The 2014 Golden Globe Awards are in the books. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler received high praise for their hosting efforts. There were a few mystifying moments — looking at you, Jacqueline Bisset and Jonah Hill — and a plethora of spicy one-liners. And then there were the winners.
Suffolk University Professor of English Thomas Connolly joined Boston Public Radio to supply a thoroughgoing analysis of Hollywood's big night.
What did you think of hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler?
I think they continued the tradition they started last year. (...) There's something about the atmosphere of the Golden Globes, that somebody's going to spill a drink or fall on their face, (...) and they play on that, which makes the whole thing seem like a big, beautiful mess.
Cate Blanchett joked that event staff kept refilling her vodka.
That's a long-standing thing with the Golden Globes. Also, when you see it, it really is like the banquet that keeps going on. (...) Everything seems to be by the seat of the pants. It's going to work, or it doesn't. Jonah Hill staring at the teleprompter [for example]. The strange thing is that every year, it gets taken more seriously.
This is definitely a dress rehearsal for the Oscars, right?
It's not as predictive [although] it's the perception. People have come to regard it as the warm-up for the Oscars. The fact that the show is so loose and so louche is because people are half in the bag.
Did "12 Years a Slave" get slighted?
It's extraordinary that only in the climate we have now would Best Picture be seen as a consolation prize. (...) The big criticism is that Jennifer Lawrence won over [Lupita] Nyong'o. Also, they're perceived as not having any social conscience, or any awareness of the world outside that ballroom.
Are the Oscars any better? Will there be "redemption" for "12 Years a Slave?"
To me, the Oscars are the Nobel Prize Committee of the entertainment world. 'We're going to do the right thing, solve the world's problems with an award.'
"The fact that the Golden Globes show is so loose and so louche is because people are half in the bag." --Suffolk Prof. Thomas Connolly
Woody Allen won the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement. Diane Keaton accepted for him. When Keaton talked about great women's roles in Allen's movies, was that an attempt to diffuse some of the controversy around Allen?
Well, Soon-Yi [Previn] is always there with Woody Allen. But also, [Keaton's] speech was part of this ongoing, rambling, off-the-wall statement — I mean, Jacqueline Bisset was rambling, too — it seemed to be, Diane was in mourning for her friendship with Woody Allen. Showing up in the tuxedo, (...) singing the song she sang. To me, this was "Annie Hall" asserting her stardom once again.
Jacqueline Bisset seemed a little tipsy.
It was a trainwreck, but she redeemed it. (...) Who has thought about her recently? Her prominence in the U.S. came from the famous "wet bathing suit" ad for the movie " The Deep," which was an exploitation film. (...) I think she was caught off-guard, and she'd been tippling a bit.
Why did "Mad Men" get lukewarm reception?
Its 15 minutes is over. The wrangling with the writers, the extended seasons — this is payback [for that]. It's settled into the Mt. Rushmore of television programs.
Matt Damon got up and admitted he forgot his glasses to read the prompter.
When the Oscars go wrong, they go absolutely wrong, (...) but there's a spontaneity to the Golden Globes that's irrepressible and unreproachable.
Melissa McCarthy did this bit where she "was" Matt Damon, introduced "Mrs. Matt Damon" as her wife. I love how relaxed the whole thing was. You almost felt like you were part of the party. How do the Academy Awards not get that?
It's the 'Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.' The Academy Awards has an accountant come out to verify everything is accurate and on the up-and-up. Here, they all admit, 'We're drunk, and we're having a ball.'
What do you foresee for the Academy Award nominations?
Because of [Martin] Scorsese, "The Wolf of Wall Street" has a shot. "Her" definitely [does, too]. I think "Blue Jasmine" has a shot -- because the Academy always gives Allen a shot. Cait Blanchett's performance [in "Blue Jasmine"] was extraordinary. From moment to moment you love her and hate her, have sympathy and disdain. Just remarkable.
Matthew McConaghey has been sort of under the radar. His nickname was "bongo boy" for that time they caught him stoned. (...) [But] he's memorable, too.
Everything in Hollywood gets boiled down to Meryl Street. Any part she takes she does it brilliantly.
Bono has got to lose the sunglasses. What is with the violet-tinted sunglasses?
It was enough to get a lip-lock with Amy Poehler!
>>Click the audio below to hear BPR's full interview with Thomas Connolly.
