The Golden Globe awards have always been sort of a stepsister to the Academy Awards. But, personally, I think the Globes show is a whole lot more fun to watch than the Oscars.
As I watched the 67th Golden Globes last week, I realized it took them about 57 of those years to get on the radar of those who pay attention to movie industry awards.
Every star you can think of was jammed into a huge Beverly Hills hotel ballroom for the occasion. Guests were seated at tables and it appeared that they drank libations throughout the evening. Maybe that's why it looks like they're having a much better time than the folks seated in an auditorium during the long Academy Awards program.
It's more like a party where all the guests are members of the same club. In the past it seemed the stars who showed up for the Globes didn't make an all-out effort to be super glam, but this year the gowns were stunning. Many of the stars hit it out of the fashion park. Drew Barrymore looked wonderful in a champagne-colored gown with glittering detail on the shoulder and one hip bone. At first I thought the embellishment looked a little too much like a shiny hedgehog, but changed my mind. She was a gorgeous award-winner.
It's fun to see the stars in vintage Hollywood glamour looks. Sandra Bullock, for instance, wore a strapless purple gown by Bottega Veneta, Jennifer Garner was in a gray spiral sequined gown by Atelier Versace and Nicole Kidman wore an exquisite peach satin by Nina Ricci.
Nude shades were plentiful, and so were shades of purple and pastels.
But Cameron Diaz went another direction. She wore a satin gown by Alexander McQueen that was such a bright red it looked like the dress was wearing her.
Of course, some chose black, and Penelope Cruz was a standout in an Armani Prive black dress with lace top and sleeves.
Some loved Kate Hudson's white sculptural dress by Marchesa, and some thought it was just weird. I liked it.
Nearly everyone I've talked to said they thought Tina Fey missed the mark big-time. Her strapless dress with full skirt had a matinee hemline, but that was only part of the problem. As she carried her umbrella down the red carpet she looked more like Mary Poppins than a movie star.
Then there was Christina Hendricks, who plays Joan on "Mad Men." The curvaceous actress wore a strapless gown by 24-year-old designer Christian Siriano, who won the fourth season on "Project Runway." The satin gown was the color of a peach, but cantaloupes came to mind.
And what can we say about Mariah Carey, whose gown exposed nearly her entire chest? I certainly couldn't tell you what her hairdo looked like, that's for certain.
Mariah, Mariah. Just because you paid a lot of money for those things doesn't mean you have to bare them.