Best presenter: Amy Poehler. Thanks to the Emmy gods for not making us wait too long to to give us our fix of Poehler (or as Seth Meyers introduced her, “My friend, Beyoncé”), who presented the first award of the night: “Best onscreen orgasm in a Civil War reenactment” — aka Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. (But we’re cool if the Academy decides to slip that category in next year.)
Best co-presenters: Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers. The former “Saturday Night Live” pals ran through all the ways to introduce “True Detective” Season 1 stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson (“Two gentlemen whose names are also items at marijuana dispensaries”?!?) before ultimately settling on, “The only two actors in Hollywood not rumored to be starring in Season 2 of ‘True Detective.’” Ha! Clever. Though we’re still bitter about that.
Best payoff to a joke: Julia Louis Dreyfus and Bryan Cranston (aka Clark Gable, aka Sneaky Pete). Fun fact! Cranston played Julia’s love interest on “Seinfeld,” a fact that she just can’t seem to remember even after he reveals they “had a kissing scene together.” Cut to several minutes later: Julia gets up to accept her award for Lead Actress in a Comedy and, well, let’s just say no one will ever forget: “Yeah, he was on ‘Seinfeld.’”
Best front for a Matthew McConaughey roast: The Emmys! I mean, we understand the Television Academy’s desire to milk the Oscar-winner’s presence at their lil ol’ awards show for all it’s worth — but how many “alright, alright, alright” jokes can the American public take in one year?
Well if it’s Jimmy Kimmel delivering it, we’d say just about one more:
Best #realtalk moment: Jimmy Fallon tells the crowd, “For all our success, we will never make as much money as Kim Kardashian did for that game app.” (Sadly, not much has changed since Fallon’s 2010 Emmys #realtalk moment.)
Best unintentional audition for next year’s Emmys hosting gig: Billy Eichner.
Best crafty use for an Emmy trophy you’ll never see on Pinterest: Bathroom Key Fob
Best delivery of a not-so-great joke (and they know it!): Allison Janney and Octavia Spencer.
Best goodbye: Billy Crystal (and the entire TV community) to Robin Williams. Crystal took to a darkened, empty stage to honor the memory of his longtime friend and late comedy star by sharing a few personal stories. A short montage of some of his funniest moments followed, ending with a eerily touching clip of Williams recounting a conversation with his son.
What was your favorite moment of the night?
