2014 Golden Globes reactions

Last night’s Golden Globes, as can happen at the only awards show that seems to have a two-drink minimum, was an entertaining and occasionally bizarre affair. And as viewers across the country spend their day desperately trying to figure out how to get a hold of whatever it was that Diane Keaton took before walking on stage, let’s recap some of the award-centric highlights of the night.

One of the biggest surprises was that American Hustle came away as the biggest winner. By no means did it dominate the ceremony, but its three wins in seven nominations were more than any other single film earned. And those wins came in the categories with arguably the stiffest competition, as David O. Russell’s film had to fend off contenders like Meryl Streep, Martin Scorsese, and the Coen Brothers. But Amy Adams was long due for a win and Jennifer Lawrence is everybody’s favorite she’s-just-like-us celebrity at the moment, and voters do love period movies with all-star casts.

The rest of the major awards, particularly on the Drama side of things, were spread out pretty evenly among the nominees, which was a bit out of the ordinary. Alfonso Cuaron’s stunning years-long work with Gravity won him the well-deserved award, while Dallas Buyer’s Club’s two male leads brought home trophies, with McConaughey’s win the biggest surprise of the bunch for me. 12 Years a Slave was named Best Picture – Drama, which proves that there is justice in the world of awards ceremonies, as that is one of the most gut-punchingly powerful movies I’ve seen in a very, very long time.

Justice was also done on the drama side of the TV awards, as Breaking Bad won big to cap off its impeccable final season with wins for Bryan Cranston as Best Actor in a Drama and the show itself for Best TV Series, Drama. I have nothing but glowing opinions of that show – the sports acronym GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) comes to mind – and I’m very glad it went out with the recognition it deserved from the Hollywood Foreign Press.

It was the TV comedy awards that brought the biggest surprises. Apparently the HFP is eating up the FOX show Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as it awarded Andy Samberg as Best Actor in a Comedy and the series itself as Best Comedy Series, beating out perennial contenders Parks & Recreation, The Big Bang Theory, and Modern Family. The show hasn’t even aired a full season yet, and I had heard nothing but middling things about it thus far, so that came as a bit of a shock. Though I’m not sure who was more surprised between me and Andy Samberg, who couldn’t get the giddy deer-in-headlights look off his face for the rest of the night.

The one thing the Golden Globes didn’t do last night was predict an overwhelming favorite for Oscar glory this year. Nominations will be announced Thursday morning, and we can expect a stronger field of contenders across the major categories than in some years. At the very least, last night’s varied results could keep the Vegas odds-makers guessing.