Well, that was … just OK.
I was all set to write my “Poehler Express” lead regarding Sunday night’s Golden Globes, expecting (hoping!) to lavish high praise on co-hosts Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.
They were fine. WHEN they were on-screen — which, it turned out, wasn’t a whole heck of a lot.
For all the hype surrounding Fey and Poehler — back for their second go-round after helping last year’s Golden Globes snare 20 million viewers — their lack of screen time was surprising, to say the least.
There seemed to be 45-minute gaps between their on-air appearances — save for Poehler’s winning a Golden Globe for “Parks and Recreation” — and I’m guessing both women, so popular, were the biggest reason many people tuned into the telecast.
So why didn’t we see more of them?
The comedians’ requisite opening monologue — always the harbinger of things to come — was a hit-or-miss affair.
They fired off some zingers, including Fey’s line about “Dallas Buyers Club” star Matthew MacConaughey: “He lost 45 pounds. Or what actresses call being in a movie.”
They also laid a few eggs, including Poehler’s WTF? joke about Tom Hanks wearing a prosthetic penis in “Saving Mr. Banks.” Even Hanks, ever the good sport, found it hard to muster the requisite fake awards-show laughter at that one.
When they were on-screen, Fey and Poehler were engaging and, more importantly, kept the action moving — the most important part of a host’s (or hosts) job, especially on a bloated TV awards show like the Golden Globes.
But there weren’t too many shockers on Sunday night’s telecast, unless you consider Emma Thompson capering on stage in bare feet and holding a martini (and her painful shoes) — or Andy Samberg and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” winning Golden Globes — huge watercooler moments.
It would have been more shocking to see Woody Allen actually show up to accept his Cecille B. DeMille Award. He didn’t. Naturally. Nice to see a graceful Diane Keaton accepting on his behalf, but still.
Although network execs will tell you publicly that they want a nationally televised awards show to go off “without a hitch,” you know they’re secretly hoping to generate some buzz via moments of irreverence or controversy — neither of which transpired Sunday night on NBC.
And if all the stories from past Golden Globes regarding drunken revelry, inspired by the show’s liquored-up atmosphere, are true, then Sunday night was an aberration.
But maybe that’s a good thing. If we have to watch three hours of celebrities patting themselves on the back for a job well done, maybe it’s more palatable if they’re sober.