Amy Poehler and Tina Fey to host Golden Globes again
Comedy fans rejoiced last week at the latest promo for the Golden Globes, following October’s news that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will be hosting the ceremony in 2014 and 2015.
In many ways, this was a good year for each of them, in terms of popularity and recognition by critics. 30 Rock, the sitcom Fey created and starred in, went out on a high note in its seventh and final season. Amy Poehler’s show Parks and Recreation is still going strong in its sixth season, and she still finds time to raise two children and run around trying to get reluctant New Yorkers to sing Christmas carols with her.
I confess that I’m an awards show addict—there’s something endlessly appealing to me about watching the Globes, or the Oscars or the Tonys, all with their awkward acceptance speeches and feigned enthusiasm on the part of the audience. The cutaways to famous directors! The pretend joy on the faces of those who don’t win in their category! It’s all so cheesy and so compelling.
After watching most of Fey and Poehler’s segments of the 2013 Golden Globes ceremony, it’s easy to see why the organisers wanted them again. Fey and Poehler have that particular quality that separates a good host (or hostess, or hostesses) from a bad one. It’s a combination of on-camera chemistry, camaraderie, and comedy talent.
Fey and Poehler can carry off their pre-prepared segments as though they just came up with the lines and stage directions on the spot and are impressed at their own wit. This spontaneity would seem par for the course when we’re talking about world-famous actors reading lines in front of an audience, but sadly is often lacking in reality, especially when two people are presenting at the same time (see, for example, Anne Hathaway and James Franco hosting the 2011 Oscars). Maybe it helps that they’re old pals and hosted Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live together in the mid-2000s.
Both Fey and Poehler also manage to satirise the industry without really offending anyone. Throughout their work, they often reference the messed-up expectations the media has of women in a way that is critical but not heavy-handed. A particular segment of the 2013 Globes introductory monologue comes to mind. For context, they’re trying to work in as many titles of the year’s nominated films as possible.
Fey: The Hunger Games was one of the biggest films of the year, and also what I call the six weeks it took me to get into this dress.
Poehler: Ang Lee’s been nominated for Best Director for The Life of Pi, which is what I’m gonna call the six weeks after I take this dress off!
*high five*
They’re great to watch even when not on stage – as in the segment at this year’s Emmys, where they heckle Neil Patrick Harris from the audience, telling him they came to the show to see him twerk. They proceed to fall over in exaggerated style on their way to the stage, making fun of Jennifer Lawrence’s fall at the Oscars last year. I think a willingness to look entirely ridiculous is also part of their charm.
The full monologue from the 2013 Golden Globes can be found here.
I’m sure next year’s show will be just as good!
