Golden Globes 2019: 8 Ups & 7 Downs

1. The Bad Direction & Rushed Format

If the wonky hosting wasn't bad enough, did the show's direction seem a little off to anyone else?

Obviously there are enormous complexities involved with the presentation of an awards show, but it often felt like the director was asleep at the wheel, frequently cutting to the wrong people, inserting random and awkward reaction shots from losers, and on one occasion cutting to Penelope Cruz returning from the bathroom for some reason.

In terms of the show format, the pacing was also a mess: the first half was incredibly front-loaded with bloat, such that even several major awards had to be quickly rushed through, with presenters occasionally handing out two gongs in quick succession.

Despite this, the show still clocked in at a stamina-draining 3.5 hours, in large part thanks to the excruciating abundance of commercial breaks peppered throughout.

Simply, the Globes didn't do itself any favours with its off-brand combination of excess padding and a lack of time budgeted for major awards.

2019 may have been a fairly safe and unremarkable year for the Globes, but it sure wasn't a total wash. Here's everything this year's show got right...