Dream Factory

Dreadfully long and drawn out, yet determinedly glam, the Golden Globe Awards.

If the Hollywood Foreign Press cut the Golden Globe Awards in half, they'd still be too long to sit still and drool over the frocks and rocks on an otherwise uneventful January Sunday night.

Haven't fancied the movies much this winter, other than Milk, which was incredibly enthralling for a) Sean Penn's performance and b) San Francisco folk & political history, though snatched scenes from last night's Golden Globes have enticed me to update the Netflix queue and nudge a number of upcoming DVD releases into top position.

Still many more of these winning flicks remain in the theater down on the Boulevard today, with the top three must-see in the next week or two for me being Slum Dog Millionaire, The Curious Tale of Benjamin Button, and The Reader.

Don't think Revolutionary Road is playing here in P'Town as yet, though the gorgeous Kate Winslet's double scoop of not just one, but two Golden Globes last night will likely push the picture which reunited her with Leo DiCaprio onto a local screen as fast as you can say "Oscar".

Making a mental note to google a SoCo screening location of Happy-Go-Lucky, in which newcomer Sally Hawkins wiped the justifiably matriachal smile off Mama Mia's marvelous Meryl Streep's face for a nano-second in a surprise win as best actress in a musical or comedy.

As for the jewels and the up-dos, the look for 2009 was considerably classic given frequent reference to economy and scale of entertainment content for the coming year. I'd have to agree with critics in picking Winslet for one of the evening's undisputably best dressed.

Fellow Brit & funny man Ricky Gervais was a breath of fresh air on stage, despite the fact he forgot to put down his pint, though Sacha Baron Cohen should have stayed home and saved himself an embarrassing silence on his not funny, newly divorced Guy Ritchie gag.

Another generally-striking Englishman made a rather remarkable appearance in Beverly Hills sporting a serious brown rinse and matching, full facial hair. Had to look twice to take in Sting's sombre new image for '09. Mind you, preferred the brunette approach to Ralph Fiennes nearly bald number one blade.

Forgive me for the over-referencing of British celebs, but the awards are one of the few times the stars from over the pond make it onto the mainstream media here in the States. It's good to get a gander at the folks from home. Especially when they're dressed up to the nines. Good old Emma Thompson is one of my all-time favs, and I felt particularly proud of her for finally taking care of her dental ordeal (remember Nanny McFee? And Harry Potter number whatever, in which it was all we could do not to focus in on her big screen oral display of extreme orthodontic disarray?) Emma must have been given the number of Clive Owen's orthodontist, as her substantial smile lit up the stage last night without a crooked tooth in sight. 

Changing gears to marvelous Americans on my Golden Globe celebrity list, most-deserved awards went to the HBO miniseries John Adams, in which the lovely Laura Linney won Best Actress in a miniseries or tv movie, and the inimitable Paul Giamatti swept Best Actor in a miniseries or tv movie for their once-in-a-lifetime, epic roles as Abigail and John Adams, in the same named,not surprisingly Best Miniseries or TV Movie of the year.

If you haven't seen John Adams, you can rent it on DVD and spend the good part of this winter watching the compelling early history of our country unfold in this phenomenal miniseries. Anyone with kids studying Junior High history should make it a family mission to watch the entire series, which taught me more about the Boston Tea Party and George Washington's America than I could have possibly absorbed in a lifetime of reading over the shoulder of my sons' history textbooks.

Couldn't quite make it to the end of the Golden Globes, too many ads, too many tired looking megastars making faces and snidey comments off camera. With several surprise wins, we could be in for an intriguing Oscar season.