Another day, another award ceremony — and all the looks, speeches, and viral moments that come with it. Last night, the Critics’ Choice Awards presented their 29th annual evening, awarding directors, actors, producers, and more for their contributions to the film and television industry. And, though it may have had the same host as last year (shout out to Chelsea Handler for her hilariously pointed jokes), it was a one-of-a-kind event full of sweet surprises. Aside from the obvious Barbenheimer scores, The Bear, Poor Things, and The Holdovers were declared top of the top by the panel of esteemed judges, with their leads crowned the best actors and actresses of the year. In addition to the traditional trophies, the critics honoured America Ferrera with the SeeHer award, and Harrison Ford with the Lifetime Achievement accolade.

Between the glitz and the glamour, the hilarious moments caught on camera, and the heartfelt camaraderie that permeated through our screens, it was truly a night to remember. Scroll for our top six highlights from the evening…

If there’s one meme from the night, it’s this. While many anticipated a Barbie win for the category, it seemed even Ryan Gosling himself did not expect his song to come out on top. Nominated amongst co-stars Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish, he was certainly was in good company — and looked utterly stunned hearing his name called out by the presenters. Gosling even chose to stay seated, letting writers Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt accept the award without him. “Ryan Gosling, this is just as much your award as ours,” they shared. “You made the audience fall in love with this song with your performance.”

Addressing Gerwig, they thanked her for allocating “11 minutes for this prog-rock, power-ballad, dream-ballet, shred fest so the boys could cry and hold hands a little too.” While the win was a bit surprising, “I’m Just Ken” has truly become a viral sensation, and we think it deserves all the love and recognition.

Just one week after Jo Koy’s disastrous Golden Globes performance, Chelsea Handler took to the stage at the Critics’ Choice Awards to poke some subtle jabs at her ex-boyfriend’s monologue. The comedian made sure to address Koy’s poorest points, receiving a sea of laughter with her joke, “unfortunately, Martin Scorsese isn’t here tonight, but that’s not going to stop me from letting everyone in this room know that I would toss him around like a little Italian meatball.” Shortly after, she added, “thank you for laughing at that. My writers wrote it”, a reference to Koy’s panicked reaction just a week earlier. We must say Chelsea handled the crowd with heaps more poise than Koy. The battle of the best host continues!

If you managed to get through America Ferrera’s full acceptance speech without tearing up, you might be alone. Presented to her by Barbie co-star Margot Robbie, the eighth annual SeeHer Award honours Ferrera’s boundary-pushing work advocating for gender equality and equal representation. From her sweet portrayal of Carmen in 2005’s The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to her five-year run as Ugly Betty’s titular role, and all the way to her record-breaking speech as Gloria in this year’s biggest film, Ferrera has built an empire of a career — bringing strong, authentic, and multi-dimensional Latina characters to life in ways she never saw on mainstream television growing up.

“It seemed impossible that anyone could make a career portraying fully dimensional Latina characters,” she shared while accepting the award. “I grew up as a first-generation Honduran American girl in love with TV, film, and theatre who desperately wanted to be a part of a storytelling legacy that I could not see myself reflected in. Of course, I could feel myself in characters who were strong and complex, but these characters rarely, if ever, looked like me. I yearned to see people like myself on screen as full humans.” Standing on stage with the prestigious award in hand, it is clear how much Ferrera has accomplished — not only for herself, but for generations to come.

“To me, this is the best and highest use of storytelling: to affirm one another’s full humanity, to uphold the truth that we are all worthy of being seen. Black, Brown, indigenous, Asian, trans, disabled, any body type, any gender — we are all worthy of having our lives richly and authentically reflected.” Chills.

In less than 3 minutes, Harrison Ford made history at yesterday’s ceremony with one of the most emotional moments of the night, eliciting cheers from the crowd. Amidst tears and a heartfelt speech, the 81-year-old actor took home the Critic’s Choice Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in some of the biggest blockbusters of our generation. From Indiana Jones to Star Wars, Apocalypse Now to Blade Runner, it’s easy to see that Ford was indeed the right choice for the night.

The cast of The Holdovers, Alexander Payne’s comedy-drama of the hour, had a big night this Sunday. Lead Paul Giamatti was awarded one of the biggest prizes of the night, defeating big names Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Leonardo DiCaprio (Killers of the Flower Moon), Colman Domingo (Rustin), Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer), and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) to win the Critic’s Choice for Best Actor. Da’Vine Joy Randolph also won the award for Best Supporting Actress, and the rising star Dominic Sessa took home the Best Young Actor/Actress award.

Fashion enthusiasts were in for a treat watching the red carpet at this Sunday’s Critic’s Choice Awards. Amidst all the ruffles, layers, and patterns, two prominent colour trends seemed to have taken over this year’s stylists’ mood boards. From sculptural dresses to elevated suits, it was all about the whites and reds!

Camila Morrone seemed to have elected the beige palette as her official style for the award season, following her white Golden Globes look with a stunning SS22 Couture Chanel number, pairing ruffles and a black velvet bow in the best cool bride style. Dua Lipa, on the other hand, went all-in during her cherry era, matching her iconic red locks to a perfectly constructed Prada dress and Tiffany diamonds.

A showstopper, Barbie’s Greta Gerwig also graced the red carpet in a layered, voluminous, and avant-garde-esque Molly Goddard off-white dress. Playful and bold, it marks a more risqué departure from Gerwig’s traditional fashion choices, yet retains a timeless and sophisticated appeal — we couldn’t be more excited about it. Apart from dresses, The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri once again demonstrated that nothing is more powerful and chic than a woman in a suit, effortlessly rocking an all-white The Row ensemble for the occasion.

Still on the theme, May December’s star Charles Melton looked divine in a red Valentino suit, paired with a white shirt and a black tie. Also taking a step back from the traditional black attire, Tom Holland rocked a brown suit paired with a peach shirt that got us dreaming!