The 10 Best and Worst Moments of This Year's Golden Globes

Left to right: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Leonardo DiCaprio

Last night marked this year's Golden Globes, in which the big winners were The Revenant and The Martian. However, it is also likely the year when the ceremony itself became irrelevant to TV viewers without access to their own minibar. You see, with returning host Ricky Gervais, the show's three hour run felt like an eternity not because it was a slow year (though the winners weren't exceptional), but because nobody cared. Yes, The Golden Globes have long been The Razzies of prestigious movie awards, but usually their ceremonies are fun moments to have people let loose. The following is a look at the highs and lows of the show as it relates to Oscar culture. Prepare for a ride through the drollness.

Left to right: Amber Heard and Jamie Alexander

1. The Ceremony (Worst)

Let's get it out of the way. Regardless of who won last night, everyone at home lost. For an awards show that has long been accepted as a chance for the Hollywood Foreign Press Agency (HFPA) to meet Hollywood royalty, the show has at least been fun to watch because of how nobody takes them seriously. However, this year was arguably not taken seriously enough to even qualify as not being taken seriously. Whether it was Ricky Gervais reminding you what garbage the show was, or the largely censored speeches, there wasn't much in the way of memorable bits. It was an excuse for everyone to jokingly bully each other and express a sense of self-indulgence that is often saved for The Teen Choice Awards. Though at least those shows try to pretend that they're having fun. Considering how many people in that room are actors, it cannot be that hard to at least make the show look fun.

Denzel Washington

2. Denzel Washington wins the Cecil B. DeMille Award (Best)

By the time that the annual Cecil B. DeMille Award came two hours into the ceremony, most people were likely either tuning out or getting ready to shove their foot through the TV. When Tom Hanks went up to give a speech to honor his Philadelphia co-star, he highlighted the work with an excellent montage. What followed was Washington going onto the stage and preparing to give a heartfelt speech with his family by his side, only to instead fumble around because he couldn't read the speech. Was it just Washington accepting that the show had lost any point after two hours, or did he really not have his glasses? Whatever the reason, it was fun to see the Washington family bumble around onstage for what may be one of the least conventional acceptance speeches in the award's history.

3. Ricky Gervais as Host (Worst)

I'm sure that I am not alone in saying that Ricky Gervais used to deserve respect. He created The Office and was considered one of the pioneers in British comedy in the past decade. Then, he lost weight, made The Invention of Lying, and has been sliding ever since. He returned to host The Golden Globes (why?) and promised to insult the entire room and point out how dumb the award was. He would even go so far as to clock in every 10 minutes to complain about slow the show was. Whether or not he was being disingenuous, it was coming off as an annoying enabler trying to push every button. Beyond his offensive jokes (which would've been funnier had he not insisted on thinking that he was in fact better than everyone in the room), he had nothing really to offer beyond buzzword attacks. However, he has made a great point. Maybe The Golden Globes should go back to just announcing the winners without any spectacle, because if all the show does is produce garbage like this in the future, why even watch?

Kate Winslet

4. Steve Jobs Wins 2 Golden Globes (Great)

For the most part, Steve Jobs has pretty much checked out of awards season. Despite being marketed as one of the strong front runners, the past few months (on top of its box office bombing) have only hurt its reputation. However, things are looking up, especially as Kate Winslet (Best Supporting Actress) and Aaron Sorkin (Best Screenplay) won. Even if the film stands little to no chances of winning big at the Oscars, it at least gives out hope that one of the most underrated films of 2015 is going to be sticking around a little longer than expected. Also, kudos to the Steve Jobs cast on handling their acceptance speeches with more dignity than 75% of everyone else.

Scene from Spotlight

5. No love for Spotlight (Worst)

I'll admit that Spotlight isn't my favorite of potential Oscar candidates. However, it's still an impressive film with a lot to offer in the way of journalism ethics. The film has been primed to win Best Picture for months now, and to see it not even land a single win is disheartening. Even if The Golden Globes and The Oscars have been known to rarely overlap with winners, it still makes you wonder what The HFPA saw in The Revenant and the other winners that was missing in a better crafted movie. Here's hoping that Spotlight isn't down and out just yet.

Brie Larson

6. Brie Larson confirms front runner status (Great)

I will admit that I unfortunately haven't seen Room yet. However, the winning streak for Brie Larson is sort of exciting for me, largely because I have enjoyed her work since The United States of Tara days. It's hard not to root for someone whose done great work for years now, and is able to give charming speeches. The only question though is if things will heat up with fellow Best Actress winner Jennifer Lawrence (Joy), who wins for a third time. It may be the year where The Academy gives the award to fresh meat, and that is more than welcomed in my book (unless Brooklyn's Saoirse Ronan has anything to say about that).

Left to right: Assface and Mel Gibson

7. Mad Max: Fury Road is presented by Mel Gibson (Worst)

In all honesty, I don't think that Mel Gibson the actor is that bad nowadays (though not great, either). However, Gibson the man is still an unfortunate thing to experience. With antisemitic and sexist comments to his credit, it seems unfortunate that he would come back to present the clip for Best Picture nominee Mad Max: Fury Road. Yes, he helped to make the franchise what it was - but that was long before he began his slow decline into repulsiveness. The friendly banter with the host wasn't much better, as they both tried to be edgier than the other - with embarrassing results. Was Charlize Theron not in town? What about the guy who played Imortan Joe or even that guy who swung from a pole? Those would have been more appropriate options.

Matt Damon

8. The Martian may be an Oscar contender after all (Great)

With exception to The Martian being billed as a comedy, it is nice to see that director Ridley Scott's crowd pleaser is actually being taken seriously during this awards season. While I have been a little defensive of Scott's past few films (Save for Exodus: Gods and Kings), I was beginning to worry that he'd never make a hit movie again. Thankfully, this sci-fi film has connected with audiences, and will at least provide welcomed competition against other sci-fi staples to this awards season, including Mad Max: Fury Road, which is technically funnier than The Martian (but don't tell anyone). 

9. Ennio Morricone wins (Great/Worst)

The following is a double-edged sword. While I am not a huge fan of Ennio Morricone's The Hateful Eight score, I still am enthusiastic to see if he can win a competitive Oscar this year. It's looking more and more likely. However, the choice to have director Quentin Tarantino give any speeches is problematic. It's strange because for a man known for his dialogue and deep knowledge of film, he gave a terrible speech that features inaccurate facts (Morricone has won awards, including TWO other Golden Globes). While people will get hung up on his need to justify film composer as being a "ghetto" term, it wasn't as problematic as his need to show his ego for someone else's award. What it was is basically a rabid fan who loves Morricone's work making irrational statements. Here's hoping that we can get someone else to accept his Oscar if that happens.

Leonardo DiCaprio

10. The Revenant wins anything (Worst)

Can I just say that even though I know deep down that The Golden Globes are not a reputable awards show, seeing The Revenant winning awards does annoy me. It's not a great movie, and people are mistaken about it because of the great cinematography. The film won Best Picture and also Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. I disagree with both, as DiCaprio didn't do anything that people on Fear Factor didn't do with more entertaining results. This is nonsensical favoritism and mistaking masochism for acting. DiCaprio does not deserve the Oscar for this movie, people. He is so much better than this awful movie - and I hope that this win doesn't mean that The Oscars will follow suit (though I'm not entirely sure why).