Last night's Oscar show was three hours and 17 minutes long, done before midnight and shorter than previous years. Yet I nearly fell asleep multiple times, and my attention frequently wandered. Was this a result of the writers-strike-addled Oscars? The lack of popular nominees? The many pre-ordained winners? I think it could be any number of things.
Many commentators have said this morning that the clip packages obviously padded the show because of the strike. I have a different take on this: 1) It's the 80th anniversary of the Academy Awards, and the Oscars love an excuse for an anniversary celebration. 2) When don't the Oscars have annoying montages? At least this year's versions had a point! I didn't need Barbra Streisand talking about her win, but I liked seeing the previous 79 Best Picture recipients. (I'd seen 40, my mother 47. She has me beat with all the films from the 1960s.) Remember the year the Oscars decided to do an homage to patriotism? That was lame.
Although Daniel Day-Lewis' and Javier Bardem's wins were near-givens, the lack of an awards season meant that both of their speeches felt fresh. It was also the first time we got to see Helen Mirren and Day-Lewis interact - how fun it was to see him kneel before the Queen, and what plummy-sounding conversation they must have had afterward! While I detested La Vie en Rose and thought the lead performance a case of hammy overacting, I must admit that I enjoyed Marion Cotillard's reaction to winning Best Actress. She was filled with such infectious, overwhelmed joy. Even though English is not her first language, all of us could understand how delighted she was. Tilda Swinton, meanwhile, was an awesome surprise! Entertainment Weekly was the only place I'd seen that called her victory as Best Supporting Actress, but I thought its writers were nutty. I also liked her cheeky reference to George Clooney and his Batman and Robin days in her acceptance speech. I guess Swinton had to do as my "stand-up-and-cheer moment," because I think most hard-core Academy predictors were surprised No End in Sight did not win Best Documentary. Now, Taxi to the Dark Side is a very worthy winner - and it premiered and won at Tribeca, woo hoo! - but it's like a B+ version of No End in Sight.
Other pleasures included seeing The Bourne Ultimatum win all the awards for which it was nominated and hearing "Falling Slowly" live. (It's on my iPod, along with the rest of the Once soundtrack.) However, what were those stupid violins, and why did the camera pan to the orchestra at the end?? The duo from Once was a clear Kodak Theatre favorite, and we should have been able to see Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. And I know I'm the only one, but I liked the Kristin Chenowith-helmed production number from Enchanted, "That's How You Know." On the other hand, ironically, the tune by Amy Adams - you know, Giselle herself - "Happy Working Song," was not a very happy or fun show. Was she even singing live? And why, oh why, did Atonement win Best Score?
As in 2006, Jon Stewart just didn't do it for me, and he didn't seem to be getting a lot out of the audience either. The political jokes seemed soft and derivative; Hillary Clinton calling Away from Her the feel-good movie of the year was a comment you'd hear on Leno or Letterman. Where Stewart isn't a movie person, and this year's flicks were hard to joke about, the monologue wasn't very Oscar-specific - so couldn't I have just gone to a comedy club, or watched The Daily Show? What Stewart did well I really liked: playing with the 11-year-old singer of "Raise It Up," showing how Cate Blanchett is everywhere, and bringing Irglova back on stage after the orchestra rudely cut her off before she could speak for winning Best Song.
Part of me wants to give Stewart a third shot, to see what he could do if he finally had months to prepare. (Of course, a possible Screen Actors Guild strike or, more importantly, the 2008 election would present a problem for 2009.) Then again, maybe the Academy needs to stop picking talk-show giants as their hosts and instead look to one of its own. I'm nominating the King of Hollywood, my friend Sandra's future husband, Time's cover boy: George Clooney.
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1 comment:
Lisa,
A rather "blah" show, I must agree. I certainly appreciated the early ending time!
Obviously, I can't comment on the results having seen so few of the nominees. As you know, my pick for Best Picture - "Gone Baby Gone" - wasn't even nominated.
You're not the only one who enjoyed Kristin Chenowith and "That's How You Know." I thought it was one of the high points of the evening (which is a sad commentary, when you think about it).
As for a future host...George Clooney is an interesting suggestion. It certainly seems that the man can do anything, and it's always a pleasure to just look at him. However, I personally feel the Academy should make Billy Crystal an offer he can't refuse to get him to sign a lifetime contract.
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