Ricky Gervais' hosting the 68th Golden Globe Awards
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 9:47AM “I just did what I do.”
That was Ricky Gervais’ response to the confected outrage over his hosting of the 2011 Golden Globe awards.
For those of you who want to bone up CLICK HERE for Gervais’ brilliant monologue and HERE for the best bits from last year and this year. Because you're worth it.
And for those of you who can’t be fagged watching here’s a few of my favorite lines to give you the feel….
“Welcome to the 68ths Golden Globe Awards It’ll be a night of partying and heavy drinking, or as Charlie Sheen calls it, breakfast.”
“It’s been a big year for 3D. Toy Story, Despicable Me, Tron. It seems like everything this year was three dimentional. Apart from the characters in The Tourist.”
“A few shocks. I Love You Philip Morris wasn’t nominated. Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor - two heterosexual actors pretending to be gay, so the complete opposite of some famous Scientologists then. Probably. My lawyers helped me with the wording of that joke.”
“I was sure the award for best special effects should have gone to whoever did the airbrushing on the Sex In The City 2 Poster. Girls, we know how oid you are. I saw one of you in an episode of Bonanza.”
“I like a drink as much as the next man, as long as the next man is not our next presenter, Mel Gibson..”
“Looking at the faces in this room reminds us of how much great work has been done in Hollywood this year. By cosmetic surgeons.”
I also particularly loved and suspected that what was really got the audience off side was how Gervais went the spray about actors being the most important people in the world. “Actors. They’re just better than ordinary people, we all know that.”
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen said 'We remember a time when Ricky Gervais was a chubby and kinder comedian. Neither of which is he now'. They're now dead to me.
Gervais' last line was 'Thank God for making me an atheist.' CLICK FOR GREAT ARTICLE GERVAIS ON WHY HE AN ATHEIST I saw a punk band in Sydney Rd pub on Saturday arvo that finished set simply with 'thanks cunts'. Gervais could have done same.
I was depressed and liberated in more or less equal proportions by Gervais’ hosting. Everything he said was true. Which every single uptight, hypocritical, backstabbing, navel gazing, narcissitic, meglomanical psychopathic insecure attention seeker in that room knew.
Apparently people were offended. Offence is in the sphincter of the uptight white honky who's convenient answers have been questioned. Offence is an unavoidable and healthy byproduct of free speech. Offence is subjective.
I love this 'offence' story about Geoffrey Robertson, Australian QC who now lives in Britain and most well known for being Kathy Lette's shag...
When I first got to England, of course, and first made it to the Old Bailey - my very first case - I still had those irritable Australian vowels that... (with accent) 'France' and 'branch'. And I had to defend an Australian. He'd been convicted, I was doing the appeal. And I said, "My Lord, this is a case about a t-shirt, whether it's indecent." The logo was "Fuck Art, Let's Dance." And there was a terrifying silence. And the judge said, "Fuck Art, Let's what, Mr Robertson?" And I said, "Dance. 'Dance', my Lord." There was another silence. He said, "Oh, you're an Australian. What you have to learn in these courts, Mr Robertson, is to say, 'Fuck Art, Let's DAHNCE'." There was lots of sycophantic laughter and I think the judge was so pleased at embarrassing a young barrister that he acquitted my client. But I learnt very quickly to say "dahnce".
It was George Carlin who said "It's a comedian's job to find the line. And cross it."
In 1973, a father complained to the FCC that his son had heard the George Carlin routine "Filthy Words" broadcast one afternoon over WBAI, a Pacifica Foundation FM radio station. In the ensuing court case FCC v. Pacifica Foundation Justice Willian Brennan findings included this…
It is quite evident that I find the Court's attempt to unstitch the warp and woof of First Amendment law in an effort to reshape its fabric to cover the patently wrong result the Court reaches in this case dangerous as well as lamentable. Yet there runs throughout the opinions of my Brothers POWELL and STEVENS another vein I find equally disturbing: a depressing inability to appreciate that in our land of cultural pluralism, there are many who think, act, and talk differently from the Members of this Court, and who do not share their fragile sensibilities. It is only an acute ethnocentric myopia that enables the Court to approve the censorship of communications solely because of the words they contain.
I am reminded yet again that Lenny Bruce, considered one of the world's greatest comedians and social commentators was jailed several times for ‘word crimes’. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon, the first in New York state history.
To celebrate Ricky Gervais’ popping of pomposity and exposing what a bunch of uptight white honkies most people are I have posted all the columns I’ve published on the Logies. I can’t say written. Because the column I wrote for the 2010 Logies, despite being commissioned, and advertised on the Monday would run on the Wednesday never made it to print. Because I was sacked on the Tuesday because of “offensive remarks and bad language”
I just do what I do.
God Bless Ricky Gervais. Let him be an inspiration to us all. I like comedy to make me squirm.
Worth a watch
Philip Pullmen, “No one hasthe right not to be offended”
Julian Morrow’s Andrew Olle Lecture on Independence, satire and press freedom
Reader Comments (15)
The "I like a drink", cosmetic surgery, and "better than ordinary people" gags are all from last year's awards show.
it's not like they didn't know what they had coming when he was offered to be the host.
I think Ricky Gervais is great at what he does and people need to understand that comedy is not the same for everyone. When no one was watching, I guess they were laughing too.
Thanks for posting this so I can refer it to other people who didn't watch the show. I thought he was ripping good.
What upsets me is people saying that Americans have no sense of humor. It seems to me that the majority of the American PUBLIC thought he was damn funny, too. It's Hollywood that is oversensitive. Maybe we need to bring Don Rickles back (am I dating myself?)
I thought all those jokes were funny. it reminds me of the saying, if peeps don't want to be made fun of for have silly beliefs, then stop having silly beliefs. if Hollywood doesn't want to be made fun of, then stop having cosmetic surgery, stop being in the police reports etc cubed. (Nonexistent)God bless you, cutie pie. Super awesomeness.
Kriss
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association should pay Ricky Gervais a very big bonus. He has singly handedly allowed them to achieve their main goal: generate massive publicitiy for their completely pointless awards show.
humour with satire and social comment, excellent, will get people talking YAY.
closing with the god optional remarks ,great, about time . nobody bats an eyelid when people say thanks to their imaginary sky friend, somehow being rational is offensive? praying to fairies in the sky is offensive
I should add, that the one thing missing from his 2011 performance is that there was no self-deprecating humour like there was in 2010. If he'd done that, he would have probably recieved less criticism... unless that was his point...
I thought he was pretty funny but I'm not surprised some of them were offended. What concerns me is that being offended seems to be seen as worthy of compensation or an apology...
I'm totally offended by a range of things I encounter every day - social injustice, poverty, dickheads driving up the arse of my car - but it's ok..it doesn't hurt, nothing actually happens when you're offended. It's not like you break out in spots or can't go to work or have a lifelong ailment as a result. You just feel a bit miffed. For a minute. Or maybe even two. I don't get how it's become such a bad thing.
Gervais is an acerbic bastard who tells it as he sees it and if makes people squirm a little, all the better. Personally, I love that kind of humour, but I totally get why Tom Hanks didn't. Drowning in earnestness.
I think the Lenny Bruce thing was different though. Lenny Bruce was arrested for indecent language, not for telling the truth as he sees it about people's vacuousness. I think they offend people for different reasons - one is completely contrived and constructed (being offended by swearing), one is rather more pointed and possibly true (caustic insights into the human condition).
Love your work, Catherine, just a small correction on this one:
"..It’ll be a night of partying and heavy drinking, or as Charlie Sheen calls it, Monday.” Ricky actually said that Charlie calls this 'breakfast', not Monday.
But keep up the good atheism and tweets!
Hey Catherine - all fine and dandy - but what is with your two references to "white" honkies? - sorry, but I really think that is a lazy bit of ethno-baiting on your part ...
You said that the earnest Tom Hanks was offended. However I read that Ricky claimed he was not offended, they had drinks together later and all was well... I loved the fact that the "walking dead" Hugh Hefner said he loved the Golden Globes and was happy he and Cindy got a mention hahahaha.. what a guy!!!!
Oi Vida, I did too. Will fact check that....
this is the extract from The Age today, Ricky Gervais says .........
"All the same conspiracy theories as last year too ... 'So and so was offended' ... 'hasn't been invited back yet' ... exactly the same as last time. 'Paul McCartney was furious' ... no he wasn't. And nor was Tim Allen and Tom Hanks. I was drinking with them after...."
I think Ricky Gervais is a brilliant comic and the best looking too. He is so HOT! The confidence of that man is super awesome + + + + + !!! How uber gutsy hilariously fearlessly uproariously good ! So are you Catherine!!!
You had me at Lenny Bruce. ... "She was wearing one of those black lace see through blouses that you don't want to."
For my $0.02, Gervais did well precisely what he was handsomely paid to do - just like the news agencies running the 'omg, omg, omg, offended celebrities" schtick.
What I found particular offensive is what I saw of RDJ's speech for Best Female Actress in a Comedic Role - where he described them as sex objects in the harem of his insecure ego; instead of commending their ability as colleagues & professionals.
I don't know what RDJ meant by "hugely mean spirited with mildly sinister overtones" - but he was patronising, smarmy, smug, and completely offensive. And the worst thing is that these kind of "rutting pig" speeches are becoming more acceptable to society - let alone the entertainment industry.
The introductions to the "Best Actress in a Leading Role" in the 2010 Academy Awards were a previous example. Only Forrest Whittaker & Oprah Winfrey actually gave tribute to the actress they introduced - the rest were patronising; including the winner herself, Sandra Bullock, and the presenter, Sean Penn.