Golden Globes 2011 big winner: 'Social Network'

If the Golden Globes are indeed a harbinger of the Academy Awards, Sunday night's 68th ceremony went a long way toward confirming all the perceived front-runners going into next month's ceremony. "The Social Network," already being talked up as a shoo-in for the best picture Oscar, won four Golden Globes: best picture (drama), best director, best screenplay and best score.

Best picture (musical or comedy) went to "The Kids Are All Right," director Lisa Cholodenko's story of a lesbian couple and their children. "Toy Story 3" won best animated film - why did they bother nominating anything else?

The Golden Globes, which are given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (in other words, foreign journalists covering the movie beat), divide comedy from drama in the acting categories. Usually, come Oscar time, the drama winner is a major contender, while the Globe winner for best actor (musical or comedy) is a longshot or is overlooked altogether.

That tendency may be repeated at this year's Oscars. Colin Firth continued his "King's Speech" progress toward most of this year's major prizes, with a win in the drama category, while Paul Giamatti won in the musical or comedy division for "Barney's Version." Both awards were much deserved.

But it's the actress competition that's most interesting this year. Natalie Portman won best actress (drama) for "Black Swan." An hour earlier, Annette Bening won best actress (comedy) for "The Kids Are All Right." Those victories define the Oscar battle for next month. In a matter of weeks, one of those women will have an Oscar on her mantel.

Sunday night's ceremony was a mix of the awful and the interesting. Occasionally, people came onstage to give out awards without being introduced, and even I had no idea who they were. Some of the introductions were abominably slapdash, containing tongue twisters such as "inspiringly written" and words of meaningless praise, such as the movie described as showing us a "world of originality."

People tripped over their clothes, and Ricky Gervais, who specializes in the comedy of discomfort, made everyone uncomfortable - the people onstage as well as the viewers at home - with his occasionally hilarious but often vicious introductions of the presenters.

Robert Downey Jr. described Gervais' comments as "hugely mean-spirited with sinister undertones." Tim Allen addressed Gervais from the stage: "You are a sad, strange little man," Allen said. "You have my pity." If he wasn't serious, he deserves a Golden Globe of his own.

At the Globes, the separation between the audience and the stage is not as much as at the Oscars. The audience sits at tables, and, when someone steps out of the audience to come onstage, there's the sense of seeing people halfway between their private and public selves. Everyone who was anyone seemed to be there. Johnny Depp was there in his Johnny Depp costume (dark suit, dark glasses). Just before a commercial, viewers at home could see Angelina Jolie adjusting Brad Pitt's tie. Was that a clip-on?

The awards have traditionally been something of a romp, with half the audience drunk and the other half very drunk, but recent years have seen an unwelcome note of reverence enter the proceedings. Not this year.

This year, Robert De Niro won the Golden Globe for life achievement, the Cecil B. DeMille Award - the award that had Harrison Ford all choked up a few years ago. But De Niro took this as an occasion for a stand-up routine at the Hollywood Foreign Press' expense. It was clear he couldn't care less about this award. Thus, the night began to take on the quality of a party at a nerd's house, in which all the popular kids show up and have fun, and eat and drink, then leave without saying goodbye.

In the movie supporting categories, "The Fighter" picked up two awards for the transformative work of Christian Bale and Melissa Leo.

In the screenplay category, Aaron Sorkin picked up his award for "The Social Network" by asserting that the "people who watch movies are just as smart as the people who make movies." That's a sentiment worth encouraging.

Best song went to "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," sung by Cher in "Burlesque." In her remarks, songwriter Diane Warren remembered the late Ronni Chasen, the publicist who was slain on the night of the film's Los Angeles premiere.

In the TV category, the musical comedy series "Glee" dominated, picking up three major awards, including best TV series (musical or comedy), supporting actress for Jane Lynch and supporting actor for Chris Colfer. Steve Buscemi won best actor in a TV drama for "Boardwalk Empire." The series also won best TV drama.

Claire Danes won best actress in a TV movie or miniseries for "Temple Grandin." Best actress in a comedy went to Laura Linney for "The Big C." Linney wasn't there to pick up the prize: Her father, the playwright Romulus Linney, died the day before.

Winners list: Find out who won and who didn't. D3

E-mail Mick LaSalle at mlasalle@sfchronicle.com.