Everyone in Hollywood, from television to movies, is coming together to celebrate and award this year’s film achievements.  Stars arrive on the red carpet: gowns sparkling, heels clicking, and tuxedos neatly in place. Chairs begin to fill as actors, actresses, directors, and producers file into The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, California.  Prepared for touching moments, awkward moments, and exciting moments, the audience turns on the television.  The views on NBC go up for Hollywood’s Golden Night — the 74th Golden Globe Awards.

With critic-favorite movie La La Land leading the nomination charge with seven nominations, host Jimmy Fallon begins the ceremony with a large production number that mimics the opening scene in the movie.  Fallon and his long-time friend, Justin Timberlake, danced together in a star filled sky, just as the characters in the movie did.  The beloved kids of Stranger Things also made an appearance in the number, with character Eleven singing about her love for Eggo waffles and about the upside down.  Fallon’s opening monologue was charming and expectantly a little awkward; however, his best quip of the night was during a talk with Matt Damon,  “Of course, we all know Matt Damon from his greatest acting role… telling Ben Affleck that he liked Batman v. Superman.

As the awards began to be given out, history was made for the most Golden Globes ever won by a movie. La La Land won a record-breaking seven Golden Globe awards, with a victory in every category it was nominated in.  The modern movie-musical won for Best Musical/Comedy, direction, screenplay, original score, original song, and best actor awards for the Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. The movie has been triumphant in its awards and in the press as it evokes a sense of nostalgia for audiences who enjoys classic movies.  The movie is undoubtedly distinctive, with a modern take on an old-school movie musical, making references to movies like Casablanca and Rebel Without a Cause.  Rounded out with catchy songs and two A-list actors, it is no wonder the movie has been so successful. “I really enjoyed the movie,” says Farmingdale senior Sam Huebner, “It was so unique compared to all the other movies out there now, and that’s what makes it so special and fun to watch.”

Other victories of the night were The Crown winning best drama series, Atlanta for best comedy series, and The People v. O.J. Simpson for best miniseries.  Casey Affleck won best actor, and Isabelle Huppert won best actress, shockingly beating out critic favorite Natalie Portman, who was nominated for her role as Jackie Kennedy in the film Jackie.  

On the red carpet, the fashion of the evening was flooded with yellow.  Natalie Portman payed homage to her character of Jackie Kennedy by wearing a 60s inspired hairstyle and yellow Prada gown with long sleeves and embroidery on the bottom of the skirt.  Viola Davis, who won best supporting actress for Fences, wore a sequined one-shoulder gown in bright yellow.  Reese Witherspoon opted for a pale yellow in a Versace gown with a strapless neckline, paired with a statement gold necklace.  

Emma Stone dazzled in a tribute to her movie by wearing an old hollywood-inspired gown in a light neutral color.  The Valentino dress was covered in silver stars, reminiscent of the song “City of Stars” from her movie.  Amy Adams wore a fitted strapless dress in a black sequined fabric.  The dress was made the multitalented Tom Ford, who also directed Adams in the movie Nocturnal Animals.  The movie was nominated for best direction for Tom Ford, best picture, and won best supporting actor for Aaron Taylor Johnson.  

The night ended with a touching video tribute to the recently passed mother and daughter actresses Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, and Meryl Streep winning the Cecil B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement in Hollywood.  Each year, the award is given to a veteran in their craft, who has created many spectacular pieces of work in their lifetime.  Streep accepted her award with a politically-driven and controversial acceptance speech.  Without mentioning his name, she made several comments about President Donald Trump.  The speech received mixed reviews from the Golden Globe viewers, and has been one of the most talked about moments of the night.  Thankfully, presenters Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig saved the night’s awkwardness when they presented the Golden Globe for best animated feature, which ended up going to Disney’s Zootopia.  The comedic actors talked about the first time they ever saw an animated movie.  Carell recalled being so excited to see the movie Fantasia, but right after leaving the theater his dad had asked his mom for a divorce.  Jokingly tearing up, he said “It was a day we now call Fantasia Day.”  

The 74th Golden Globes definitely had its high points and its low points.  Now the awards are over, the race for the Oscars has begun.  The big question is whether the nominees and winners at the Golden Globes will predict those at next month’s Academy Awards.  “I hope Natalie Portman will win best actress” says Sam Huebner, “and I think there will definitely be more awards for La La Land!”

* photo via Google Images under the Creative Commons license