A Few Thoughts on the Golden Globes

• Kate Winslet's dual wins (Best Supporting Actress in The Reader and Best Actress for Revolutionary Road) should make for some interesting Oscar handicapping, especially if Doubt, which was fairly quiet at the Globes, makes its expected impact on the Oscar nominations. Also, consider this: the last time someone won two Globes for two different movies was Sigourney Weaver in 1989 for Working Girl and Gorillas in the Mist; she went on to win no Oscars that year.

• Has anyone else noticed that the older Bruce Springsteen gets, the more he sounds like Bob Dylan? The lyrics to his Globe-winning song from The Wrestler that played last night were approaching an almost Dylan-esque level of unintelligible-ness.

• Heath Ledger's win for Best Supporting Actor makes an Oscar nomination, if not a win, all the more likely.

• Tina Fey's acceptance speech was hilarious: "If you ever start to feel too good about yourself, they have this thing called the Internet and you can find a lot of people there who don't like you. I'd like to address some of them now. BabsonLacrosse — you can suck it. DianeFan — you can suck it. CougarLetter — you can really suck it because you've been after me all year. What do y'all have to say now?!"
  

• Mickey Rourke, already generating Oscar buzz for his performance in The Wrestler, continued his march towards that end with his Globe win, especially if the response to his win amongst his peers is any indication. I also love that he thanked his dogs.
  

• Slumdog Millionaire, already the favorite to earn the "plucky indie" Best Picture Oscar nomination (following in the tradition of Little Miss Sunshine and Juno), raised its profile and Oscar chances with its four Globe wins, including Best Director for Danny Boyle and Best Picture. Granted, the Globes are handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, so they are more inclined to appreciate an Indian film by a British director, but at this point, I'll be surprised if it doesn't win something on Oscar night, and it's a serious contender for best picture.
  

• The announcer that led into and out of the commercial breaks irritated me. Everything he said was spoken like some grand proclamation: "Tomorrow's news is happening tonight!" That kind of stuff. Dude, settle down. It's just the Golden Globes.

• On the subject of bad writing, some of the banter amongst the presenters seemed especially forced and/or painful this year. I know the stars booze it up at this awards show, but inebriation usually plays a role in acceptance speeches, not the presentation banter.

• The big draw of the Golden Globes is that it's a party; the stars sit at round tables, mingle with friends, and there's an open bar so "you never know what's going to happen," all in contrast to the more formal Oscar ceremony. But I do have to say I still like the Oscars better. I'm not saying the Globes need to be come solemn and dignified (it is fun to watch a more laid back awards ceremony) but I missed some of Oscar's spectacle: the montages, the musical performances (in some cases, that's the only time I ever hear the nominated songs), and especially, the clips of nominated performances (there were a few last night, but the choice of which categories got them seemed almost random). The Golden Globes could easily up the production values of their ceremony without sacrificing the sense of frivolity and fun that is their trademark.