January 19, 2010Comedy Roundup
Awards Extravaganza!
Image courtesy JustJared.
Image courtesy JustJared.
First thing's first: screw the naysayers, I thought Ricky Gervais did a great job at the Golden Globes. Back to that in a moment. The Critics' Choice Awards weren't bad either -- to the right, witness the awesomeness that ensued when Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock tied for Best Actress. And though I don't like Death Cab for Cutie much, I have to admit their creepy stalker vibe worked: that might have been the perfect cover of Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me." The mood lighting and dark undertone were also perfect for a tribute to John Hughes -- or maybe I'm just sentimental. Also, the CCA's gave Kathryn Bigelow an award, which is more than I can say for the Golden Globes.
But back to the Ricky Gervais' well-prepared, well-timed performance. And that's not just me -- the real key is to listen carefully to the audience. It's pretty easy to tell the difference between a genuine belly laugh, an uncomfortable murmur, and a polite fake laugh. In my expert opinion, Gervais was getting genuine belly laughs. Personally, I thought he really did a great balancing act, keeping everyone on their toes -- you could see a little trepidation at first -- but also keeping to his promise of "just teasing." And if Sir Paul can't take a freaking divorce joke by this point, I think he's being oversensitive. I mean, Mel Gibson played along when Gervais announced him with, "I like a drink as much as the next man. Unless the next Man is Mel Gibson." Gibson sportingly pretended to slur and fall down before straightening up to present the award.
Along with the well-tailored jibes at individuals (Colin Farrell, har!), Gervais kept up a constant sarcastic patter about how important actors were to the world -- and the actors seemed completely down with it. I have a theory. Like any group of people who get coddled all the time (by say agents, directors etc.) perhaps actors are sick of being told how awesome they are, and relieved to be taken to task like normal people. All in all Gervais did a damned good job, whether they ask him back or not.
I was bummed Kathryn Bigelow didn't get anything, I was geeked that Mo'nique won, and her speech was an awesome combination of sweet and sassy. I admit I was a little worried when she starting by thanking God, but she totally nailed it.
Otherwise, not much on the comedy front. I still don't care about the Leno/Conan thing (despite 'SNL' getting on board). Missed Aziz Ansari due to the Globes, but caught the John Oliver special and was so happy to see my hometown gal Mary Lynn Raskjub give a shoutout to MI: "I'm from Michigan. We don't do that." Yeah! Incidentally, at the Golden Globes, peninsula-born Kirsten Bell gave an MI-style hairy eyeball to the annoying E! chick when she asked Bell about pet names for boyfriend Dax Shepard (also from MI -- hat trick!!), and worse yet suggested she call him "snookums." Yeah, OK, E! woman.
Anyway, in honor of Edgar Allen Poe's birthday, check out the surprisingly cheerful Poe portrait on the left. Looks like he had a pretty good sense of humor. Who would have guessed?
