SNL hosts awards

It seemed all hope was lost when it was announced that Seth MacFarlane would be hosting the 85th Academy Awards. But then a miracle happened. One award show finally got it right and on Oct. 15th, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced that the hilarious estrogen-powered dynamic duo, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey would be hosting the 2013 Golden Globes.

Using a host for the Golden Globes has only become a practice over the past three years with comedian Ricky Gervais taking the stage and leading the show. With three Golden Globes under his belt, and a familiar face on television, the choice for him to host seemed appropriate. However it was time for the torch to be passed.

This is not to say that when Fey and Poehler take the stage they’ll sugarcoat their gags, but it can be guaranteed that whatever the two have up their sleeves, it will be done tastefully, yet in a manner that will take the audience by surprise.

One of the earliest and most notable performances Fey and Poehler had together on was NBC’s sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. The two teamed up in 2004 to host the sketch The Weekend Update — the first time SNL ever had two female anchors.

Their collaborations did not stop as they starred and worked together in the films Mean Girls and Baby Mama. There is no doubt that when you see these two together there’s no shortage of smart, witty and hilarious laughter.

What is exciting and important to note about having Fey and Poehler host this year is their appeal to people of all different ages. Seen as role models not only to mothers, as they each have children, but also to young girls who are still growing up. Poehler has recently created a YouTube channel called “Smartgirls” honouring young girls in different countries. The two emphasize that success is not garnered by looks but with intelligence, humour and motivation through working with others.

So how does this tie back to the Golden Globes? For starters, in recent years, the hosts of most major award shows have far too often had a negative effect on viewership.

Unable to connect with people of all ages, award shows have fallen into a dark hole of delivering performances that fall short of entertainment. Organizations have to be careful in selecting their hosts to not only represent their respective awards, but to also bring in high ratings.

The decision to have MacFarlane host the Oscars was made in the hopes of drawing a broader audience to the show, not because of his prestige in the film industry. However, Fey and Poehler excel in both film and television. Both have been successful in expanding beyond SNL, creating their own TV shows, and bringing laughs to the silver screen.

When it comes time for the Golden Globes, we won’t need our tissues to wipe away tears of sorrow from another disappointing award show performance. We’ll need them to mop up tears of joy because we’ll be laughing so hard that we can barely contain ourselves.