The 81st Annual Golden Globes kicked off the 2024 awards season with a bang as the best of last year’s film and television were crowned for their achievements on Sunday, Jan. 7. Opening with a disastrous set from host, comedian Jo Koy, a total of 27 awards were presented to a star-studded audience. Here are the highlights from the ceremony:
After the red carpet, in which celebrities from far and wide strutted their stuff and showed off their extravagant outfits, the ceremony was opened with the traditional comedy set. Jo Koy’s jokes flew over the audience’s heads to say the least. When talking about the famous “Barbenheimer” duo, who went head to head for several awards, Jo Koy joked about how “Oppenheimer is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies.” He also said that, “The key moment in Barbie is when she goes from perfect beauty to bad breath, cellulite, and flat feet, or what casting directors call ‘character actor.’” Both jokes were met with sighs and disappointed faces from several women in the audience, namely Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez. Later, he also made a jab at singer Taylor Swift when he joked that the difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL is that “on the Golden Globes, [there are] less camera shots of Taylor Swift,” in reference to Swift’s increasing popularity at Kansas City Chiefs’ football games. In response to this joke, Swift simply took a sip of her drink, expressing her contempt for the joke. Jo Koy’s jokes were so disappointing, the skits performed by the various award presenters were more amusing.
This past year, the world has been blessed with a myriad of film and television. “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” two of the most famous movies of 2023, who took over our billboards and our social media for months, were in competition for several categories, including Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Director (Motion Picture), and Cinematic and Box Office Achievement in Motion Pictures.
“Oppenheimer” went home with five awards – Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, awarded to Robert Downey Jr., Best Director, awarded to Christopher Nolan, Best Male Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama), awarded to Cillian Murphy, Best Original Score, awarded to Ludwig Göransson, and Best Motion Picture (Drama). On the other hand, “Barbie” won two awards – Best Original Song, awarded to Billie Eilish and Finneas, and Cinematic and Box Office Achievement in Motion Pictures, which was a new category created for this year. Was this a bit of a letdown for “Barbie” fans everywhere? Definitely. “Barbie” should have won at least one other award, and it was disappointing that the Globes basically made a whole new category just so “Barbie” could win something.
As well as Cinematic and Box Office Achievements, another category was added to this years’ roster. Best Stand-up Comedian on Television was awarded to Ricky Gervais for his comedy show “Ricky Gervais: Armageddon.” Gervais is also known as the Golden Globes host from 2010-2012, 2016 and 2020. Given that he won an award for his comedy show, the Golden Globes probably should have brought him back to host this years’ show, as opposed to the disastrous Jo Koy.
As well as new categories, there were also many new actors who earned their very first awards. Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, who played the main roles in “Beef,” both won Best Performance by a Female and Male Actor (Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television) respectively. This was a shining achievement for Asian actors everywhere, as awards at ceremonies like these are rarely given to people of color.
In all, it wasn’t worth two hours to watch the Golden Globes ceremony this year. While there were some exciting moments, like the addition of two new categories and the culmination of the Barbenheimer rivalry, the majority of the ceremony was dull. The cherry on the cake was Jo Koy’s awkward comedy, which likely left women around the world rolling their eyes. Hopefully, next year will be less disappointing.
