Well folks, it's hard to believe, but Oscar night has come and gone! What a night it was! Below is my crazy long wrap up of Hollywood's biggest night.
For starters, the Red Carpet was nice. Robin Roberts did a great job hosting the countdown. If I were to pick my favorite / best dressed of the evening, I think it would be Erin Andrews. Most random Red Carpet moment? Seeing Donald Trump appear out of nowhere! Why was he even there?!
As the show started, things
seemed to be going in the right direction. The cold open video was cute and well done, and James and Anne were well received when they came on stage. After that, everything seemed to go downhill for the first few acts. The first 30 minutes were a bit painful. Giving away the award for 'Best Art Direction' first might have been a mistake. Usually, in year's past, they start with some awards that can feature camera-savvy individuals. This year, the first few winners were folks that were clearly not the best at being in front of a camera or crowd...WHICH IS FINE, but don't put them up first!
As the Oscars continued, Kirk Douglas made his way to the stage. I like how he teased the 'Best Supporting Actress' nominees, but his bit went on wayyyyyy to long. I'll be willing to bet ABC lost a lot of viewers during his bit. I'm all for paying tribute to Hollywood legends, but Kirk was alot like Dick Clark -- very hard to understand and at times, almost cringing to watch.
Melissa Leo, the winner of 'Best Supporting Actress', had a speech that seemed to go on forever. Between that and the fact that she was the first person to throw an F-bomb on the Oscar stage, I was glad to see her leave the stage as quickly as possible.
That being said, The Academy may have lost points for putting some of the more 'boring' acts first, but their INCREDIBLE SET made up for a lot of it! The flashbacks at the beginning that featured clips from "Gone With The Wind" and "Titanic" were stunning. Later, when it was put to great use for Randy Newman's performance, it continued to shine. Justin Timberlake also had a great moment with it when he pulled out his 'app' to bring Far Far Away Land to life.
The intro to the 'Best Original Score’ segment was awesome. The musical montage was so well done with the set, screen, and orchestra all working together. Oh, and thanks, Mr. President, for sharing that your favorite Oscar song is 'As Time Goes By'. -rolls eyes-
Anne Hathaway's version of "On My Own” (sung to Hugh Jackman) was funny! James Franco coming out dressed as Marilyn was okay. I feel as if there could have been something funnier here.
I was THRILLED to see The Social Network win 'Best Original Score'! Hooray!
The music video / auto tune montage to some of the Best Pictures was fantastic! Very funny! I look forward to watching it over and over again on YouTube in the near future.
When Billy Crystal came on stage, it was such a huge sigh of relief. I wonder if this means we can expect to see more from him in the near future?!?
The Bob Hope montage with the hologram was very cool and well done. I feel as if they could have used that for their opening, but nonetheless, it was cool. Props to the tech department for pulling that off.
Gwyneth Paltrow had an interesting performance when she sang the song from "Country Strong". What was with the bright white microphone??
Randy Newman's speech was both amusing and hilarious. Within minutes, he was trending on Facebook, Twitter, and Google!
And was it just me, or did Sandra Bullock seem to show no emotion when she came out to present her award? She just looked pissed and not into it at all!
I am thrilled that Natalie Portman and Colin Firth won for their respective categories. They both did a sensational job and deserved their Oscar gold!
For the 'Best Picture' category, I am pleased that "The King's Speech" won. It was a surprisingly refreshing movie that made audiences laugh, cry, and sit on the edge of your seats, and in this town, that's what you need to do to take home the grand prize. I would have been thrilled to see "The Social Network" win, as well, but that's okay. (And it will go without saying that "Toy Story 3" winning would have made my night!) BUT! That all being said, I think Mr. Spielberg himself said it best.
"To the nine nominated films that do not win, they will join such celebrated pictures as Citizen Cane, The Grapes of Wrath, The Graduate and Raging Bull."
As the ending of The Oscars show began, I started immediately rolling my eyes. I could not believe they were bringing out a bunch of kids from PS22 in New York to perform was is bound to be the next great lipsyncing scandal on live television. When they actually started to sing, I was thrilled they were singing 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow', but I feel as if it could have been done much better. For starters, let's get these kids dressed up in cute dresses and tuxes. (Instead of their t-shirts declaring some are ALTO and others are SOPRANO...) And what was with the swaying? Half the kids looked drunk! Let's get some real choreography in play!
That being said, the kids
did sound good. They did a nice job with the song. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how they ended it with all of the Oscar winners coming out on stage to join the kids and sing the song, with their prizes in hand. It was very classy and extremely well done. The picture of Oz on the back of the stage sealed the deal. If only the beginning of the end would have been a bit better...
As for James and Anne, they were interesting choices to host from the beginning. Anne really came out and shined throughout the evening, making her a solid choice. James, on the other hand, was rarely seen! And when he was, he seemed out of it. He seemed more into recording live video to stream onto his website than he was into hosting the show!
Looking to the future, it seems that the Twitterverse is pushing to see Kevin Spacey host The Oscars next year. I think he'd be a fun choice. Tonight, my friend Elliot and I both agreed that it'd be a blast to see Robin Williams host, but I'm not sure if he's still as 'family friendly' as he was back in the 90's.
All in all, The Oscars were alright this year. They had their highs and lows, but overall, not shabby. I am pretty happy with most of the wins :) Hooray for Hollywood!
