First things first...an award should be given immediately to Anne Hathaway for her stellar work as Co-Hostess of this year's Academy Awards telecast.
Where Co-Host James Franco seemed to be uncomfortable and stiff in his role, Hathaway looked to be right at home on stage, with her effortless charm, warmth, humor, unscripted asides, wonderful singing voice and yes folks, her unquestionable beauty which seemed to grow as this looooooong night carried onwards. Anne Hathaway was the shining beacon of yet another long Oscar night and hopefully, she will be asked to return to host the show next year...preferably as a solo act.
Now, if only the show itself were anywhere up to Hathaway's standards.
Yes, dear readers, this year's Oscar telecast was, more often than not, a bust. It was the definition of awkward and odd, filled with dead spots, superfluous padding and could someone please inform me if there was something wrong with the teleprompter this evening as actor after actor all seemed to be auditioning for the leading role as the verbally challenged King of this year's Oscar winner for Best Picture "The King's Speech." It was really a terrible, terrible show. Aside from Anne Hathaway and some moments here and there, it was completely unworthy of the films the Academy chose to honor.
I do not understand how or why the producers can never seem to get this show right and tonight's offering was no exception and to a nearly painful degree as it was an almost lifeless affair. As I have said before, I wish that the Oscars were more like the Golden Globes as that telecast keeps the proceedings moving rapidly, giving out award after award, keeping everything fresh and sharp and with a host like Ricky Gervais, the program is filled to the brim with scathingly memorable humor. And furthermore, the actors are all allowed to imbibe copious amounts of spirits, making the atmosphere akin to a festival.
The Academy Awards, and this year's program in particular, felt like an interminable dirge, slogging through its legacy with endless self-importance while never really capturing a flow or a sense of fun. And if celebrating the art and artistry of the movies cannot be fun, then what's the point.
All of that being said, here are some things I have thought about now that the show is FINALLY over.
1. Beginning with my predictions, I didn't do to shabby, I must say. Out of all of the categories in which I made my imperfect guesses, I am proud to say that I was correct for all but two categories, Best Supporting Actress and Best Director.
2. Was it just me or did Best Supporting Actress winner Melissa Leo's acceptance speech feel more than a little forced as if she rehearsed her breathless disbelief a few too many times, including her dropping of the dreaded F-Bomb. It just felt so false, as false as her personally driven "For Your Consideration" campaigning seemed to be. Yes, she is an excellent actress and of course, she wanted to win. But, I just think that the work should speak for itself.
3. On the other hand, Kirk Douglas is a foxy old man, reminding us all why he is the legend that he is through his natural humor and having the charisma of the most captivating scoundrel.
4. Anne Hathaway was a spectacular hostess. Did I mention that already? She just grew more luminous with each wardrobe change, making the grandness of the stage conform to her.
5. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are a dream team and completely and successfully evaded the death trap that was the teleprompter with some of the only fresh, sharp humor of the night.
6. With all of the technical wins that "Inception" deservedly received, I thoroughly enjoyed how all of the winners thanked Writer/Director Christopher Nolan for his vision, emphasizing that is nothing they accomplished could have been achieved without him. A perfect poke in the eye to the Academy as Nolan was shockingly not nominated in the category of Best Director.
7. The Auto-Tune Movie Musicals section was cute. As were the opening clip montage by Kyle Cooper and the "Inception" themed montage comedy opening skit.
8. For all of the rambling speeches of the evening, my favorites happened to be from the screenwriters. Aaron Sorkin who deservedly won for his Best Adapted Screenplay for "The Social Network" spoke just as he writes: blisteringly fast, witty and daring you to keep up with his flow of his beautifully chosen words. David Seidler, who won for Best Original Screenplay for "The King's Speech," spoke to the late bloomers in us all, giving us inspiration in the process.
9. I still do not know why they are still having actors personally address nominated actors seated in the audience. It's awkward and it's padded. Just get on with it! And speaking of padding, please just get rid of the Best Original Song category!
10. My biggest cheer of the night arrived when Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won for their brilliant score to "The Social Network." It felt like a treasured high school classmate made it to the top of the world.
11. Wasn't Anne Hathaway just wonderful?
Like the song by Radiohead, this year's Oscar telecast, as far as the winner's were concerned, held no surprises but by the same token there were no glaring winners that should not have been recognized (although I am not sold on "The Fighter").
If it weren't for Hathaway, there would have been very little worth watching for such a long time. And yet, I wouldn't miss this show for the world.
I'll see you all next year...with hopefully Anne Hathaway in the driver's seat again!
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