‘La La Land’ — and Meryl — Make the Most of Golden Globes

In many, many ways, the Golden Globe Awards always delivers.

An early jump-start, the Golden Globes are not the Oscars, but they are said to be signifiers and predictors for the Oscars (if not the Emmys, which preceded them).

The Globes are almost just like any other awards show. There is a red carpet where stars get asked “who or whom are you wearing.” There are awards and there are, as is the American way, winners and losers, upsets and speeches and weeping and the antics of a host and presenters and those who win and those who lose — and the people who carry envelopes and statuettes — all of whom look, for the most part, marvelous and dazzling.

But the Globes are also different. They are the results of voting by a mere 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, as opposed to the uncounted hordes of Oscar voters. They are also presented in a setting of mutual conviviality, where nominees and friends, relatives, actors and artists and whatnots gather around tables while consuming copious amounts of alcohol (a practice which is sometimes noticeable). It is an occasion less hidebound, more mysterious and also much more informal than other such proceedings that will follow early in the year.

The Globes are handed out to members of both the movie and television fields, which results in a somewhat confusing number of categories that seem to be crisscrossed throughout the course of the evening. In addition, films are also broken up into dramas and musical-comedy categories, a practice which actor Matt Damon noted resulted in “The Martian” being somehow selected for comedy the preceding year.

The Globes always seem more free flowing, more unpredictable both in the selection of winners (and losers) and in the presentation.

At the Globes, things can happen. Usually, not in the way you may expect.

This was “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon’s show, though he seemed often to be absent from the proceedings last night, Jan. 8, and otherwise forgetful of the fact that this was not “The Tonight Show.”

Fallon opened things up with a much anticipated filmed number that closely resembled the multi-award-winning “La La Land” freeway dance bit, ending up with Fallon embracing Justin Timberlake. Very cute, indeed, but something that’s been done at the Oscars by the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal many times.

Fallon is at heart a boy-jokester. He likes to play games, he just likes to play — including getting permission to tussle up Donald Trump’s famous hair. This does not qualify him to be an effective host. He is as light as dry snow in a warm climate; none of the shticks quite stick.

The night had its purposeful moments, particularly the true public emergence of “La La Land,” in which the boyish (he looks about 15) director Damien Chazelle (Best Director) made a valiant and even successful attempt to resurrect the old 1950s-style Hollywood musical in contemporary Los Angeles through a love story. It apparently worked. The movie won a record seven awards (including Best Actor and Best Actress in a musical-comedy for Ryan Gosling and the gifted Emma Stone), but failed to win the Best Film award, which went surprisingly to the haunting and very low budget “Moonlight,” about a young black man’s coming of age.

Generally, the Golden Globes are a good indicator of the next thing, especially in the television awards, where HBO first made its mark a long time ago — but which got very little this time, bowing to the ascendant other venues and delivery systems and networks and streaming systems. Amazon, while not a big winner, started this whole thing, and did get Billy Bob Thornton for its series “Goliath,” which no one had heard of.

As expected, Ben Affleck’s brother Casey won Best Actor in a Drama for “Manchester by the Sea,” a critically acclaimed film seen by few people.

It’s noticeable, too, that the Globes folks take care of their own, given the opportunity. Legendary French actress Isabelle Huppert won Best Actress in a Drama for “Elle” (also a Best Foreign Film winner), beating out favored Natalie Portman, who played “Jackie.”

The best drama came when Meryl Streep, who’s probably won more awards than any other actress in Hollywood history, chose, on the occasion on receiving the Cecil B. DeMille award, to deliver an eloquent, pointed judgment on President-elect Donald Trump without ever mentioning his name, specifically noting how he had mocked a New York Times reporter with disabilities. “Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.”

Predictably, and not too long thereafter, the tweets erupted from Trump, who denied mocking the reporter again and called Streep an “overrated actress.” Trump spokesperson Kellyanne Conway followed with more “get over it” criticism, making sure that Trump — for better or worse — dominated the news once again.