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Jimmy Fallon hits all the right notes with delightful Golden Globes opening

The "Tonight Show" host sang up a storm to open the awards, but didn't shy away from sending out multiple political zingers.
/ Source: TODAY

From the moment the 74th Annual Golden Globes kicked off Sunday night, we knew we were in "La La Land."

That's in part because host Jimmy Fallon's pretaped opening was a clear homage to the colorful nominated musical by that name. But he wasn't afraid get political, lacing his opening monologue with multiple jabs at President-Elect Donald Trump.

Image: Host Jimmy Fallon presents during the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards show in Beverly Hills
Host Jimmy Fallon opens the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards show on Jan. 8, 2017.NBC via Reuters

After a brief stumble in which the Teleprompter appeared to actually not be working, Fallon noted in his monologue that the Golden Globes were "one of the few places left where America still honors the popular vote."

He zigzagged from there into introducing the luminaries in the audience, from "La La" nominee Ryan Gosling ("don't Google 'Ryan Gosling pianist'; it's an HR nightmare") to Matt Damon ("we all know Matt Damon from his greatest acting role: Telling Ben Affleck that he liked 'Batman vs. Superman'") to Meryl Streep, nominated for "Florence Foster Jenkins."

"(Streep's) character has been dubbed the 'World's Worst Opera Singer,' and even she turned down performing at Donald Trump's inauguration," zinged Fallon.

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Fallon also noted that "Game of Thrones" was nominated, and referred to a particularly evil king on the show who was killed off a few seasons ago: "A lot of people have wondered what it would have been like if King Joffrey had lived; well, in 12 days we're gonna find out."

And he closed out the monologue by explaining that the ballots for the night were tallied by "Ernst and Young and Putin."

But it wasn't all about groan-worthy politics; Fallon's pretaped opening was advertised as being a must-not-miss event, and we have to agree: It was pretty terrific.

Image: 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Show
Fallon heading into the Beverly Hilton Hotel to host the Golden Globes during his musical opening number.NBC via Getty Images

Referencing "La La Land's" multiple musical numbers, Fallon kicked off the evening stuck in a traffic jam on the Globes red carpet, then jumped out of his vehicle to stride up to the Beverly Hilton, followed by a string of singing, dancing stars.

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That lineup included "Lion" nominee Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams (complete with backup dancers in full orange-safety suits a la "Arrival"), Sarah Paulson, Evan Rachel Wood (dressed as her robotic "Westworld" character), "Mr. Robot's" Rami Malek (carrying a laptop and warning about photos getting leaked) to "Game of Thrones" star Kit Harington, who like his character Jon Snow seemed dead ... and then wasn't!

But our favorite parts came a little later, when Fallon ended up backstage and playing the piano (like Gosling in "La La") to "Deadpool" nominee Ryan Reynolds, and seeing the two swap out a lifesaver together.

"A room full of stars, some from movies, some TV," sang Fallon, "room full of stars, they've been getting drunk since three."

Then he was swept off his feet by frequent comedy partner Justin Timberlake and the two were twirling away into the stars.

What a way to spin into the show!

Follow Randee Dawn on Twitter.