7 Awesome Moments From The Golden Globes

7 AWESOME MOMENTS FROM THE GOLDEN GLOBES

I've been particularly harsh when it comes to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's little celebrity get-together The Golden Globes, because they can be so shamelessly about celebrity and chic, and nearly ignore the more honorary aspects of an award show. That being said, the Globes have always been a rebel flag waving in the face of other Guilds and Academies, and for the first time this awards season, a major awards system made an effort to really shakes things up. Colin Farrell winning for Best Actor (Comedy/Musical) was a pleasant surprise, and so were these other seven moments:

1. Ricky Gervais introduces Happy-Go-Lucky and tells people to "Shush!"

Was I the only one terribly disappointed to find out that Ricky Gervais wasn't going to be the one to host the Academy Awards next month? Small moments like his four minutes on the stage last night is enough evidence to show that he's magic in front of an audience. In front of a notoriously rowdy group at the Globes, Gervais spilled out: ''How rude are you lot? Just because you're film stars? Shusssh!". He then went on a hilarious stint speaking about his disastrous attempts to get his film Ghost Town to be nominated for awards, and vowed to never "have sex with 200 middle-aged journalists" again.

2. John Adams continues to sweep EVERYTHING

I'm not much a mini-series kind of guy, but you don't have to be to understand that the seven part series John Adams is a true masterpiece and incredibly accurate story of American history. It's Globe awards included Best Actress (Laura Linney), Best Actor (Paul Giamatti), and Best Mini-Series/Made for TV Movie. Other than Tom Hanks' lightning speed acceptance speech (he was the film's producer), there weren't any particular magical televisions moments in any of their wins, its just nice to see something good win for a change.

3. Sally Hawkins tops Meryl Streep

Like I said, the Globes are an industry that cherishes star power, so the most pleasant win of the night was easily the little-known (in America anyway) Sally Hawkins for the splendid film Happy-Go-Lucky. Taking close to twenty minutes to approach the stage (cause her table was strategically placed at the far end of the ballroom), she stood in front of the microphone barely able to contain her own emotions. In a category where Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia!) seemed almost like a sure thing, a little, skinny Brit came out on top after all.

4. 30 Rock shows (in more ways than one) why it rocks

It's easy to get annoyed with the amount of critical success that the sitcom 30 Rock has achieved, especially compared to its dismal ratings, but with its three wins brought out the best in the show's recipients. Alec Baldwin chided Rumor Willis about handing her juice boxes years ago, while Tina Fey announced to all her Internet enemies that they can "suck it". Best of all, though, was unstable comedian (and 30 Rock star) Tracy Morgan accepting the statue for Best Series, and exclaiming "I'm am the face of post-racial America! Take that Cate Blanchett!"

5. The president of HFPA promises to keep it short... and does!

How often is the audience tortured by over-indulgent speeches from the presidents of, say, the Academy or the Screen Actors Guild? As HFPA president Jorge Camara approached the microphone after being introduced by Eva Mendes, he promised that he would spare us all from ramblings in his broken English, and went on to keep the promise as he then thanked everyone for coming and told everyone to have a great night, and took a quick opportunity to exit the stage. No boring soliloquies followed by laborious slide shows chronicling all the great stuff the industry has done. Simple... and awesome.

6. Kate Winslet wins twice, and is equally gracious

When Kate Winslet approached the stage after winning Best Supporting Actress for The Reader, it was good to see Winslet (a five-time nominee--no wins) go up to the stage overcome by emotion. More surprising, though, was her upending of Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in the Best Actress-Drama award. Winning for Revolutionary Road, Winslet actually apologized to her fellow nominees (though it took her some time to remember Angelina Jolie) for being such a surprise winner. More than anything, this throws a major wrench at all of the Oscar prognosticators who saw the Best Actress as two-woman race between Hathaway and Streep. Now, its all over the place. Congrats, Kate.

7. Mickey Rourke wins; gets one-finger salute from Aronofsky

It must have been a pretty bad omen for television producers when Rourke nearly stumbled over his own feet trying to walk up the stage, because that was just the beginning of the five minutes of destruction Rourke would then create. In a rumbling, scrambling speech which referenced the phrases "balls" and "son-of-a-bitch" several times, Rourke would thank everyone from Axl Rose to his pet dogs, but the highlight of the moment was when cameras cut to director Darron Aronofsky who took opportunity to flip Rourke a major bird on a national television. Only in America can someone with the issues and discipline of Mickey Rourke get a standing ovation for having a career renaissance.