Thursday, January 18, 2007

The Golden Globes,American Idol and Top Chef steps over to the bad side



The Golden Globes started off the evening right by giving Jennifer Hudson the Best Supporting Actress award for Dreamgirls(congrats also to Eddie Murphy for getting Best Supporting Actor)and her speech was one of the best ones given that night. America Ferrara's tearful acceptance of her trophy for Best Actress in a comedy(loved it when she thanked her mom,who was sitting right at her table)was just as heartfelt.



I was pretty happy for everyone who won-it would've been nice if Heroes had taken Best Drama and I didn't see Babel so that movie winning Best Drama wasn't impressive but Dreamgirls getting Best Musical is a sure sign that it'll be in the Best Picture race this year at the Oscars. Sasha Baron Cohen also has a good shot at being up for an Oscar nom,too-hey,if Johnny Depp can get a nod for Captain Jack Sparrow and Marisa Tomei win for My Cousin Vinny,Borat's capable of being up there,too.



The only uncomfortable moments of the show were Cameron Diaz's dress-did she lose a bet or something?-and Warren Beatty's speech when he got his Cecil B. Demile award.
Beatty looked out of it most of the night and his speech seemed to have the same running time as Reds. Also,his attempt at a Borat impression was painful,to say the least. Forrest Whitaker had trouble speaking too,but that was probaly due to total shock at actually winning.

I do have to wonder:was Prince really late to the Golden Globes or did he just not want to be near Justin Timberlake? I certainly don't blame him for that.


American Idol is back,once again to find some golden voices amongst the dross. There sure were some slim pickings in Minnesota and Seattle. I can't decide who was weirder or worse: The gal who sang like the Cowardly Lion,The kid who juggled with sticks,the fella dressed like Apollo Creed that sang an aria,the AI fangirl who claimed to have a degree in"vocal performance"(hoped you keep the reciepts from that school,hon-you definately deserve a refund!)or the gal who called herself "The Hotness". Carlos Mencia has a few words for you,Hotness,about false advertising.

Next week,we'll see what musical bounty there was to be found in New York. Perhaps some of the folks in this clip will be showcased there:






Top Chef began as usual with a Quickfire Challenge to create a sweet or savory dish with chocolate. Everyone did well with that,except for Ilan who thought that chicken liver would make a great truffle filling(in what universe,I'd like to know!). Sam won the QF which gave him first choice of protein to use for the Elimination challenge,to cook a five course romantic dinner for 30 people. The dinner itself went smoothly,despite the crowded kitchen conditions and minor squabbling amongst the chefs. Elia freaked that she wasn't able to cut out chocolate hearts for her dessert but it tasted fine anyway.

The real trauma drama occured in the wee hours after the dinner. Four of the chefs got drunk and two of them decided to shave their heads(Elia and Ilan). Then,they came up with the bright idea of holding Marcel down and shaving his hair off. Cliff woke him up and manhandled him to the floor while one of the others(I believe it was Ilan)held a camera on him and shouted for someone to shave him.

Fortunately,no one shaved Marcel. He did manage to break loose from Cliff and spent the rest of the night in the bathroom after punching the camera away from his face(I really hope Ilan was the one who was holding the camera then). The next morning, Judge Tom came in and told Cliff that,due to breaking the rules about touching anyone in an agressive manner,he was out of the competition. Cliff packed up and left but not before apologizing to Marcel. That apology was as sincere as a three dollar bill,in my opinion,but Marcel accepted it.

I have to say that I really have alot more respect for Marcel. Yes,he's an annoying guy but that's no excuse for what happened,none at all. Marcel would have been well within his rights to call the cops and have Cliff charged with assault. He also would've been justified in going in the kitchen and getting a frying pan to smack Cliff and his co-horts with but he didn't. Marcel wasn't too hurt beyond some rug burns on his arms but he could've been. He could've been nasty and gloating towards Cliff when he was canned but he didn't. Marcel went up to Cliff and said"Sorry it ended like this..no hard feelings." That shows me that Marcel has some character. He may still be a difficult person to deal with but he does have some good qualities and I really wouldn't mind it if he won the whole competition.




I lost quite abit of the respect I did have for Elia;her hair shaving bit after being upset over the dessert reminded me of the Thanksgiving episode where she was bothered by what Judge Tom said about her QF dish. Elia was ubermoody and wound smearing chocolate all over her face and having a mini food fight with Carlos and Betty, That was all in good fun but everyone was sober,too. I'm not about to get all Carrie Nation here but all of the boozing the chefs have done this season has not helped matters any. Elia is a perfectionist who beats herself up with real or percieved failures regarding her cooking who then does something wacky to blow off steam. Yes,her hair will grow back but what does this say about her becoming a top chef? Would you want to work in a kitchen for someone who freaks out when things go wrong and might decide to chill out by breaking some plates or throwing food? I know I wouldn't want to.

Also,Elia was friends with Marcel for a long time during the competition but all of a sudden,she buddies up with Ilan(who is a bad influence,IMO)and thinks it's funny to pick on Marcel? I know they were all drunk but come on! Sam was mostly on the sidelines during this mess but he didn't help Marcel either. All four of the remaining chefs are going to Hawaii for the finale(no reunion show is planned here,just as well)which airs in two parts. Hard to say who will win and I'm not sure I can really feel good about rooting for anybody besides Marcel.

The Judges' table did discuss the incident before and after meeting with the chefs and frankly,they should've been way harsher towards Sam,Ilan and Elia. Too bad Judge Judy wasn't there,she knows how to lay the smackdown on those who deserve it.

Random Notes:

The Office: Dwight's falling on his sword for Angela was sweet and touching. Andy should seriously watch his back;that look Angela gave him is the kind that folks have when they're planning to burn you at the stake and throw gasoline on you to make the flames go higher.

Ugly Betty:How cruel was Sofia to poor Daniel,who didn't deserve to be the object of a cheezy"how to land a man in 60 days!' article? I thought MYW was supposed to be more sophisticated than that. I'm sure that Betty will comfort him and get him to go back to Mode(otherwise,there's no show!). Glad to see Amanda defend her former lover by pummeling Sofia with her purse in the elevator,ha!

Surreal Life-Fame Games: The only reason I think this show exists is to provide fodder for The Soup. Check out this promo and see if you argee:

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