Everything — at least as far as the winners were concerned — went according to plan at the 2007 Golden Globe awards ceremony. That is, until the very last winner of the evening was announced: Babel.
Babel??
Set in multiple countries, in multiple time frames, and with dialogue in multiple languages, Babel (above, with Rinko Kikuchi) was a multiple Golden Globe nominee (7 nods in all, more than any other film) and a multiple loser. As the evening progressed, Babel lost to Dreamgirls (best supporting actress Jennifer Hudson and best supporting actor Eddie Murphy), The Departed (best director Martin Scorsese), The Queen (best screenplay, Peter Morgan), and even The Painted Veil (best music, Alexandre Desplat).
And then, just like one of those contrived twists you sometimes find in Guillermo Arriaga's screenplays, Babel ended up winning the top award of the evening: best film – drama.
Among the evening's other Golden Globe winners were Helen Mirren (twice, for two queens, both British and both named Elizabeth), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), and Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada).
Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima was the best foreign language film, while Dreamgirls was the best film – musical or comedy.
Since I didn't bother watching the show, I can't say if anyone walked onstage with toilet paper attached to their shoes, or if presenters flossed their teeth before announcing some musical number or other. Or if any of the winners belched into the microphone before thanking their spouses and/or lovers. But not worry. I'm sure that in the next few minutes that sort of info will be plastered all over the Internet.
Helen Mirren is such a great actress I can't believe it. I think she'll be winning another Oscar in the very near future. I really do