The Oscar ceremony is over … at last.
Some random thoughts on the just-wrapped telecast – and please share your thoughts via the WWTW poll to the right:
- Not bad, not bad at all. The pace was quicker than usual even if the ceremony crept past midnight EST.
- The co-host gimmick worked … to a point. Both Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin fired off some smart one-liners, but they looked stiff working together. Martin could have pulled off the gig quite nicely solo … and he had the best lines anyway. Still, some of their shtick seemed cooked up minutes before showtime.
- A beautiful tribute to John Hughes – any excuse to show clips from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is a good thing.
- Lots of tributes to the men and women in the Armed Forces. Nice. But funny how apolitical the show gets when a Democrat is in the White House? Where’s the talk of illegal wars, occupation, etc.? Aren’t the same two wars still in play? Why no political jokes in the monologue?
- I miss Billy Crystal.
- The extended Best Actor/Best Actress introductions must stop. Too long, and by the time they appear the show is already three hours long. And for every touching moment (Michelle Pfeiffer on Jeff Bridges) we get a painful one (Colin Farrell sharing drinking memories – or lack thereof – about Jeremy Renner.
- Thanks for the video tribute to great horror movies. Now why doesn’t the Academy nominate a horror film now and then? And why include several snippets from “Leprechaun?”
- Where are all the movie stars? I’m sorry, but Keanu Reeves, Demi Moore and Taylor Lautner simply don’t count.
- Some great speeches tonight: Best of the best? Sandra Bullock – funny, emotional, wacky and endearing. Even the Russian judges gave it a 10. Mo’Nique’s moment rocked, too. Jeff Bridges went on too long, but had enough “Dude” moments to be forgiven.
- Let’s salute women (well) over 40, a demographic Hollywood usually loathes. Sigourney Weaver, Helen Mirren and Kathryn Bigelow all looked stunning.
- WWTW got 15 right in the Oscar pool I participated in …
Related posts:
on 
on 
on 
on 
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I have to disagree about Mo’Nique’s speech, at first she said it was great they made her vote about performence not politics, then proceeds to make her acceptence speech all about race, or would it be racial politics?
She should have just thanked the people and left it at that.
Streisand’s introduction for best director also turned me off, (whether she wrote it or not I don’t know), but it was made to be about race and feminism and if one of the white guys had one it would have framed their win as being based on racism and sexism.
A commenter that Nikki Finke singled out also pointed out something that rubbed me the wrong way.
“The first two minutes of the 82nd Academy Awards included a pot joke, a joke about prison anal rape, puns about masturbation, drinking, and sex. WAY TO KEEP IT CLASSY, Hollywood!”
Let me add there were also whore and threesomes jokes, I don’t condsider myself a prude but there is a time and place for everything.
The dance number during the playing of the nominated scores was boring as hell. I like Neil Patrick Harris but he either doesn’t have the singing chops or was just having a bad night.
Martin and Baldwin did okay, my only complaint about their performance is that while Martin looked relaxed and comfortable, Baldwin seemed to have this hunched shoulder, stiff armed thing going on that was either betraying his nervousnous or perhaps he was wearing a girdle that was pushing his arms up like that.
Opus – I agree the first few minutes were coarse, but then things settled down nicely.
And Streisand’s comments were clunky and inappropriate. They did a disservice to the three other Best Director nominees who didn’t fit into a particular “category.”
And Neil Patrick Harris doesn’t appear to have a great voice – and his musical number was utterly unecessary. But the clunky moments were front loaded – and for an Oscar telecast the entertainment value was front and center. Loved Ben Stiller, too. Used the extended comic pause to superior effect, something Steve and Alec couldn’t repeat.
The best thing about the night was Katheryn Bigelow, hands down. Not only is she finally getting her due after decades of excellent directing, but she used the opportunity to thank our troops, not to insult them. And when her film won Best Picture, she thanked them again. More of this please, Hollywood.
And I miss Billy Crystal too.
Hi Toto,
I completely agree about the extended best actor/actress presentations, while sweet, it can be extremely cheesy and a waste of time. However, I do like Neil Patrick Harris, even if his voice isn’t the best, I don’t think it’s meant to be. And all hail the Dude. One question though: Can anyone enlighten me as to why Clooney looked so grumpy? I hear that he and Alec Baldwin are nemeses.
- I Ti’Vo’d (don’t we all?) but FWIW it seemed that the slouching beast arrived at Cinderella time: just before midnight.
- Baldwin and Martin definitely better in concept than in execution; also on the bandwagon for the Return of Crystal (but wary of his having passed his prime during this interregnum)
- Hollywood remains business-conservative beneath the veneer, but definitely the self-congratulatory marketing events are produced by liberal- biased personnel: your observations are spot-on.
- “Leprechaun” likely made the horror cameo soley b/c of then-unknown, now Hollywood Star Aniston’s presence in the film; IIRC, “The Silence of the Lambs” often is classified as a horror, and of course there is “The Exorcist.” Still, it HAS been a long time since a nomination (and arguably, a longer time since one has been worthy of a nod).
- I believe Lautner is among the tween-base being groomed for Movie Star ascension, like Zac Efron earlier. That stated, the audience attraction to Movie Stars once was the selling point for televising the Academy Awards. In this era where reality television can elevate the quotidian to the celebrity demographic, perhaps Movie Star status has lost its luster – viewers will tune in even if the red carpet is inhabited by the likes of Tia Tequila and Lindsay Lohan.
- Hollywood does not loathe women over (35, really); it just largely ignores this demographic, much as it does for several other audience/acting demographics (underscoring that it hardly is as Liberal as it likes to portray itself). That stated, those ladies – movie stars/A-listers AND actual mistresses of their craft – are gettin’ it DONE.
D
AnnieB … Clooney has a rep for being a prankster, a good sport. But yeah, he was grumpy looking all night. At first I thought he was putting on an act … but he kept it up. Really odd.
As for Lautner vs. Efron … it’s Efron in a walk. He really shined in “17 Again” and I just don’t see anything movie star like in Lautner (besides his six pack)
82nd Oscars – yawner.
Yeah, it had some decent speeches and a deserved tribute to John Hughes was ok but the overall flow was clunky. And tell me why the clips of Sci-Fi and Fantasy movies were in the tribute to “Horror”. Alien and Aliens, really? Lifeforce is a Sci-Fi Horror movie, not Alien. Leprechaun. C’mon. The stack of real Horror movies is miles long. Couldn’t find anything else, producers?
I don’t miss Billy Crystal, who I found insufferably smug most of the time. However, I did laugh at the musical numbers he sang for the Best Picture nominees. I’ll never forget the year “JFK” was nominated. Instead of “Three Coins in the Fountain”, Crystal sang “Three Shots in the Plaza”. Still can’t believe they aired that one.
“The extended Best Actor/Best Actress introductions must stop.”
AMEN. Awkward.
Honestly, I thought this Academy Award show was a bore. Happy for The Hurt Locker, but alas, Martin and Baldwin didn’t work. They had a few funny skits, but I agree – they seemed stiff. They weren’t really jiving. I did love the introductions tho’. Steve Martin is the best and should have hosted alone… or better yet? Bring back Billy.
AnnieB – At first I thought Clooney’s demeanor was some sort of joke, but then it was just odd. Would have made excellent television if he would have rushed the stage and a Clooney v. Baldwin fight would have ensued. That would have woke up the dozers on the East Coast!
The horror film “salute” was a joke. What the hell was Leprechaun doing there, but not King Kong or Dr . Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (which won Frederic March the first acting award for a horror film)? Can’t have too much black and white in there or the tweens and twentysomethings will revolt like the peasants in Frankenstein, I guess.