With Ricky Gervais back hosting the Golden Globes, critics and fans alike expected him to shower all the celebrities with a nonstop stream of profanities and insults. However, this year the surprising moments came not from the incorrigible host but rather from the actors themselves, which was both refreshing and disappointing. Although we all complain about Gervais’ scathing commentary, secretly it’s nice to see self-obsessed actors being brought down from their high pedestals, if only for a moment. This year Gervais overtly emphasized that he was free to say and do whatever he wanted. However, his jokes were less scathing and his screen time was very minimal.

The actual awards portion of the night was predictable but nonetheless amusing (everyone was drunk). In the TV categories, many new shows, like “Homeland,” “Enlightened” and “Episodes,” received awards while more experienced actors, such as Meryl Streep and George Clooney, were awarded in the movie categories. That being said, this is one of the first years when I really felt that every single acting win in the movie categories was completely deserved. Overall, I really enjoy the combination of both TV and movies, mostly because the TV faces seemed to lighten the mood from the overly-serious movie titans. Here, I’ll recap the best and worst moments of the night.

Best:

1. Ricky Gervais comparing the Golden Globes to the Oscars, saying it was the difference between Kim Kardashian and Kate Middleton. I’d probably be more appalled if it weren’t so true.
2. Gervais’ quip about the Hollywood Foreign Press being a lovely non-profit organization…just like NBC. Thank you Ricky, for finally helping us understand why NBC has been six feet under this entire season.
3. Just after Rob Lowe presented an award looking more orange than Snooki, a commercial for Velveeta’s Liquid Gold graced the screen. Absolutely perfect timing.
4. Brad Pitt and George Clooney’s never-ending bromance.
5. The most boring couple on earth, Felicity Huffman and William Macy, came out of left field with an amazing a capella read-through of their presenter speech.
6. Meryl Streep being unable to find her glasses as Clooney goes above and beyond trying to crawl over people to get them to her.
7. Photo bombs seemed to be the theme of the night, with Tina Fey stealing Amy Poehler’s thunder or Jesse Tyler Ferguson putting a “Whatever” sign over fellow cast member Eric Stonestreet’s shoulder.
8. The funniest, raunchiest, dirtiest joke of the night goes to George Clooney, who thanked Michael Fassbender for taking over the full frontal nudity quota for the year (aren’t we all thanking him). Clooney then joked that Fassbender could undoubtedly play golf with no hands if he tried (as girls everywhere simultaneously begged for a demonstration).
9. Uggie, the dog from “The Artist,” stealing everyone’s thunder by playing dead on stage. Plus, he was wearing a bowtie.

Worst:

1. Gervais carried over many jokes from last year that really weren’t necessary. We all remember last year’s awards and don’t need a recap.
2. Kelsey Grammer won? Over Bryan Cranston? Not possible.
3. Madonna seemed to be a really strange feature at the Globes and although it was lovely to see her rip Ricky Gervais a new one, her presence felt very out of place.
4. Instead of accepting the award on Woody Allen’s behalf after he won best screenplay, Nicole Kidman just said, “Come and get it, Woody.” Ew.
5. To top everything off, just after Ricky Gervais closes by telling us that this probably took all our minds off the recession, the camera pans to the largest most glamorous chandelier the world has ever seen, suddenly making the entire show even more ridiculous.

-Mackenzie Bronk