When Madonna is funnier than Ricky Gervais you know you've got a problem.
After weeks of promising to go for the jugular on Hollywood's biggest stars, Gervais returned to host the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday evening. It was the British comic's third crack at hosting the ceremony presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
It wasn't, however, the comedic blood bath that Gervais had vowed to deliver.
The most dangerous funnyman in Hollywood barely raised an eyebrow in the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the site of this year's ceremony aired on CTV.
There was no shock as Gervais slammed Kim Kardashian, calling her the "trashy," "drunken" and "easily bought" version of Kate Middleton.
There was no indignation when Gervais took aim at Justin Bieber, Colin Firth, NBC and other targets on his hit list.
In fact, barely a hint of a bruised ego could be found in the room after Gervais was done -- other than Antonio Banderas. The actor made a muted retort in Spanish when Gervais introduced him and Salma Hayek as "ridiculously gorgeous specimens."
That's a far cry from 2011's Golden Globe show, which earned scathing reviews for host Gervais and his venomous barbs.
After that controversial performance, Gervais took plenty of victory laps on the talk show circuit for helping to bump the show's ratings.
In 2010, the Golden Globes pulled in 17 million viewers with Gervais hosting the show. The number jumped by five per cent when the plucky star returned as host in 2011.
Gervais also used those talk-show chats to share one message with Hollywood and his critics: "Get over it."
They clearly have, judging by last night's blasé reactions to Gervais' humour.
Some stars, of course, gave this human blowtorch of barbs the thumbs up.
"I thought he was funny as hell," said "Sex and the City" hunk Chris Noth after the show.
Actor Thomas Jane, from the HBO series "Hung," also praised Gervais.
"I like Ricky, He's irreverent. He'll bring in a younger audience," Jane said.
The early media reviews, however, were mixed.
Some papers, such as the Boston Herald, likened Gervais' performance to a "golden slumber." His jokes, the paper decreed, were "tired" and "not worth staying up for."
The Huffington Post called Gervais a "third-time flop."
Others, however, like the Vancouver Sun called Gervais a "golden god" for making the audience laugh with him, not at him.
Even Gervais gave himself rave reviews on that score.
"The crowd was with me this time. They went where I went. It's like they were ready for me this time and it felt pitch-perfect," Gervais told Deadline.com on Sunday.
According to Deadline.com, NBC executive Paul Telegdy insists that Gervais is welcome to host the Golden Globes for a fourth time.
NBC's president of alternative and late-night television said that the controversial Gervais "scored" with his performance.
"It's an incredibly bold and brave thing to take on a hosting job and do it for three consecutive years while facing such level of scrutiny," Telegdy told Deadline.com. "He came out, he was himself, he had a great time and he was backed by the biggest stars. I laughed heartily throughout."
Until a deal is signed, the world will have to speculate on the merits of another Globes telecast hosted by Gervais.
For now, however, Gervais' much-hyped appearance on the 2012 Globes says volumes about fame in Hollywood these days.
You make it big then you play it safe. That is the crime that Gervais was guilty of at the 2012 Golden Globes.
