When Lainey and I discussed the show right after it aired, we agreed it wasn’t boring. Some years, sure. But this year it wasn’t boring. There were legitimate races, interesting acceptances, and of course, everyone cringing away from the white-hot glare of Ricky Gervais.
So then why were we subjected to Ferrell and Wahlberg in their 2016 goggles for about fourteen minutes? It would only have been funny if there was NO preamble and they presented the award straight. The endless hours waiting for the ‘gag’ to resolve itself were just inexplicable – unless they weren’t.
Over the holidays a friend of mine got impatient with me sandbagging something I was working on. I just wanted to manage expectations but she huffed at me: “Haven’t you ever heard to ‘Dare to have the confidence of a mediocre white man’?”
I’m not saying anyone in this situation is mediocre. I’m just saying I’m not sure anyone else could get away with using that much time, let alone neither entertaining nor informing us. I guess, if you were going to see that movie, cross your fingers it’s better than this bit? (Lainey: Sarah says it’s not – her review is here.)
