Kameron McBride writes a column for the Daily News. His views and opinions don’t necessarily agree with those of the newspaper or The Daily.
“Argo” emerged as a pretty big winner at the Golden Globes on Sunday night. The drama chronicling the attempt to get U.S. embassy victims out of Iran won for both director and Best Drama Film. The directing win was particularly surprising, given that Ben Affleck didn’t even manage to net an Oscar nomination.
Personally, I was excited for “Argo,” Either it or “Zero Dark Thirty” was clearly the best film this year. “Zero Dark Thirty” netted its own win as Jessica Chastain won Best Actress in a drama for her portrayal of a CIA agent obsessively hunting Osama bin Laden. It was great to see Chastain win, she’s put in a lot of great work in the past two years.
Daniel Day–Lewis, surprising no one, won Best Actor. I wouldn’t have wanted to pick between him and Jouquin Phoenix, who was terrific in “The Master.” Day–Lewis, however, was ultimately the better choice.
“Homeland” and “Girls” each took home some big wins in the television series categories. “Homeland” managed to even beat out the über–popular “Breaking Bad” to win the Best Drama Series category.
The one award I thought was a little iffy was “Les Misérables” beating out “Moonrise Kingdom” for best Comedy or Musical Film. “Les Misérables” is a terrific spectacle but lacks the storytelling strength that makes “Moonrise Kingdom” so great. “Les Misérables” also earned awards for Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman for their performances, each very deserving.
Maybe the most interesting moment came when Jodie Foster accepted the Cecille B. DeMille award for her acting career. During her acceptance speech she gave what I think was a coming out speech, though she didn’t directly say it and then she was cut off — at least in the broadcast I was watching.
Hosts Amy Poehler and Tina Fey were terrific. It’s hard to believe someone didn’t have the idea to have them host before as they killed it all night long. Surprisingly, the best presenters might have been Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who presented the Best Foreign Film award while giving a funny bit on who speaks better English. My money is on Schwarzenegger, he at least doesn’t mumble.
The other big presentation was Bill Clinton, who came on to present “Lincoln,” which ultimately lost to “Argo.”
Overall I thought the awards were good, very funny and more enjoyable than I expected. The next step for most of these films will be the Oscars in late February, which is the event that all these awards shows ultimately build to.
