While
flipping through the channels the weekend before last, I stumbled upon the
Golden Globes. Actually, it
was the cheekiness of Ricky Gervais that really caught my attention. With
my wife and son sick and having long since gone to bed, especially since our
usual programs were reruns, I was looking for something to put on in the
background while I did some work on my computer. Now that a program was
selected, I pulled out my laptop and proceeded to open up the numerous pages
and tabs that had been dormant for the past day. It didn’t take long before
some of the quips pulled my attention away from my work.
In
particular, his banter with Mel Gibson was something to behold as you could
tell there were a number of lines that Gervais was waiting to say hoping that someday
the two of them would meet face to face. However, it wasn’t all about the ongoing
dialogues. Many times it was a single line that had the audience gasping and my
chucking from the kitchen. For instance, who else would introduce one of the
nominees in the following way while taking a jab at another celebrity: “He’s also the only person
who Ben Affleck hasn’t been unfaithful to. Please welcome, Matt Damon!”
Beyond the quick wit on display, one
of the more memorable moments was when Sylvester Stallone won for best
supporting actor for his role as, you guessed it, Rocky Balboa in the film
Creed. Thankfully, he didn’t forget to thank his imaginary friend, the
aforementioned Rocky, because that would have been an interesting apology
later. Good think Adrianne is dead because that might have been even more
awkward.
But
there were also lines that were topical as well as humorous including an
interesting reference to El Chapo: “I want to do this monologue and go into hiding, OK? Not even Sean Penn
will find me.”
However,
there were moments of seriousness during the broadcast beyond tremendous speech
by Tom Hanks and the tearful acceptances of stunned stars. Leonardo
DiCaprio, regardless of what you may think of him he is one heck of an actor, while
accepting the Golden Globe for Best Lead Actor for The Revenant proclaimed that
he shares the honor with “all the indigenous
communities around the world. It is time that we recognize your history and
that we protect your indigenous lands from corporate interests and people that
are out there to exploit them. It is time that we heard your voice and
protected this planet for future generations.”
It will be interesting to see if his actions reflect the
words that he spoke during the ceremony and if he makes similar statements
should he win the Academy Award next month. That is what it really comes down
to… follow through. He can say, preach even, all that he wants but you earn the
respect of the people you supposedly represent by taking action. So, similar to
the way Gervais ended the night while invoking the sentiments of Mel Gibson, I
will end this post with a single word… Shalom!
No comments:
Post a Comment