Critics’ Choice Awards Put Spotlight on ‘La La Land’ and ‘People v. O.J. Simpson’

Patrick Regan

The Critics’ Choice Awards are often among the first awards ceremony of the season, and thus the first indication we have of the awards community’s mood and the first hints we have for our Oscar pool odds. Since being moved up from January to December, this is even more true, and turns the ceremony into 2016’s closing ceremony.

Of course, given that 2016 as a year has already turned into an Internet joke, this left its mark on the tone of the show. This wasn’t helped by the fact that host T.J. Miller of “Silicon Valley” took the stage mere days after his arrest for assaulting an Uber driver. Reports that this fight was started over President-Elect Donald Trump seem all the more fitting, given that while Miller didn’t address his arrest, he couldn’t stop himself from touching the other elephant in the room, the presidential election.

Noting everything from Trump’s notorious Twitter presence to recent allegations of Russian hacking, Miller’s monologue tried to bring it around to why everyone was there and how it might help, but it may have fallen a little flat. Not necessarily because of the conspicuous avoidance of his recent tussle, but because bringing up the topic at all feels a little fruitless. Is this the place? Is this the time? Is there anything that could have been said at the end that made it feel OK?

In terms of the awards themselves, a general broad picture is coming into focus. “La La Land” swept the night, nabbing eight awards and clearly setting itself up as this year’s heavyweight. “Jackie” and “Manchester by the Sea” pulled in second with three awards each. While certainly respectable for both films, it does make it seem like “La La Land” could dominate the table this year.

Meanwhile, on the television side of things, the spread was a little more varied, with only “The People v. OJ Simpson” making a notable splash with four wins. The TV awards also featured a “Most Binge-Worthy Show,” which went to “Outlander.” A bit ironic, considering that the Starz drama was scarcely represented in any of the other nominations.

“Saturday Night Live” scored two awards for Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump and Kate McKinnon’s various characters. McKinnon’s two best-known performances this year were as Hillary Clinton and Kellyanne Conway, so it’s not difficult to see what she was being recognized for.

The Critics’ Choice Awards aired on A&E on Dec. 11.