Paging Rob Long
I have to confess that I did not watch the Golden Globes. And though I believe he has immense talent, I've not been a huge fan of Ricky Gervais. So I was quite prepared to accept the media narrative of another actor behaving badly at a public event. I see this is still very much being debated today in the press.
In any case, when I read his remarks I thought they were genuinely entertaining -- and far far wittier than the lame-o comebacks from the targets. So I quite agree with this columnist at the Boston Herald, who headlines her story "Hollywood A-Listers are Such Crybabies" Politicians and other pulic figures endure far more ridicule every day -- often from the lips of these same celebrities. Are we to believe that Cher, Bruce Willis and the gals of Sex and the City 2 are off-limits?
Anyway, am I missing something here? I didn't watch them, so maybe they did not come off well if you did. Like to hear Rob weigh in. And why would one hire Ricky Gervais in the first place, and then profess to be shocked, shocked that this is how it would turn out.
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Re: Paging Rob Long
I didn't watch either, but the remarks do seem rather funny. Now I feel as though I missed out on some good entertainment. I guess the Hollywood stars would have preferred for Gervais to reserve the mean-spirited jokes for Sarah Palin and George W. Bush.
Jul '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
Hollywood can pour scorn on the customs, traditions and beliefs of the rest of us, but when it is done to them somehow it is "going over the line." They have created a bubble of privilege for themselves and when it is pricked by a boorish comic they draw themselves up like Victorian ladies offended by the sight of a naked piano leg.
Dec '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
This episode illustrates why court jester is such a dangerous job. It's made much more so when the jester's court comprises hundreds of kings and queens.
Oct '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
Gervais is awesome! There was a video in that link posted. Anyone who takes Hollywood celebrities down a notch, deserves a congressional award.
Jul '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
Ricky Gervais' offensive humor has no place at a hallowed cultural event like the Golden Globes.
He should confine such tasteless behavior to the National Press Club's annual Gridiron dinner.
Aug '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
I went to YouTube to see what all the fuss was about. I agree with the above comments. His jokes were hardly over-the-top. I thought they were quite funny, and he was incredibly self-deprecating at the same time. I loved the way he openly took sips from a pint of beer throughout his act.
I bet NBC got more than a few complaints about the beer-drinking. That might be the real reason he won't be invited back.
EDIT: Oops! Apparently I was watching his 2010 performance, not his 2011 performance.
Edited on Jan 19, 2011 at 9:09amJan '11
Re: Paging Rob Long
Awards shows are hilarious, in premise. In execution, they're usually dull, but the premise has so many possibilities. A group of pampered celebrities gather to wallow in mutual adoration. The ancient Greeks lived for set-ups like that!
When a self-inflated bubble is so big, it begs to be popped. I'm sure they won't let Don Rickles near the building, but what a joy if they did!
May '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
Some of those jokes were cruel. Robert Downey Jr was certainly right to be angry.
There's a difference between ribbing a friend among friends and laughing at a person's painful memories and failures in front of millions of strangers (TV viewers).
I wish Leslie Nielsen had hosted one of these.
Re: Paging Rob Long
Kenneth, you do seem to have neatly captured the prevailing ethos. The WH correspondents dinner is the one you mean -- and the barbs directed at the president are accompanied by a lot of lavish self-praise by the press corps. (Which is why they go on so long).
Jul '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
I stand corrected.
May '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
Oh for heaven's sake. Gervais simply said what everyone thinks every time they see Robert Downey. He earned that ribbing fair and square and it's a small price for him to pay to be reminded routinely that "there but for the grace of God..."
May '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
Trace Urdan
He earned that ribbing fair and square and it's a small price for him to pay to be reminded routinely that "there but for the grace of God..."
Among family and friends, not among strangers.
Re: Paging Rob Long
My only point was this: I thought Ricky Gervais' remarks were truly funny.
Kenneth was right to invoke the WH dinners and the inherent double standard. And I'm with Denise Moss at her post, where she summed it all up this way: "... it's an industry full of insecure people with bottomless pits of need, so we all clamor for the award anyway. And the studios obviously buy into it for promotional purposes. It's the best red carpet going. Ricky Gervais knows this and went for it. His humor is based on truth and he went for that too."
Re: Paging Rob Long
Bill, thanks for the page.
It was an interesting night -- I think Gervais was basically funny, but a little mistimed. The Scientology stuff and the Robert Downey Jr. stuff was a little dated and old. But introducing Bruce Willis as "Ashton Kutcher's dad" was hilarious.
Remember: Hollywood celebrities are like US senators. They swan around, never pick up a check, oozing entitlement and arrogance, never asked a difficult question, and they never ever ever like to made fun of or teased.
On the other hand, when Ricky Gervais mocked Johnny Depp's movie "The Tourist," all I could do was imagine Johnny Depp responding, "I've got to listen to this from the guy who made 'The Invention of Lying?'"
I think it's safe to say it was Ricky's final Globes hosting. And I think it's less about specific jokes and more about the relentlessness of the material, which did seem to hit the same note over and over again.
May '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
Aaron Miller
Trace Urdan
He earned that ribbing fair and square and it's a small price for him to pay to be reminded routinely that "there but for the grace of God..."
Among family and friends, not among strangers. · Jan 19 at 9:16am
I'll respectfully disagree again Aaron. That right to privacy is sacrificed with celebrity. He earns his living on his celebrity and made a spectacle of himself as a celebrity and cost a lot of people a lot of money and if he wants to show up for the accolades, well the rest comes with the territory -- he is only reaping what he himself has sown. And I think it looks petty and self-important for him to do anything but chuckle and move on.
Oct '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
Yay for puncturing egos, but Gervais is a one-trick pony, beating the same dead horse since the first episode of The Office.
(No, this is not a bullfighting post.)
May '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
Trace Urdan
I'll respectfully disagree again Aaron. That right to privacy is sacrificed with celebrity. He earns his living on his celebrity and made a spectacle of himself as a celebrity and cost a lot of people a lot of money...
Fair enough.
Re: Paging Rob Long
We watched the first half and thought Gervais was funny, but we've liked most of his stuff in the past. I do think that for a group that routinely rips each other (all those "anonymous" tips to gossip mags are just from each other) and politicians, they need to take as good as they give.
The thing that struck me about the night was that everyone's speech seemed painfully unprofessional. Rambling, too long, boring. I mean, if one wins a professional award that one had been nominated for, you'd think the remarks would be brief, tidy, lucid, etc. I think our country has lost the art of the short-and-to-the-point public face. I thought the same thing at the start of the Tuscon shooting memorial. What could have been a nice opening (Native American blessing, honoring the young man who was a hero) turned out to be a rambling, over-long embarrassment. Maybe that's just me. I'm grumpy in January.
May '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
Has anyone ever simply said "Thanks" and walked off the stage at one of these events? Or would that be rude, somehow?
Aug '10
Re: Paging Rob Long
There is a long tradition of outright refusing awards or accepting a reward but giving a speech criticizing the notion of awards.