The Golden Globes have been canceled, but the the writers’ strike didn’t prevent the live broadcast of the Critics’ Choice Awards from pressing on last night. But the strike it did have its effects. Many winners noted that they were speaking off the cuff because they wanted to respect the strike and did not write speeches.
Host D.L. Hughley’s
commentary was incredibly awkward, and it seemed that all his jokes were about race. Probably the oddest comment of the night for me came when Hughley dubbed Brad Pitt an “honorary black person” for seemingly no reason. And several times Hughley told the crowd that they needed to lighten up and laugh once in a while.
Despite that, there were many bright spots during the evening. For one, it seemed that every two minutes Pitt and AfterEllen.com’s No. 2 hottie, Angelina Jolie, were on the screen, looking just as fabulous as ever. Additionally, there were some fantastic female winners throughout the evening.
Nikki Blonsky, breakout star of Hairspray, won the award for Best Young Actress. Blonsky shared the award for Best Acting Ensemble with the rest of the Hairspray cast, which includes Queen Latifah (AfterEllen.com Hot 100 No. 55), Amanda Bynes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Allison Janney, Brittany Snow and, of course, John Travolta in drag.
Winner for Best Supporting Actress was Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone. Julie Christie won Best Actress for her role in Away From Her, but was not there to accept the award.
Probably the most exciting win of the night was Diablo Cody‘s award for Best Writer for Juno. In a category that is usually completely dominated by men, that win was well deserved. It marked the first time since 2003 that a woman has won a writing award at the Critics’ Choice Awards, and the first time that a woman has won the award on her own since the show’s inception in 1995.
Juno also won for Best Comedy Movie and was nominated for Best Acting Ensemble. Since Cody was not at the awards show, Ellen Page (nominee for Best Actress) and Allison Janney accepted the award on Cody’s behalf. A complete list of winners and nominees can be found here.
And, now, a few more pictures for your enjoyment.
