Illustration by Jillian Tamaki

Forgive me, readers. I meant to weigh in on this sooner, but it took me a full 24 hours to recover from the shock of seeing perpetual runner-up Kate Winslet win not one, but two Golden Globe statuettes on Sunday night. Her double Supporting Actress/Best Actress triumph was especially surprising in light of the fact that other actors (Penelope Cruz and Anne Hathaway, respectively) had been favoured to win in each of those categories at the ceremony’s outset.

Judging from her flabbergasted response, Winslet was just as surprised to see herself up on the podium. And her emotional shout-out to Revolutionary Road co-star Leonardo DiCaprio was just one of many bright spots in Sunday’s Golden Globes broadcast.

As predicted, the Golden Globes show was restored to its former (pre-WGA strike) glory this year, complete with free-flowing champagne (or in the case of Ricky Gervais, pints) and a few delightfully spontaneous WTF? moments in the speeches. Here are a few high- and lowlights from this year’s breezy GGs ceremony:

• Diva, and proud of it: Jennifer Lopez, who took to the stage in gold shimmery gown and shushed the animated crowd by saying, “Hel-lo! Mama’s talking!”
• Closet diva (role model, Joan Crawford): Demi Moore, who managed to appear on camera every time her daughter, Rumer Willis, was about to grab the spotlight as this year’s Miss Golden Globe
• Funniest presenting duo: Rainn Wilson and Blake Lively, who made the most of a malfunctioning teleprompter situation by saying, “Ohh... We’re reading this!" They immediately followed up with: “Open envelope. Read winner.”
• Strangest presenting duo: Kate Beckinsale, who looked a little afraid of her co-presenter, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs
• Single funniest intro: Ricky Gervais’s riff on not being nominated for a Golden Globe: “That is the last time I have sex with 200 middle-aged journalists.”
• Worst off the cuff intro: Sacha Baron Cohen, who went from a decent Botox joke, into a mean-spirited crack about Madonna that bombed and left both Sandra Bullock and Salma Hayek shaking their heads in disapproval
• "Did he just say that?" intro: Colin Farrell, explaining his audible sniffling thusly: “I have a cold. At least it’s not the thing it used to be.”
• Team player: Emma Thompson, who coached overwhelmed winner Sally Hawkins through her acceptance speech
• Happiest trend: the return to sophisticated black gowns. Now that’s how it’s done, ladies!
• Worst trend: Abusing self-tanner (see: JLo, Cameron Diaz)
• Cutest hairdo: Drew Barrymore’s Marilyn Monroe-inspired bedhead
• Funniest speech: Tracy Morgan’s acceptance speech for 30 Rock: “Welcome to post-racial America! I am the face of post-racial America. Deal with it, Cate Blanchett!”
• Most refreshing winner: Mickey Rourke, whose heartfelt thank yous were peppered with many references to “sons of bitches” and “balls,” and prompted Darren Aronofsky, his director in The Wrestler, to flip him the bird. When Rourke followed up these salt-of-the-earth comments with a reference to his many pet dogs (past and present), it was the one moment in the show that made me genuinely verklempt.

But that’s just my take. What were your favourite Golden Globe moments? Were there any awards that surprised you? Or speeches that left you cringing in your living rooms?

--Lee Ferguson