After Ricky Gervais hosted the 2016 Golden Globe Awards (heading the show for the third time, mind you), I started to dread award season. Normally, it’s something that I really look forward to (I’m a sucker for celebrities congratulating each other in really pretty dresses), but Gervais’ sour disposition and truly offensive jokes really put a damper on what is my holiday season. Luckily for me, TJ Miller stepped in as host of the Critics Choice Awards, and boy, was he a breath of fresh air during his opening monologue.
Miller, who stars on Silicon Valley and is always a sucker for physical comedy, started the show off in one of those dancing man costumes—he attached three other bodies via rod to himself and looked wonderfully ridiculous. He was actually a little out of breath, which added to the physicality of all of it. I can’t imagine how heavy those things are. Anyway, he recounted what was to happen in the night to come, and then Miller mentioned that he was not going to go the Ricky Gervais route in award show hosting. After all, Miller said, Gervais made a whole room of people “feel badly for Mel Gibson.” Touché, TJ.
The differences between Miller’s and Gervais’ hosting styles are astounding. Whereas Gervais just basically stood on stage drinking until it was time for him to go home, Miller draped himself in three plastic dummies and lightened up the whole room. He even told jokes that weren’t offensive to people! It can be done, folks. I recognize that award shows are just hokey ways for rich people to congratulate themselves, but millions of people, including myself, like to watch them. They’re a form of escapism, and Gervais’ droll, critical humor doesn’t really fit in with the joyous feeling of the typical award show evening. Miller, however, knows that this is all just fluff and is supposed to be fun.
