The New York Times-20080128-Less Preening- More Fun and a Touch of Dignity at Awards Show

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Less Preening, More Fun and a Touch of Dignity at Awards Show

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Some awards shows are born great, some achieve greatness and some are thrust upon us. Like England watching with trepidation in 1936 as an untried Duke of York replaced the abdicating Edward VIII, viewers enjoyed a happy surprise Sunday night.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards moved fast, looked effortless and fun and turned out to be a worthy substitute for the more glamorous Golden Globes and, should the writers' strike continue, maybe even the Oscars.

The show, which was allowed by the Writers Guild, went on without a preening master of ceremonies or any long production numbers. No winners felt the need to weep about their mothers or their political opinions. Even the salutes to the guild's 75-year history were for the most part brisk and entertaining. Like the Golden Globes, the awards covered both film and television. And as in past Globe ceremonies, the stars were seated at tables like guests at a dinner party.

That stylish informality spilled into the acceptance speeches, which for the most part were short and all the sweeter for it. Tina Fey, who won the award for best female actor in a television comedy, credited her co-star Alec Baldwin with making her look good, saying their scenes together are like watching Fred Astaire dance with a hatrack; after a while, you're, like, 'That hatrack is pretty good too.'

Mr. Baldwin won for best actor in a television comedy but was not there to accept his statuette. (Possibly he was out with another hatrack.)

After so many years of hearing prizes referred to as the Emmy or the Oscar, it was a little odd for viewers to hear presenters say, And the actor goes to... but presumably, no winner wants to hear, and the SAG goes to...

These awards are described as actors honoring actors, and accordingly there are categories for ensemble work and this year even stunt ensembles. It's an insiders' acknowledgment that a great show is rarely the result of a single great performance, but it's also like a children's game where every player gets a prize. (When an ensemble takes the stage, however, it forces a whole lot of people to look happy for a whole lot of other people.)

There were few upsets, and The Sopranos sweep early in the evening was almost a letdown. That HBO series has already won every imaginable award many times over, so its valedictory star turn Sunday night was a little like F.D.R.'s fourth term: worthy, well deserved but an awful lot of a good thing. (Congress may have to pass an amendment to prevent a seventh season.)

Most awards shows wallow in every opportunity for sentiment and posturing, numbing audiences more than moving them. The evening's restrained and dignified treatment of the writers' strike was more effective. So were the references to the death of Heath Ledger. Daniel Day-Lewis dedicated his award to Mr. Ledger, who died last week. A tribute to recently deceased actors that included clips of Kitty Carlisle, Jane Wyman, Deborah Kerr and Robert Goulet added a still photograph of Mr. Ledger as a sad postscript.

The evening was so speedy that viewers were not given a chance to linger over movie stars decked out in designer finery, though the camera did its best by repeatedly panning the table of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Before the event, both the E! channel and the TV Guide Network made up for lost red-carpet time with even more inane who-are-you-wearing interviews than usual. The E! anchor Ryan Seacrest, the Bert Parks of red-carpet coverage, was sick, leaving his co-anchor, Giuliana Rancic, in charge. She mostly focused on her own fame, telling Eva Longoria Parker about her personal struggle with tabloid rumors that she may be pregnant, and the whole world about her choice of Spanx. (No one told her that there is no I in E!)

The ceremony was intended to show support for the Writers Guild, but it also demonstrated that when it comes to award-show writing, less is more.