Couch Potato: The Golden Globes lose their luster

I’m not sure what it means, but I seemed to spend more time preoccupied with the hairstyles of the stars at the Golden Globes Sunday night than I did thinking about the ceremony itself.

Scottish actor Gerard Butler’s was rather unfortunate-looking, but his accent almost made up for it.  Reese Witherspoon’s looked like she’d just rolled out of bed. Tilda Swinton’s was just plain weird, which is par for the course for her. Brad Pitt needs to cut his (like Ashton Kutcher finally did).

You get the idea.

The Golden Globes have always been one of my favorite award shows because they bring together TV and movie stars. But this year was a bit boring, despite the best efforts of Ricky Gervais. (One of my favorite Tweets of the night wondered if he could actually be considered a host when he only sauntered on stage every 30 or 45 minutes. Touché.)

He was pretty funny at times — I have to admit I enjoyed him beating the dead horse that was last year’s joke about the Johnny Depp/Angelina Jolie flop “The Tourist,” if only to annoy the usually stone-faced Jolie — but other times, he fell completely flat.

The stars’ reactions to his jokes were often better than the jokes themselves, especially in the case of pre-senter Madonna. Gervais introduced her by saying she was “just like a virgin” (was that ever funny, even back in the ‘80s?). I expected a dry, dour response from the Material Girl.

Not quite: “If I’m still just like a virgin, Ricky, then why won’t you come over here and do something about it?” she retorted. “I haven’t kissed a girl in a few years.”

Score one for Madge.

Here are some random thoughts I had during the ceremony: 

— It was great to see “Game of Thrones” actor Peter Dinklage win for best supporting actor. 

— Ditto for Claire Danes and her show, “Homeland,” in the best actress in a drama and best drama categories. I’ve written a lot about how annoying her character was on the Showtime series, but I think it’s a testament to her acting ability. Carrie Matheson was unlike any character we’ve seen Danes play before, and she nailed it most of the time.

It also was neat to realize the last time she won this category; she was 15 and starring in “My So-Called Life.” I’m not sure I’ll ever get over the cancellation of that one, folks. 

— In the past, I’ve been frustrated by Bryan Cranston’s frequent best actor wins for “Breaking Bad.” I hadn’t watched much of the show and didn’t get why this bald guy kept beating out some of my other favorite actors. Not this year. I’m all caught up and was wholeheartedly rooting for the guy. And he lost. To Frasier. I’m not sure how to feel about that. 

— The best actor in a comedy category was a total joke but, like most of the nominees, one that wasn’t very funny. The only deserving one was Alec Baldwin, and he got beat by Matt LeBlanc. Joey!

I was rolling my eyes pretty far back in my head when LeBlanc, who plays an exaggerated version of himself, kind of won me over with a charming acceptance speech; he thanked the writers for creating a character that is “way more interesting and fun than the real thing. I wish I was him.” 

— On the movie side of things, Angelina Jolie needs to eat something (she looked absolutely frail in that bad prom dress); “The Help” star Octavia Spencer was so deserving of her best supporting actress trophy, but I wish costar Viola Davis had won best actress instead of Meryl Streep (who gave one of her typically charming, but random, speeches); Christopher Plummer, a best supporting actor winner for the film “Beginners,” will always be Captain Von Trapp to me; and George Clooney is looking as good as ever.