Golden Globes night: The silly, the serious and Taylor Swift, too

From "Barbenheimer" to celebrities to jokes good and bad, the 81st Golden Globes had a bit of everything.

They may not have had lukewarm chardonnay on the tables, as nominee Jennifer Lawrence had predicted. But the 81st Golden Globes had a bit of everything else: Some silliness, some seriousness, a bit of history, a few good jokes and many bad ones, loads of stars — and one Taylor Swift, who didn’t ascend the podium but still made her presence known as perhaps only Swift can.

One decisive trend emerged: In the great “Barbenheimer” showdown of awards season 2024, round one went to the “heimer” part. Christopher Nolan’s sweeping biopic “Oppenheimer” dominated the evening, among its wins the prize for best drama, best director for Nolan, and best actor (Cillian Murphy) and supporting actor (Robert Downey Jr.). Greta Gerwig’s candy-colored “Barbie,” meanwhile, lost to upset victor “Poor Things” in the comedy/musical category, but won the new cinematic and box office achievement award, as well as best song for Billie Eilish’s wistful “What Was I Made For.”

It would be unwise to count “Barbie” out, but it was a disappointing night for her fans, and also for another fearsome force: Swifties. The pop superstar, who spent 2023 smashing all records in sight, lost out on her fifth Globe nomination. But she stunned on the carpet in shimmering Gucci green, and later created a meme-worthy moment when she reacted with a seemingly icy glare to a joke about her by host Jo Koy.

Swift was not alone in her displeasure; at one point the jokes were falling flat enough for Koy to stop and explain that he’d had only 10 days to prepare.

The crowd laughed harder at Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig, who made an amusing bit of pretending — insisting — that the ceremony was “a serious night.” The joke was that few actually take the ceremony seriously. Noted presenter Mark Hamill: “It's the only awards show with an open bar.”