the advantages we have with Twitter , youtube -and people live-blogging the shows. I did click back in to hear Colin Firth’s speech, because I was able to keep up with the proceedings in real time via tweets and blogs. I’ll not reject all awards shows out of hand, but as a “new viewer” of such things, I was just astonished that they’d have such a host. Yes, I think “astonished” is the right word. 😉
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I think it’s wonderful that you paid such close attention to the speeches. Oh Colin Firth – he is just an extraordinary, talented man. His speech brought tears to my eyes, and I would never even have thought of reading it, without your bringing it to my attention. Thank you!
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litlove,
Now I’m looking forward to his Oscar acceptance speech! 😉
Arti
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Oh, Arti, I am so glad you posted Colin Firth’s speech (just read your post on Emma Thompson), and I am so glad that he won. Yes, there is something about the UK and Irish gift of language that we (in the US; I cannot speak for Canadians) lack, a rhythm a respect. I have not yet seen “The King’s Speech,” and am dying to…
Did not watch the Golden Globes–I believe they conflicted with A Sport –but the newspapers all week were focused on the poor conduct of the not-to-be-named host, the Facebook movie, and dissing the attire of everyone who walked “the red carpet.” Sigh. But today I learned an interesting tidbit regarding that famous carpet and the singular Helena Bonham Carter, who wore shoes that did not match. Apparently, she allowed her two-year-old daughter to choose them, and then marched proudly in them for the world to see.
That is a different sort of Class, but as good as Colin Firth’s…
I have GOT to see that film!
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Yes, ds, you must see it before the Oscars. I’d love to hear your view … come back and drop us a comment on my review post after, would you? 😉 As for the gift of language, I guess after witnessing the GG host RG’s expressionism, we just can’t generalize that anymore, can we? That night I was torn between the GG and Masterpiece’s Downton Abbey, and chose the former. I could have just stayed on PBS and switched to the GG for just the last 15 minutes.
Arti
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