Delighted at the sight of Gervais belittling Hollywood elitists who they maintain do likewise to them regularly, the right-wing blogosphere lit up with positive reviews, even while more traditional media was critical of Sunday’s telecast.
Had Gervais “been as relentless in ripping apart Sarah Palin, her young children, Jesus Christ or George W. Bush, today the comedian would be celebrated as ‘edgy’ and ‘courageous’,” noted John Nolte, editor of the website Big Hollywood.
Instead, the Washington Post said Gervais “crashed” and theNew York Times said he was “merciless” and in “bad form.”Philip Berk, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, said some of the things Gervais said “were totally unacceptable.”
Nolte, though, likened Gervais’ jabs at various actors and the HFPA as a much-needed “sucker punch” leveled against elite bullies who do likewise to middle America on a routine basis.
We settle in for some relaxing entertainment at the movies or in front of the TV only to receive an “out-of-nowhere sucker punch aimed at our identity, faith or country. You former Law and Order fans know especially of what I speak,” Nolte blogged.
“And so last night Gervais gave the entertainment industry a little taste of what that sucker punch feels like.”
At Pajamas Media, a conservative and libertarian news organization, CEO Roger Simon wrote that Gervais “has been roundly attacked for being rude to practically everyone, including the HFPA, whose event it was. Problem is: he was right, particularly about the HFPA.”
The U.K’s right-leaning Daily Mail weighed in via a lengthy, positive analysis of Gervais’ performance that was headlined: “Bravo, Ricky Gervais! A risque’ attack on self-loving Tinseltown.”
“The flock didn’t know what to do because it had never encountered such risky mockery,” author Quentin Letts wrote, praising Gervais for his rebellious performance.
“Hollywood and its power brokers hate a rebel. It is a place of groupthink and almost terminal political correctness.”
On Sunday night Gervais, a native of the U.K., earned himself a cult following around the world, Letts opined, as “the man who went to Hollywood and told them what a bunch of self-regarding boobies they are.”
Letts ends his piece with this observation: “Gervais dished up home truths to a Californian showbiz crowd which has long taken itself far too seriously. He did what jesters have done since the days of Shakespeare and before: He held up a mirror to the mighty.”
For response, see: Ricky Gervais, the Golden Globes, Atheism and Sentimental Hogwash
Also in The Hollywood Reporter
