The Golden Globes' Real Winners and Losers

At last night’s 70th Annual Golden Globes Awards, Les Miserables, the HBO movie Game Change and Showtime’s Homeland were the big winners, taking home three Globes each. But as is often true in Hollywood, the real winners and losers aren’t always that obvious. Here’s a look at who walked away smiling last night and who probably went home and cried in their drink.

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey

The comedy duo brought a spark of life to the ceremony that had been missing in recent years. While Ricky Gervais, who hosted the last three Globe awards, is a gifted comedian, his humor often crossed the line for the thin-skinned crowd and made the ceremony seem awkward and uncomfortable for those of us watching at home.

Fey and Poehler played it safer but were funnier. They saved their barbs for people like James Cameron and James Franco, who weren’t there, and poked gentle fun at the audiences members, saying things like middle-age George Clooney makes young George Clooney look like garbage.

Having two hosts who are great friends and know how to play off of each other was a smart move for the Hollywood Foreign Press which presents the Globes. Compare their performance to Anne Hathaway and James Franco at the 2011 Oscars — they seemed to be in two different worlds. The Academy should take note: Last night was how you host an awards show.

Ben Affleck

The director and star of Argo was by far the biggest winner last night. Just a few days ago he was licking his wounds from the Academy’s decision to not nominate him for Best Director for Argo. Last night not only did he win Best Director (beating out luminaries like Steven Spielberg and Ang Lee), but his film also won for Best Picture – Drama.

The awards will likely help Argo continue its strong run at the box office. The film has already earned $167 million globally. But the win probably won’t help the movie’s chances at the Oscars.

Lena Dunham

Only 26 years old, Dunham walked away with two Globes last night for Best Comedy TV Series and Best Acting in a Comedy TV series. Her HBO show Girls, which started its second season last night, is now officially the hottest comedy on TV. Because the show is so strongly Dunham’s vision, the prodigy will now be able to do anything she wants. Anyone in Hollywood who wasn’t already burning up her agent’s phone to work with Dunham is making that call this morning.

Steven Spielberg

The Lincoln director convinced former President Bill Clinton to introduce his film at the ceremony and his DreamWorks studio orchestrated the move without letting word slip out. It was an impressive bit of showmanship but one that didn’t have a big payoff as Spielberg lost Best Director to Affleck and Lincoln ended the night with one award — for Daniel Day Lewis for acting.

While that might have been a slight embarrassment, any sting will likely be calmed at the Academy Awards ceremony next month, where Spielberg is the leading contender to win Best Director and Lincoln still seems like the most likely candidate for Best Picture.

Silver Linings Playbook

Director David O. Russell’s latest film has been getting plenty of awards buzz but lat night it lost out in most categories to Les Miserables. Because of the Globe’s quirky method of dividing movies into dramas and musicals/comedies, the film was up against the giant musical which, given the make-up of the voters for the Globes, probably had a better chance of winning anyway. While Jennifer Lawrence did get an acting award for the movie, if the film had won more it would have picked up some momentum going into the Oscars.

Breaking Bad

The popular AMC show about a former high school chemistry teacher who turns to making meth is embarking on its last season, but Globe voters apparently didn’t feel too sentimental about that. The show lost in every category it was nominated in to Showtime’s Homeland. Star Bryan Cranston has never won a Golden Globe, but can take comfort in his three Emmy Awards.