The best and worst moments from the 2023 Golden Globes
After staying out of sight in 2022, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Golden Globes returned to the Beverly Hilton in all of their chaotic glory. Here are our picks for the highs and lows of the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards.
BEST: Jerrod Carmichael tells it like it is
"I'm here because I'm Black." Jerrod Carmichael kicked off the night by addressing the (white) elephant in the room, a.k.a. the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Pacing the stage contemplatively, the comedian summarized the Globes' controversy with casual frankness ("they didn't have a single Black member until George Floyd was killed") while the audience tittered nervously. Carmichael's message to the HFPA was pretty clear: You can't go over it, under it, or around it, guys — you gotta go through it. And so he mused bluntly about the "moral racial dilemma" he faced when offered the hosting gig — "one minute you're making mint tea at home, the next you're invited to be the Black face of an embattled white organization" — and made sure no one in that room (or watching at home) could sweep the whole mess under the red carpet. —Kristen Baldwin
BEST: Ke Huy Quan remembers the '80s
The kid from The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom having a big role in a runaway sensation was already the comeback story of the year. But Ke Huy Quan moved every Amblin kid to tears recalling years of worrying that he "would never surpass what I had achieved as a kid." And then he waved to Steven Spielberg!—Darren Franich
WORST: Disrespecting the Piano
Now, look. It's exciting (?) to win a Golden Globe because the Golden Globe is a prestigious (?) award. And being a little off the cuff is part of this raucous show's DNA. But can we talk about the sudden onset epidemic of insulting the play-off music? It crossed the line from charming to rude, even if (as host Carmicheal later explained) it wasn't even pianist Chloe Flower playing people off. "You can forget that piano!" yelled Colin Farrell. "Shut up, please!" Michelle Yeoh demanded. Yeoh earned her extra time, and Farrell is always a charmer. But then Austin Butler said "You could at least play 'Suspicious Minds' or something" while he continued rambling in his fake accent through his overlong victory speech. People! Brevity! Try it! —DF
BEST: Jennifer Coolidge explains her anxiety attack
Before presenting, The White Lotus star got teed up perfectly by host Jerrod Carmichael: "I want to apologize to her on behalf of all the gays for what we tried to do to her on that boat." On sashayed Jennifer Coolidge, who immediately unfolded a labyrinth of pure free-associating comedy. She explained her anxieties about presenting: the fear of slipping on overwaxed floors, the impossibility of wearing Crocs with her fancy dress ("All those crazy Italians would lose their minds"), her inability to pronounce celebrity names (shout-out to "Bill Niii-eee" and "Kaley Cucucuoco"). She also kept saying the name "Cara" or possibly "Kara" and it was funny every time. God love her, she called the Globe an Oscar. And then she came back later for a wild ("I thought I was gonna be queen of Monaco!") acceptance speech! —DF
WORST: Is this thing on?
Did you hear Jerrod Carmichael's brutal shot at Will Smith and the Slap? Or how about that dig at Tom Cruise and Scientology? The audience in the room seemed to miss both — and pretty much anything the host tried to say when the show came back from commercial break. (The poor guy had to keep asking everyone to quiet down!) Hosting an awards show — specifically this awards show — is hard enough. The least Dick Clark Productions could have done is ensure that Carmichael was set up with decent audio and acoustics. —KB
WORST: Absentee victors
Winners Zendaya, Cate Blanchett, and Amanda Seyfried all skipped the show. On one hand, I get it: Busy times, weird year, who knew if anyone would show up for the Globes' comeback show? On the other hand, what a power trio! On the third hand, this thing really was running over, maybe we're lucky a few people weren't present to tell their whole life story while ignoring the play-off music. (Fellow no-show Kevin Costner at least offered a reasonable excuse about sheltering in place in Santa Barbara.) —DF
BEST: 'The only true villain here is time herself'
"I've been told to make this quick," began Natasha Lyonne. "Because we have to end at 11 p.m." At that point, it was 11:03. With the battle already lost, the Russian Doll star launched into a comically verbose and meandering introduction to the nominees for Best Television Series — Drama. ("You see, time is supposedly empirical, and since time facilitates death, it's wisest to keep her beat…") The giddy gag exemplified the punch-drunk vibe of an overlong awards show, and Lyonne delivered it with her signature smirky deadpan. Ending on time — what a concept! —KB
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