Meryl Streep, ‘La La Land,’ ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Atlanta’ Conquer the Golden Globes

Alex Aronson

“Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence and when the powerful use their position to bully others – we all lose.” Those were the words that Cecil B. DeMille recipient Meryl Streep spoke to a room full of teary-eyed stars as she accepted the lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 8. In her speech, directed towards President-elect Donald Trump, Streep encouraged the audience to support the Committee to Protect Journalists “because we’re going to need them going forward and they’re going to need us to safeguard the truth.”

Of course, the night was not all-political commentary – however it did manage to pop up steadily throughout the broadcast. The host, Jimmy Fallon, opened the show with a musical opening inspired by “La La Land,” that included a line on the order of “not all the nominees are white.”

His pal Justin Timberlake also participated in the Fallon opening. It was not surprising to see Fallon open with a musical number, but his humor didn’t quite hold up to the amount of laughs that recent hosts Tina Fey, Amy Poehler or Ricky Gervais were able to generate in previous years.

The big winner of the night was “La La Land.” The Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling film smashed records for bringing home the most Golden Globe statues ever for a motion picture, including best motion picture musical or comedy, best original song, best actor in a musical or comedy, best screenplay and best director.

The film also garnered Emma Stone a first time Golden Globe victory for best actress in a musical or comedy. During her acceptance, Stone dedicated the award to “dreamers” in an inspirational speech stating, “I think that hope and creativity are two of the most important things in the world… [and] to any creative people who’ve had the door slammed in their face… or anybody anywhere that feels like giving up sometimes, but finds it within themselves to get up… I share this with you.”

Other big winners of the night included “Moonlight” in the best motion picture drama category, “Atlanta” for best television series comedy,  Casey Affleck for best actor in a motion picture drama for “Manchester By The Sea,” and the Netflix original series “The Crown,” which took home two awards for best television drama and best actress television drama.

Not surprisingly, “The People V. OJ Simpson” was awarded its rightful crown as the best limited series for television – and Sarah Paulson was once again recognized for her remarkable portrayal as prosecuting attorney Marcia Clarke. Fallon had channeled Chris Rock, in the opening, with a riotous riff predicting that the winners for the series would thank their agents, but “no one gonna thank O.J.”

Kristen Wiig and Steve Carell served up a hilarious bit when presenting the award for best animated picture. The funny duo reminisced about the first animated movies they remember seeing. For Carell, it was “”Fantasia” when he was 6 years old. Carell went on to add that when he and his dad left the theater, his mom was waiting in the lobby and that’s the moment when she asked for a divorce. Wiig, not to be outdone, topped his story by saying the day she saw “Bambi” was the same day her family had to put her three dogs down – and it was also the last day she saw her grandpa. Their dead-pan deliveries made the crowd burst into hysterics. The bit makes us only hope that perhaps Wiig and Carell could one day host the show.

Viola Davis made a stirring speech in introducing Streep for her award, noting that during their time together on the set of “Doubt,” she was too intimated to express her admiration – despite her husband’s repeated demands that she do so. Davis’ long, heartfelt introduction and presentation allowed her to make up for that lapse.

For a night that is usually filled with laughs, Streep’s speech definitely made the biggest impression – for it isn’t just the magnitude of the actress’s work, but the power of her words that leave a mark. The Globes typically serve as the formal opening to the awards show season, as they usually set the precedent for the forthcoming Academy Awards – and this year it seems that “Moonlight” and “La La Land” will be racing neck and neck for the top honor.

The 74th Golden Globe Awards is available for streaming on NBC.com.