The wires are still full of reactions to Ricky Gervais' Golden Globes performance. He really, really got under some people's skin. Don't know if that's the case with Robert Downey, but he felt compelled to note the jibes and issue a barb of his own:

It's not that the "Betty Ford" and LA County jail lines are cruel, they're just not particularly funny. More reactions:

Kind? Many words you can use to describe Gervais, but very kind is about as accurate as slightly chubby. Now he's all slimmed down, and good for him. He may never do anything as brilliant as "The Office," but a lot of people, your correspondent included, will watch just about anything he does. Let us be blunt: many comics are not exactly edumacated people, and Gervais is a sharp enough fellow. But aside from the crack about helping someone off the john and putting his teeth back in, nothing about the cracks seemed particularly clever or witty. The shock value came from hearing someone say things about famous people that just isn't said in the usual self-congradulatory tongue-bath of an awards show. Like this:

Perhaps the glee consisted of someone doing an old-style roast in non-roast context. Here's another review:

This only works if A) he's funny, and B) he's regarded as a peer. If it comes from someone who's never had a hit or any sort of success in the industry, then it's sour grapes and jealousy.