"Thank f--- that's over," Ricky Gervais wrote on his blog Tuesday, referring to his gig hosting Sunday night's Golden Globes. The British comedian also confirmed that this year's hosting stint — his third in a row — would be his last. That seems to be fine with his many critics. Though he was criticized last year for being too mean, thanks to jabs at A-listers like Robert Downey, Jr. and Johnny Depp, Gervais teased that he would be just as ruthless at this year's ceremony. So color Hollywood shocked when Gervais turned out to be only mildly mean — and often, somewhat polite. After that "letdown," is Gervais' refusal to return next year a good thing?
Good riddance: Gervais' hosting turn was just like a movie, says Tim Goodman at The Hollywood Reporter, at least in the sense that it was "oversold to the point" where the audience was quite "underwhelmed" when they saw it. Given the "expectation of apocalypse," Gervais' few tame jokes about Eddie Murphy and extremely dated shots at Madonna were "such a letdown." Gervais doesn't deserve all the blame for a boring show — but he should be faulted for leading "a lot of people to believe he was going to be a very naughty boy," and then failing to deliver.
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