Locking Up the Oscars
An historic win, a sin of omission, a rude interruption, tears of joy and some killer one-liners—all part of the lengthy live telecast of the 82nd annual Academy Awards on ABC.
Opening the show with Neil Patrick Harris doing a song and dance number was inspired and attention-grabbing right out of the gate, but the tune disappointed. Still, it won’t hurt his well-deserved new rep as the go-to guy for awards show hosting duties.
The Steve Martin-Alec Baldwin hosting duo also emerged eminently employable. But it was touch and go for a moment as they bantered with the likes of a moody George Clooney, a radiant in white Meryl Streep and the regal Helen Mirren—momentarily evoking the ghost of David Letterman’s doomed “Uma/Oprah” schtick and Chris Rock’s repeated dissing of Jude Law. You’ll recall neither host was asked back.
Some of the good, bad and just plain ugly moments:
- The interruption of the acceptance speech by the producer of the documentary short “Music by Prudence.” OMG, was this a Kanye West-type stage takeover? Roger Ross Williams was just expressing his gratitude when a woman took the microphone and went off about how a man wouldn’t let a woman talk and then went on and on until they were played off. Shocking! “The Daily Show” put it best, as Jon Stewart likened her to a lady who looked like she ran the snack bar at his synagogue’s Purim festival and John Oliver more pointedly asked, “What kind of classless bitch would interrupt an Oscar acceptance speech?” Probably a type who’ll never eat lunch in this town again.
- The omission of Farrah Fawcett from the “in memoriam” segment. The actress died last year on the same day that Michael Jackson did, and she was overshadowed—and unfairly overlooked—again. In addition to her well-known television work, Fawcett did a number of feature films, therefore “qualifying” her to make the list. When asked about the oversight, an AMPAS spokesperson basically said, sorry, not everyone could be included. Then, realizing the controversy was not going away, the Academy’s head honcho said she was better known in the TV world, and the Emmys should honor her. Hey, they already did. Major dishonor of Ms. Fawcett.
- Every single one of the acting winners gave a memorable acceptance speech. Every one of them—Sandra Bullock, Jeff Bridges, Mo’Nique and Christoph Waltz had a lot of practice by taking the statuettes at various critics and guild awards en route to the big night, and all of them reached their own pinnacle. A+.
- She was beautiful in blue as a Na’vi, but when Zoe Saldana stepped out on stage as a presenter, the large crowd at my viewing party gasped. Walking down the stairs, her center slit gown was inches away from something we should probably never see on the Oscars—a crotch shot. The fashion police were called; she later topped just about everyone’s worst-dressed list.
- The young stars brought in to attract a younger audience—Miley Cyrus and Kristen Stewart, I’m talking about you—thankfully did not wear mini-skirts, but needed some posture lessons. Amanda Seyfried, you were the exception.
- Very nice John Hughes tribute, but the films should have been IDed with their titles and year of release—not everyone remembers them. Funny how some of the Brat Pack set have kept their looks, and others were nearly unrecognizable. Best accolades shown to the late director came from Macaulay Culkin and Matthew Broderick.
- Cry it out. I’m not normally as susceptible to the many charms of Oprah Winfrey, but her tribute to first-time nominee Gabourey Sidibe (“you’re in the same category as Meryl Streep”) brought tears not only to Sidible, but to the rest of us who don’t have hearts made out of ice.
- Breaking barriers, breaking the mold: One of the few major awards that did not go as expected (to “Up in the Air’s” Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner) was the adapted screenplay honor handed to Geoffrey Fletcher for “Precious,” making him the first African American to take home a screenwriting Oscar. It’s about time. No, it’s way past time.
And as Barbra Streisand put it as she presented the best director honor, the time had come–for Kathryn Bigelow, director of “The Hurt Locker” to make history as the first woman ever to take home the gold man in that category.
A still-stunned Bigelow came right back out on stage to claim the top prize of the night for “The Hurt Locker,” dashing predictions that “Inglorious Basterds” might be the spoiler.
That producer who sent the “illegal” email asking academy members to vote for his film over the $500 million one (and got his invitation to the ceremony revoked) obviously paid off with the film sweeping six of its nine nominations–to the three wins for “Avatar.”
The Oscars are known for moments that resonate far beyond the ceremony, sometimes for decades. James Cameron, who campaigned hard the whole season and graciously congratulated ex-wife Bigelow, has now officially lived down his “king of the world” proclamation from more than a decade ago.
