Last nights Oscar awards presentation seemed to go exactly as planned - which doesn't always make for great television. Overall, it was a very tame and uneventful show. It certainly lacked the "young and hip" thing they were going for....
1. The Fashion - First things first - right? I can't really say there were any huge misses on the red carpet last night - unless you include Mark Ruffalo's wife. Seriously, wtf was that gold peak--boo boob with the black draped should pad? It was really awful. I give the best dress honor to Mila Kunis (yet again) - the dress was beautiful, sexy and a little bit of a risk (it also reminded me of something Halle Berry would wear). I also thought Mandy Moore looked fantastic - her dress was a perfect illusion of body sparkle and she looked like a princess but she also looked too similar to Hailee Steinfeld. Cate Blanchett's dress was just weird - a little too weird for the Oscars, yet I appreciate the fashion risk and Cate is just one of those lucky women who can literally make anything look fantastic. I would say the worst dressed weren't even that bad - just all off in a way. Jennifer Hudson was too sexy, Gwyneth Paltrow was too futuristic (and I don't dig the pointy boob look), Reese Witherspoon was too Oscar Barbie (I'm pretty sure I had that Barbie with that exact dress and high ponytail. And yes, she also was too reminiscent of Julia's dress), Marissa Tomei was too unflattering and too much tulle and Nicole Kidman was too overwhelmed with details.
2. The Hosts - This is the first year since I can remember that I was not excited for the Oscars for 3 reasons: Anne Hathaway & James Franco as hosts, 2010 was a crappy year for film and the winners seemed predictable (more on that next). Soo, Anne and James....really? I need my awards shows to be funny and move quickly. I had a huge feeling they would fail and in all honesty they did, however they both gave it 100% so I don't think they can be blamed. They should have never been put in this position to begin with. The big opening was cute - but to be blunt - completely forgettable. They have this awkward chemistry that works (she is peppy and full of energy while he looks like he is falling asleep) but got old pretty quickly. James Franco is a very talented actor (he always works the perfect amount of cheese on GH) but in real life he always reminds me of his Freaks and Geeks character - he has this I don't give a f*** because I have something better to do presence. I actually find this to be hilarious but not for the Oscars. The weird thing was that I think he actually appreciated what he was doing and tried his absolute best (he constantly tweeted pics from the night - which proves that he actually cared). I will say that I appreciate only 1 Charlie Sheen joke made a presence (and it was mildly entertaining - if only to see James in a Marilyn Monroe dress). Franco's best moment was calling out the kids film How to Train Your Dragon for being inappropriately titled. I remember watching the trailer last year and thinking it was a joke - I am glad James and I both have dirty minds. Anne Hathaway is also very talented - but I can see why people find her "grating". She seemed to try a bit too hard and desperately seek approval from the audience. She kept holding her stomach -which is a sure sign that she was letting her nerves get the best of her. Her best moment was singing "On My Own" and changing the lyrics to "a Hugh jack-ass". She sounded fantastic and made me anticipate her appearance on Glee.
3. The Winners - This was the most predictable Oscars ever!! Which is why I was not excited about it. Seriously, did anyone bet against Christian Bale? Or Colin Firth? I predicted 17 out of 24 of the awards which is my best since 1998 when I pretty much just guessed that Titanic would win everything (speaking of - I loved the reference to Titanic in the beginning...I might have to watch that again. Soon.). The ones that I got wrong were actually surprising to me - I thought for sure that Fincher would win, Exit Through the Gift Shop and Biutiful would win Documentary and Foreign language respectively. I also got both Live Action Short and Animated Short wrong (but I literally just guessed - I usually find a way to see these films but since my interest in films this past year has diminished I completely forgot). So, needless to say the show was so boring because the winners were already pre-determined. It was also boring because the winners had nothing interesting to say. Melissa Leo's speech actually made me hate her - she seemed disingenuous and just plain annoying. Dropping the f-bomb doesn't make you cool it makes you disrespectful - this isn't the MTV movie awards! Other winners were mildly amusing - I liked the guy who won for Live Action Short commenting that "I should have gotten a hair cut" along with the guy who won for Art Direction saying " Why didn't I lose those 20 pounds?". It's good to know that the guys were just as insecure on that stage as I would be. The best speech belonged to the ever lovable Colin Firth who opened his speech with "I have a feeling my career just peaked". However, I would have died if he actually busted a move like he was teasing us with. That would have just made the entire show worth watching.
4. The Presenters - Based on some of the presenters I give the Academy a few choices for next years hosting challenge: 1. Justin Timberlake. His "I'm Banksy" was hilarious as was his impromptu mimicking of Kirk Douglas - proving that he can improvise just as good as any comedian (and why oh why can he not be with someone as hot and talented as Mila Kunis in real life?). 2. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law - Their playful banter was actually pretty funny as was their chemistry together. Plus- I love Jude Law. Let me repeat that...I love Jude Law. 3. Sandra Bullock - Actress. Comedian. Greatest human being on the planet. She has grace, humility and every one's hearts. She would make a perfect host.
5. The Show - The only other aspect of the show to talk about were the performances - which were pretty bland. It was weird seeing Chuck sing at the Oscars (as well as Mandy Moore). They sounded o.k - but the song was kinda boring. Gwyneth is becoming a bit over played - she has been EVERYWHERE this year. Again - she sounded o.k but nothing special. The best performance was Celine Dion singing "Smile" which was a perfect song for the In Memoriam, but I would have preferred for her to belt out "My Heart Will Go On" just to deepen my nostalgia for Titanic. I also enjoyed a few other things - During the pre-show I was happy to see Gulianna forced in the sky box - far away from the action. Smart thinking E!. I smiled when Michelle Williams showed up hand in hand with Busy Phillips (I would totally show up at the Oscars with my BFF). I find Jesse Eisenberg's awkwardness completely fascinating - he is like the male Kristen Stewart. And finally speaking of Kristen - the best Twilight reference ever was the auto-tuned montage that ended with the "he doesn't own a shirt" song. That was hilarious.
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