If the Oscars are the main course, the SAG Awards the salad and the Golden Globes the drinks and appetizer, the Critics’ Choice Awards are like the bread basket. If you’re hungry for something it’s fine to nibble on, but once the rest of the courses come in you’re most likely to forget its existence.

Still, with the Globes three days away, I’m hungry, so I watched. Some highlights:

• Because of Slumdog Millionaire’s multiple wins, we got to hear that really catchy dance number “Jaiho” a total of five times.
• I was amused by the addition of the “house band” Rooney (fronted by Robert Schwartzman, son of Talia Shire, brother of Jason, nephew of Coppola), who got to translate A-Ha’s “Take on Me” into walk-on music for Amy Adams and the “Rocky” theme for Dustin Hoffman. Wonder if the stars got to suggest their own cues?
• I got slightly teared up when the room, filled to the brim with A-listers, stood up for Heath Ledger when he posthumously won Best Supporting Actor for The Dark Knight, with his black-and-white mug filling the screens.
• What a dismay that Kate Winslet, always the bridesmaid, finally won an award (Best Supporting Actress for The Reader) but was not there to accept. If she loses all the other awards this season we’ll have been deprived of seeing her finally give an acceptance speech.
• In a surprise, Meryl Streep (Doubt, who was not present) and Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) tied for Best Actress.  Hathaway, who exclaimed, “I know how to not be nominated for awards!” In what may or may not have been a reference to her tumultuous personal year, she tearfully thanked her dad “for showing me that there are good men in this world.”
• Sean Penn was nowhere to be found during the first award (Best Ensemble) which went to his film Milk. (”He’s parking the car,” joked his co-stars Emile Hirsch and Josh Brolin, who were on hand to accept) He was, however, there at the end to accept Best Actor. “At heart, this was a beauty contest so I had an advantage,” he said to his fellow nominees, who included Brad Pitt, Clint Eastwood, Mickey Rourke, and Richard Jenkins.

Here’s the complete list of winners:
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actor: Sean Penn, Milk
Best Actress: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married and Meryl Streep, Doubt (tie)
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader
Best Acting Ensemble: Milk
Best Writer: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Documentary Feature: Man on Wire
Best Foreign Language Film: Waltz With Bashir
Best Young Actor/Actress: Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Animated Feature: Wall-E
Best Comedy Movie: Tropic Thunder
Best Action Movie: The Dark Knight
Best Score: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Song: “The Wrestler,” Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler
Best Picture Made for Television: John Adams

What it is: The stage to film adaptation of the hugely successful
musical based on the songs of the widely popular pop group, ABBA; Mamma Mia
opens with Sophie (Amanda Seyfriend), a 20 year old bride-to-be desperately
seeking the identity of her father. After discovering her mother, Donna’s
(Meryl Streep) diary and the names of three potential fathers; she decides to
invite all three men without her mother’s knowledge and without informing the
men of her true intentions. Set on the enchanting Greek isle, Kalokairi, the
story unfolds as the three men; American businessman Sam Carmichael (Pierce
Brosnan), Swedish adventurer Bill Andersson (Stellan Skarsgard), and British
banker Harry Bright (Colin Firth) arrive for the wedding much to the surprise
and horror of Donna. As Sophie gets to know each man, hoping to discover her
father’s identity; Donna is forced to face her past and open her heart with the
help of her two best friends; fun-loving writer Rosie (Julie Walters) and rich
three-time divorcée Tanya (Christine Baranski). Meanwhile, each of the three
men discovers that Sophie could be their own flesh and blood and promise to
walk her down the aisle unbeknownst to the other! The romance and comedy
continue as one contagious song and dance number breaks out after another until
you’ll find yourself off the couch and singing along.

Why it is significant: Grossing over $569M in the box office worldwide,
Mamma Mia is the most successful Hollywood film musical of all time and
the only film of its size to release a separate sing a long version in
theaters. With musical numbers starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan (who
knew!), Mamma Mia’s breathtaking scenery, attractive male leads, and nonstop
fun make it a must have DVD for mothers, daughters, lovers, ABBA groupies, and
musical fans alike. As the plot thickens, passion grows, and hilarity continues
you won’t be able to contain a smile or the urge to sing along. And you won’t
want to wait to watch it again.