Who knows what the future may hold? Or how much longer we’ll even be here? Suppose you want to move away and change your life entirely. You don’t want to be stuck with me.
But that’s the point.
What is?
I do want to be stuck with you.
I’m not convinced I can be hearing this right.
You are, if you think I’m asking you to marry me… Well?
Well, you could knock me down with a feather.
And you’re not offended?
Oh, Mr Carson, I can assure you the very last thing in the world that I am at this moment is offended.
You can take as long as you like - I won’t press you. Because one thing I do know - I’m not marrying anyone else.
Well, then…
What exactly are we celebrating?
We’re celebrating the fact that I can still get a proposal at my age.
And that’s it?
Of course I’ll marry you, you old booby. I thought you’d never ask.
One of the best characters to come out of Saturday Night Live in the past five years is Drunk Uncle, played perfectly by Bobby Moynihan. He’s drunk, inappropriate, confusing, and often times verging on completely incoherent. So basically, Drunk Uncle is the Golden Globes.
I love awards season. It’s my favorite time of year. Entertainment is a tough business and there is a LOT of crappy content out there. So it’s wonderful to bring together people who have made (usually) great content and honor their hard work. There are a lot of awards this time of year - Critics Choice, Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA, and of course the epitome of it all, the Oscars. And then we have the Golden Globes, a weird conglomeration of awards for television and film that no one really seems to take too seriously.
Don’t get me wrong, I watch the Golden Globes every year without fail. But it always feels like I’m watching a car crash in slow motion. The setup is weird: many tables around a room, forcing people to maneuver through to get to the stage - often an uncomfortably long time. People are drinking…a lot. Granted this can make it interesting, especially when you’ve got people like Emma Thompson around.
Often times, the standards of “award worthy” isn’t the same for the Globes as other award shows. When films like 2010’s The Tourist that have a score of 37 on Metacritic can drum up three nominations, I often have to do a double take. I mean, really? Movies that tank still end up being nominated. It’s an odd thing. There are only 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association who vote on the awards. It’s a shockingly small sample considering the Oscars have somewhere around 5800 people voting. Having such a small voting pool definitely means some strange nominations and outcomes.
Despite how frickin’ weird it is, I don’t hate the Golden Globes. It’s one of the few places where comedic actors can get any kind of recognition. It’s extremely rare for comedies to garner any real awards. The “higher class” awards are reserved for romance, drama, biopics, and epics. The Golden Globes separates comedies and musicals into their own category, giving them a chance to be acknowledged. How else will people like Sacha Baron Cohen win awards?
The Globes also bring TV and movie celebs into the same space. As TV writing becomes better and better, we see a lot more crossover between these two formerly mutually exclusive worlds. The Golden Globes does help breakdown some of that former distance by getting everyone drunk and laughing.
Obviously, the best thing about the last few years has been the hosting by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. They’re best friends who are both incredibly funny. They’re definitely willing to take jabs at their fellow celebs, but they’re so dang lovable that no one gets legitimately mad. I love seeing comedians who are good at what they do in front of an audience that really appreciates the hard work it takes to be a good comedian.
Now I’m always going to love the Oscars the most. It’s super classy and takes itself very seriously. Probably too seriously. If the Golden Globes are Drunk Uncle, the Oscars are Maggie Smith on Downton Abbey.
I think the Oscars get it wrong plenty, but at least it’s not weird and awkward like the GG. But at the end of the day, I think we need both. I need the chance to see celebrities loosen up and joke around. And I need to see them make heartwarming speeches about people who have helped them along their journey. One helps me appreciate the other.
So let’s lift a glass of whatever to the Drunk Uncle of award shows! The Golden Globes are on this Sunday at 8pm EST on NBC.
