Thoughts about Oscar

I thought this year's Academy Awards was a pretty good show! You can see below that I ended up liveblogging it, but it was an experiment, as I've never liveblogged before. I had fun, but I see that I made a lot of spelling errors due to typing and posting too quickly.

So, what worked about the show, and what didn't? (Why does anyone care? Why, I care so you don't have to!)

Hugh Jackman as host. Can it be that, after all these failed hosts, Oscar has found Mr. Right? He's charming, handsome, funny (and not the forced, "I'm-a-comedian-and-have-to-be-funny funny), and he can put on show by himself. Hugh is the kind of person who, if you were alone with him on a desert island, he would totally endeavor to entertain you all day, and you would love every minute. Wait: alone on a desert island with Hugh Jackman? Where is my mind going here? Give me just a minute, will you?

The 5 presenters for 5 nominees schtick. You know how, each year, the AAs come up with some clever (read: NOT CLEVER), new schtick that they try very hard to make work? Remember when they made the "non-important" winners like Sound, Makeup, and Costume Designers stand in the audience and give their acceptance speech at their seats? Or the year they stuck Donald Sutherland and Glenn Close up in the balcony to give commentary like the Muppet Old Men except not funny? Yeah, those were great ideas. And this year did not disappoint, as each acting award was presented by 5 previous winners giving personal, gag-inducing tributes to each of the noms. Why can't we just watch 20-second clips of their performances? This presentation effort felt like a fraternity/sorority tribute to its new pledges. Yuck. I can't wait to see what they'll come up with next year!

Judd Apatow's Short Film. I haven't seen Pineapple Express, but now I want to because James Franco is an adorable stoner. I loved how they were dying laughing at The Reader and Doubt, and how James felt moved by his big kiss scene with Sean Penn. In fact, it's so enjoyable, I've posted it here for your viewing pleasure:



So, other than that: not much more to say about the show quality itself. As for the awards, there were pretty much no surprises. This is the first time in many years that I agree with the Best Film winner, and even the Best Actress winner did not dissolve into a puddle of wailing crocodile tears (I'm looking at you: Roberts, Paltrow, Swank....).

Let me just leave you with one little thought: are you seeing how the AAs are slipping away from America? This is the second year in a row that almost all the acting awards have gone to non-Americans (last year was 4-for-4), and this year, even the Best Film and big sweeper wasn't American. I support the AAs being international; I'm just saying that Hollywood might consider coming up with some better ideas, and American actors might step up their game, or at this rate, we'll be watching los Oscaros next year televised from Mumbai or Toronto or something.