Guilds just don’t get enough love these days. Actors, on the other hand, do. So everything should equal out tonight as the Screen Actors Guild Awards honors actors. Making this one of the best shows of the season is that it’s sponsored by Taittinger which means bubbly bottles easily within reach of all the A-List nominees. Like the Golden Globes, the SAGs honor TV and movies. But it just focuses on performances. No pesky music or directors getting in the way of champagne-fueled A-Listers.
Get This Party Started
The show usually opens with celebs at their tables, giving an amusing anecdote from their career and saying how proud they are to be an actor. However, in the year of the #MeToo movement, the stories could be more personal with a social tone.
Also for the first time, the SAGs have a host. Kristin Bell will try to navigate the festivities. She’s done great self-deprecating humor with stars in the past, so her first foray as host of a big(ish) awards show has potential to be funny.
Dark Horses Run Strong at SAGs
While the Globes, EMMYs, and Oscars tend to coalesce around the same winners, the SAGS, which are voted on by actors only, tend to do their own thing. And in a year where many categories are down to one or two realistic winners, this show could honor some dark horses.
Movie Actor is pretty wide open. Ballots aren’t due until Friday, so scandal-tinged James Franco is probably out. But if Timothée Chalamet is gonna take something home this season, the SAGs are probably his best shot.
Sally Hawkins & Frances McDormand both turned in amazing performances and split wins at the Golden Globes and the Critic’s Choice awards. Saoirse Ronan won a Globe in the Comedy/Musical category, so she could repeat here in Movie Actress.
Sam Rockwell is a prohibitive favorite in Movie Supporting Actor, but Richard Jenkins was subtly amazing in The Shape of Water and could get some love tonight.
TV Time
Over on TV, which has arguably had a much better year than their big screen brethren, and Actor in a Comedy Series is pretty intriguing. Voters have a chance to go retro as two nominees are in the midst of a revival: Larry David for Curb Your Enthusiasm & Sean Hayes in Will & Grace, while Shameless and William H. Macy have been around so long you could have dropped the show, picked it up again and it would feel like a revival. But this category is gonna offer a surprise: Anthony Anderson in black-ish or Aziz Ansari in Masters of None.
Actress in a Comedy Series, however, is no contest. Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Hands down. The Guild may have already shipped the statue to her house. She leads an amazing show that never seems to get stale, and will have an incredibly personal story to share when she accepts. Also look for the entire crew to get up on stage when the show wins Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
The Critic Recommends
..that you Pop a Bottle of Taittinger, turn on the SAGs, and watch along with us on Twitter and Instagram.
Cheers!
Critic's Cocktail 