Golden Globes 2012: 20 Big Moments

Ricky Gervais jokes about Jodie Foster's Beaver

The saucy Brit mostly played it safe during the ceremony, but he still managed to thoroughly embarrass Jodie Foster by mentioning her Beaver (the Mel Gibson film she directed last year). Foster gamely laughed along and reached for a bottle of wine.

Ricky Gervais teases Johnny Depp about The Tourist

For the second year in a row, the host ribbed Depp about his role in 2010's tepidly received The Tourist (which, mind you, was nominated for Best Picture Musical or Comedy last year), asking if the actor had actually ever watched the film. Depp admitted that he hadn't.

Christopher Plummer delivers a grand acceptance speech

And the award for most heartfelt acceptance speech goes to... Christopher Plummer! The veteran Canadian actor, honored for his supporting work in Beginners, warmly joked about his castmate Ewan McGregor, whom he called "swine," and then graciously thanked his wife. Said Plummer, "[Her] bravery and beauty haunt me still."

(Editor's note: We regret originally mistakenly identifying Christopher Plummer's nationality.)

Laura Dern wins for Enlightened

The actress took home a surprise win for her work on HBO's Enlightened, which no doubt had EW critic Ken Tucker cheering.

Teleprompter breaks for Rob Lowe and Julianne Moore

While presenting the award for best miniseries or TV movie, Rob Lowe and Julianne Moore were left helpless when a teleprompter stopped scrolling script. After an awkward — and very entertaining — few seconds, an unseen production aide handed Moore a paper script to read from.

Jimmy Fallon shows off his ''Moves Like Jagger''

The Late Night host, joined onstage by Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine, riffed on the band's hit ''Moves Like Jagger,'' showing off a few Jagger-inspired moves of his own.

Seth Rogen makes Kate Beckinsale blush

Standing onstage with the beautiful Kate Beckinsale, Rogen brazenly commented, ''I'm trying to conceal a massive erection.'' The crowd guffawed as Beckinsale giggled and blushed.

Michelle Williams remembers Marilyn Monroe

The My Week With Marilyn star won the award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, and during her acceptance speech, Williams took time to remember the fact that Marilyn Monroe won that very award for her performance in Some Like It Hot in 1960.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson photo-bombs Eric Stonestreet

Leave it to the Modern Family cast to prank each other when their castmates are on camera. Ferguson's ''Whatever'' card wasn't the only cameo last night, either. Tina Fey made sure to lean into Amy Poehler's shot as well.

George Clooney mocks Brad Pitt by using a cane

When Clooney took to the stage to present a clip from Moneyball, he made sure to poke fun at his longtime friend Brad Pitt, who recently injured his knee. Clooney borrowed Pitt's cane for his walk from the wings.

Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy serenade nominees

The husband and wife duo sang their support for the Best Supporting Actress nominees with a made-up jingle that provided a nice zing to the somewhat predictable evening.

Madonna and Gervais face off

After Gervais implied that he didn't think Madonna was very much ''Like a Virgin,'' the W.E. director shot back at the host. ''If I'm still like a virgin, Ricky, then why don't you come over here and do something about it?'' she deadpanned before adding, ''I haven't kissed a girl in a few years.''

Claire Danes remembers to thank her parents

The Homeland actress shared that when she won the Best Actress in a Drama trophy at age 15 for her role in My So-Called Life, she burst into tears upon leaving the Golden Globes stage because she'd forgotten to thank her parents. This time around, Danes made sure to offer a heartfelt thanks to her mom and dad.

Octavia Spencer stunned to win

The Help's breakout star was visibly shocked when her name was called for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama. Spencer could barely contain her excitement onstage, exclaiming, ''I'm shaking. I'm going to fall out of my high heels!''

Helen Mirren sure loves Morgan Feeman

Sidney Poitier and Helen Mirren presented Morgan Freeman with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and Dame Mirren had nothing but lovely things to say about the veteran actor. ''Morgan Freeman has been in over 50 films and I've only been in one,'' she lamented. ''Why couldn't Miss Daisy have been English?''

Sofia Vergara accepts award in Spanish

The Modern Family actress represented the show, which won Best TV Series (Comedy), by delivering a speech in Spanish, which producer Steven Levitan ''translated'' into phrases like, ''Ladies, give our writers your phone numbers. They may look pasty but they are the best lovers I've ever had.''

Ricky Gervais/Jean Dujardin/Meryl Streep all bleeped

The latter half of the telecast was sprinkled with expletives that had censors silencing bits of dialogue. Gervais, while introducing Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas, quipped that he ''couldn?t understand a f---ing thing they were saying.'' Streep said ''S---" when she realized she'd forgotten to bring her glasses to the stage. Dujardin, meanwhile, wasn't actually bleeped — he simply mouthed the last line of his speech in honor of his silent film The Artist.

George Clooney tries to bring Meryl Streep her glasses

When Meryl Streep realized she'd forgotten her glasses and couldn't read her acceptance speech, an A-list assembly line quickly formed to get her her spectacles. George Clooney carried the frames over to director David Fincher, who just couldn't bring himself to step onto the stage and interrupt Streep.

Dog from 'The Artist' takes the stage

Uggie, the small dog who appears in The Artist, scampered onstage with the rest of the cast to accept the award for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), thereby attracting about ten straight seconds of cute-canine-loving ''Awwws.''

George Clooney compliments Michael Fassbender's package

Michael Fassbender may not have won any official awards, but George Clooney (who charmed throughout the show) gave the actor a commendation of another sort. He thanked Fassbender for taking over the ''frontal nudity responsibilities'' with his very naked performance in Shame and complimented Fassbender's endowment as well. ''Really, Michael, honestly, you can play golf like this with your hands behind your back,'' George joked while making a pelvic golf-swing motion.