KATE WINS-let Wins Big: A pair for the queen of the unfulfilled nomination and all that went down at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards

First things first: the results.

My head: 11/25 correct
My heart: 13/25 correct

Not bad. Not stellar.

There is so, so much to discuss even if the GGs (that's right, it's now a thing) were relatively unremarkable.

The biggest surprises?

Gabriel Byrne winning for In Treatment.

Colin Farrell delivering an impassioned, almost coherent ACCEPTANCE (that means he won) speech.

Slumdog cleaning up. Okay, perhaps this isn't surprising based on its consistent critical success, but I wasn't as confident that the Globes (even if they are awarded by the Hollywood FOREIGN Press...get it?) would follow through. I was wrong.

And most importantly...

KATE WINSLET, winning not one but TWO statues, making me oh-so-very-happy and oh-so-very-wrong. Kate is quite possibly the only person (or one of only a few) whose double-fisting (wrong word choice?) thrills me (yep, definitely inappropriate). My only concern is how her twice-over victory will hinder Academy voting. Will this make voters wary of sending a nod her way in an attempt to avoid a two-Oscar haul? I hope not.

But this is not yet the time to be discussing Oscars. Instead, let's recap the best and worst of tonight.

The trends:

* Telling the audience to "Shoosh!" (thank you, Ricky Gervais) because they NEVER SHUT UP.
* Thanking your makeup artist. Kate began this trend in the first speech of the night and it was later perpetuated by winners Anna Paquin and Laura Dern.
* Referring to the "Golden Globes" as the "GGs." (In truth, only one person did this, Best Director Danny Boyle. But he seemed to think it was a trend, claiming that that was how "we" affectionately refer to them. He did not elaborate on who, exactly, "we" was.)
* Ambling awkwardly to the stage.

The soundbites:

"...star of Hotel for Dogs, Don Cheadle."
- Mr. Announcer Man rhetorically destroying an impressive career in one fell swoop of an introduction

"Do a Holocaust movie, the awards come."
- Ricky Gervais in an I-told-you-so moment with Kate Winslet, following her win for The Reader

"I still have a cold. It's not the other thing it used to be."
- Collin Farrell (not so) coyly referring to his (former) drug woes


"...hole ripped in the future of cinema."
- Chris Nolan, accepting a posthumous Best Supporting Actor trophy on behalf of Heath Ledger

"...Frank, whose last name I've forgotten..."
- Tom Wilkinson, accepting his award in a meandering and mocking manner

"Curiosity is love; it's ignorance's nemesis."
- Colin Farrell, waxing poetical

"Deal with it, Cate Blanchett!"
- Tracy Morgan: man of the Obama nation, Tina Fey mouthpiece

"As a kid, I had all the Hollywood foreign press action figures."
- Tina Fey accepting for herself this time, with a witty quip apparently c/o Will Arnett

"Hello, we're TV actors."
- Rainn Wilson introducing himself and Blake Lively to a room full of what Ryan Seacrest earlier referred to as the "real stars"

"...all you got is your dog."
- Mickey Rourke continuing with his poignant comebackness after claiming he wasn't much of a public speaker (collectively now, "Awwwwww...")

"Fuck."
- whoever accepted for Slumdog getting "wrapped up" after winning Best Picture

The hits:

* Learning Danny Strong (Buffy alum) wrote Recount
* Laura Linney's unquestionable sincerity
* Colin Farrell's no-joke surprise hit speech of the night
* Robert Downey Jr. pulling a Jack Nicholson, putting on shades halfway through the show
* Cecil B. DeMille winner Steven Spielberg (seriously, the man has directed/produced a helluvalot of iconic stuff)
* Slumdog's exuberant, beaming, astonished, wide-eyed cast and crew

The misses:

* The awkward presentation skills (and equally awkward reception) of the Jo Bros
* Barrymore and Lange's bizarrely staged "mother/daughter" bonding (and seriously, was Drew toasted?)
* The terrifying slightness of Happy-Go-Lucky star and winner, Sally Hawkins. I think she had to put her award down because she literally wasn't strong enough to support its weight. Her genuine awe and elation were endearing. Her waif-like frame was not.
* Renee Zellweger's dress
* Alec Baldwin's first thank you going out to the three people in the audience who laughed at the lame opening joke of his acceptance speech
* Sacha Baron Cohen's jokes. Apparently we are allowed to laugh at Victoria Beckham's diet, but not at Madonna's divorce.

Honestly, I don't want to be crass or cruel to Drew and Sally, but I have to wonder...

That's basically it. If you are curious to know all of the winners a list is available here:
http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/