More Oscar Thoughts (fashion and show)

A long-lost Oscar buddy chose to reply to my last blog post over email, the form of communication I used when I wrote back to her. I'm copying and pasting the majority of that email over here as my show review.

How could I forget to mention Goldie Hawn??? My mother and I were aghast when we saw her. Meryl Streep was a beautifully dressed mature woman; in fact, it was the best we'd ever seen her look at an awards show. The dove gray is not my favorite color in the world, but at least Ms. Streep looked age-appropriate. Hawn, on the other hand, continues to think she's her daughter. I don't want to see that much of my own cleavage in the shower, never mind the cleavage of a woman twice my age on the Academy stage.

Brad Pitt also had distracting jewelry. Did he show up in his class ring?

The commentators on the E! fashion-show recap last night said Tilda Swinton was fashion-forward. Eh? I thought it was better than the Hefty bag, but that's not saying much.

THE SHOW:

I've found reaction to Hugh Jackman interesting. Most TV critics have been "meh," but message-board posters have been a lot more positive. I'm with the on-the-couch crowd. I really enjoyed the opening number and him in general. The Steve Martin/Tina Fey patter was awesome, but most comedy stuff doesn't work for hours on end. I'm so glad the Academy decided to go non-comedian for a year.

I thought the grouping of similar awards was a great idea: It sped the show along, and it kept us from suffering through minor stars cluttering up my time. On the other hand, this means we had to sit through killer yearbook filler. Why? Sure, the Judd Apatow short was funny - stoner James Franco watching Milk James Franco was hysterical - and my mother enjoyed the musical sequence (I found it too slapped together), but why were they there?

Also a mess: The presentation of the best-song numbers (again, five songs could've been nominated this year) and the bizarre pan-and-scan during the dead-people montage. I didn't mind Queen Latifah singing - her jazz albums are great - but I didn't know where to focus. It didn't help that I couldn't read the names of some of the people who died.

I really enjoyed the way the acting awards were presented, and it allowed us to see stars we haven't in some time. (Eva Marie Saint: another classily dressed older woman. Goldie? Whoopi? Are you taking notes?) Some of the patter bugged me - see Nicole Kidman introducing Angelina Jolie - but for the most part, the presenters seemed so excited to be introducing their peers' work. I especially enjoyed Swinton on Marisa Tomei, Shirley MacLaine on Anne Hathaway (and Hathaway's reaction), and Robert DeNiro (!!!) on Sean Penn.

As for the winners ... I like Slumdog, but it's overhyped. (I support Best Director for Danny Boyle, though.) I favored Frost/Nixon or Milk. I was thrilled for Sean Penn, although a teeny part of me hoped against hope for Richard Jenkins. I know this is an unpopular sentiment, but I was not rooting for Kate Winslet. I didn't like her in The Reader at all. Had she been nominated for Revolutionary Road, I would have been all over that. (My pick was Hathaway.) Heath Ledger's family handled his award acceptance very well. As for Penelope Cruz: I normally don't like her or Woody Allen. That I enjoyed her and Vicky Cristina Barcelona as much as I did means that was one justly deserved award.